perfection, he thought. From this distance, he couldn’t see her face, but he suspected that she would be lovely. Though he soon lost sight of her in the forest, her image continued to dwell in his mind throughout the day.
“Ciara, you’ve got drawing class today. Mike, you set up the swimming lessons. Joanna….” The camp director called out the various assignments to each of the counselors. Some of the instructors were hired for a specific camp activity such as lifeguard or cook. The rest of them, like her, were shuffled around as the day’s focus changed. Today, art was the big thing. Puppet making, painting, drawing, wood carving…various art stations would be set up around the camp areas. All of the kids would rotate through each of the stations.
Twenty minutes later, her first group was trekking up the path into the woods, ready to learn how to draw. It was still a little chilly, but the sun would heat up the day and it would be steamy by the afternoon. Ciara didn’t mind, though. She liked the heat. Thrived on it, actually. The earthy humidity she could do without, but just being outdoors, free from the normal stresses of her average day, was wonderful.
She looked around at the campers, understanding that drawing a bunch of trees might not be the most exciting station they would visit today, but she was going to make it as fun as possible. “Okay, so pick up your charcoal pencil and just draw whatever you see. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it can just be interesting,” she said. The kids each grabbed a drawing paper, clipboard, and a charcoal pencil, found a perch on a rock or a log, and started drawing the trees. Or each other, she noticed with amusement.
She wandered to each of the campers, giving them tips on how to draw or sometimes helping them decide what to draw when they seemed to be looking around in utter confusion. All the while, she encouraged each of them as she went.
It was when she reached one girl who was sitting a bit further out than the rest that she saw him again. Ciara was still facing the group but, as she glanced behind the rock where the girl was sitting, her eyes caught on…was that a naked man?
“Oh my,” she breathed as she watched the seriously nude man dive into the water pouring down from a waterfall. The spot where he was diving wasn’t very deep and she was pretty sure that the water would be cold at this point in the morning, but goodness, it didn’t seem to affect him in any way. In a few hours, once the summer sun had warmed up the air, the cool water of the waterfall and stream would be perfect. But this early in the morning, she wouldn’t relish such a dip into the cold water.
When he surfaced from his dive, his hand pushed his dark hair back and she felt faint. She realized she hadn’t been breathing and took a large influx of oxygen as she continued to stare, mesmerized by the man and all of those amazing, delicious, bulging…muscles! He was lifting himself out of the pool and moving towards the waterfall that now splashed down onto a flat rock. She was only looking at his muscles, she promised herself but her eyes inadvertently drifted lower and she was…wow!
Their eyes clashed. He was still far enough away that she couldn’t see details, but she felt the impact of that gaze like a sudden punch. It was like a laser beam of heat slicing through the cool mist of the morning, and she gripped the edge of the boulder underneath her hand as her body melted with his gaze.
He wouldn’t release her, she thought. Not that she was trying very hard. She watched in utter fascination as he dove back into the water. Frustratingly, he was once again submerged and she continued to watch as his strong arms started moving, pushing through the stream to the edge of the water.
Before he started getting out again, he looked up at her, making sure she was still watching. Which, of course,
“Ciara, you’ve got drawing class today. Mike, you set up the swimming lessons. Joanna….” The camp director called out the various assignments to each of the counselors. Some of the instructors were hired for a specific camp activity such as lifeguard or cook. The rest of them, like her, were shuffled around as the day’s focus changed. Today, art was the big thing. Puppet making, painting, drawing, wood carving…various art stations would be set up around the camp areas. All of the kids would rotate through each of the stations.
Twenty minutes later, her first group was trekking up the path into the woods, ready to learn how to draw. It was still a little chilly, but the sun would heat up the day and it would be steamy by the afternoon. Ciara didn’t mind, though. She liked the heat. Thrived on it, actually. The earthy humidity she could do without, but just being outdoors, free from the normal stresses of her average day, was wonderful.
She looked around at the campers, understanding that drawing a bunch of trees might not be the most exciting station they would visit today, but she was going to make it as fun as possible. “Okay, so pick up your charcoal pencil and just draw whatever you see. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it can just be interesting,” she said. The kids each grabbed a drawing paper, clipboard, and a charcoal pencil, found a perch on a rock or a log, and started drawing the trees. Or each other, she noticed with amusement.
She wandered to each of the campers, giving them tips on how to draw or sometimes helping them decide what to draw when they seemed to be looking around in utter confusion. All the while, she encouraged each of them as she went.
It was when she reached one girl who was sitting a bit further out than the rest that she saw him again. Ciara was still facing the group but, as she glanced behind the rock where the girl was sitting, her eyes caught on…was that a naked man?
“Oh my,” she breathed as she watched the seriously nude man dive into the water pouring down from a waterfall. The spot where he was diving wasn’t very deep and she was pretty sure that the water would be cold at this point in the morning, but goodness, it didn’t seem to affect him in any way. In a few hours, once the summer sun had warmed up the air, the cool water of the waterfall and stream would be perfect. But this early in the morning, she wouldn’t relish such a dip into the cold water.
When he surfaced from his dive, his hand pushed his dark hair back and she felt faint. She realized she hadn’t been breathing and took a large influx of oxygen as she continued to stare, mesmerized by the man and all of those amazing, delicious, bulging…muscles! He was lifting himself out of the pool and moving towards the waterfall that now splashed down onto a flat rock. She was only looking at his muscles, she promised herself but her eyes inadvertently drifted lower and she was…wow!
Their eyes clashed. He was still far enough away that she couldn’t see details, but she felt the impact of that gaze like a sudden punch. It was like a laser beam of heat slicing through the cool mist of the morning, and she gripped the edge of the boulder underneath her hand as her body melted with his gaze.
He wouldn’t release her, she thought. Not that she was trying very hard. She watched in utter fascination as he dove back into the water. Frustratingly, he was once again submerged and she continued to watch as his strong arms started moving, pushing through the stream to the edge of the water.
Before he started getting out again, he looked up at her, making sure she was still watching. Which, of course,
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