Flirting with Fire: A Summer Camp Swingers novel

Susie remembered to pull the door closed behind her. She beamed up at me, my bright-eyed princess. She could be moody too, especially when she didn’t get her way, but it rarely lasted. She and I shared the same basic temperament, more than either of her sisters. She also had a pragmatic streak that I took credit for, although I hadn’t found mine until my thirties.

Case in point, her name. She’d wanted us to call her Susan when her namesake godmother had died, but we’d struggled with the change. We’d called her Susie for years, after all. She also seemed to understand that “Susan” was another person, at least as far as I was concerned. And so she’d changed her mind with her usual sunny outlook.

“That’s okay. Teachers call me Susan at school, especially the first day. I suppose you can call me Susie. Or Boo. I like that too. It makes me sound scary!”

I returned from my woolgathering and realized she was waiting for me. She smiled again, tenderly, like she knew I’d been thinking about the other Susan. Then she gave me a hug. I returned it and marveled at the caring little person we’d brought into the world.

“What was that for?” I asked.

“I dunno. It just seemed like you needed it.”

“I did. Thank you. Now… let’s go say goodbye.”

* * *

I gave Laurie a hug and then held her at arm’s length.

“Do your best. And don’t forget to have fun.”

“Thanks, Dad, I will.” She forced a smile but was still anxious.

I hugged her again and kissed the top of her head. She was already two inches taller than Christy, yet still a girl, slim and self-conscious.

“I love you, and I’ll talk to you tonight.” Her arms tightened around me. I glanced at Christy, but she was busy saying goodbye to the younger girls. “Don’t tell her I told you,” I added to Laurie in a low voice, “but your mom’s talking about a cell phone for your birthday.”

Laurie nodded but still wasn’t ready to let go, so I held her, an island of stability in the whirlwind.

“You can do this,” I told her, and she nodded with more confidence than she actually felt.

Then Emily called out, and Laurie and I stepped apart. We looked up the driveway as Spike and Buck scrambled to investigate. They greeted Wren and Missy and wagged their tails furiously.

“We got tired of waiting,” Wren called, “so we decided to walk.”

Their house was only a few hundred yards away as the crow flies, but forest and a shallow inlet separated us. Humans with rolling suitcases had to go the long way around, at least a ten-minute walk. The dogs escorted them the rest of the way.

Wren and Missy handed me their suitcases, and I loaded them in the van without comment. Missy wore a backpack as well, but that was it.

“So sue me,” Christy said.

“What?” Wren blurted. “I didn’t say anything!”

“He did,” Christy said. “And you were thinking it.”

“Thinking what? Never mind. Are we ready to go?” She looked at her watch. “Registration closes at seven, so we’d better get going.”

“What? We have plenty of time! It’s only a six-hour drive.” She waved the MapQuest printout as proof.

“What about gas and bathroom breaks?”

“What about them?” Christy said stubbornly. “They won’t take long. Like… what? Ten minutes?”

Wren’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Never mind,” Christy said. “Are we ready to go?”

“Didn’t I just say that?”

“It’s what she does,” I said.

Wren gave up and laughed, “Oh, my love… yes, we’re ready.”

I kissed Christy goodbye. “Drive safe. And call when you get to the hotel.”

“I will.”

I gave Laurie another hug and reassured her in a low voice, “You’ll be fine.”

“I know. Only…” She sighed. “I wish you were coming.”

“I know, sweetie. You and Mom’ll have fun, though.”

Laurie squeezed me again and then climbed into the van. Christy gave me a cheerful wave before she pushed the button to close the side door.

Spike and Buck immediately lost interest when the van pulled away. They decided to chase a black and orange butterfly instead. The poor thing fluttered across the yard as they took turns snapping at it. Molly yawned and settled to the warm concrete beside Emily. Dog and girl watched until the van disappeared into the forest. Then Emily huffed in frustration.

“I bet Mom forgot to tell you about the party, didn’t she?”

That wasn’t the question I’d been expecting. “Party? What party?”

“Ugh!” She stomped toward the garage. Molly leapt up in surprise and trotted after her.

Susie and I watched them go.

“Do you know what she’s talking about?” I asked her.

“Madison’s birthday party. Tomorrow.”

My thoughts immediately went to Madison’s mother. The little head perked up, but I did my best to ignore him. Christy hadn’t even been gone ten minutes. I could survive a week without sex.

Fortunately, Susie had inherited her mother’s eyes but not her telepathy.

“It’s at two,” she said. “I think. Only…” She frowned and tried to recall.

“Em will know,” I said. “Do you remember where?”

“Oh, that’s easy. Their house.”

“Got it. Thanks.”

“Mom really didn’t tell you?”

“She probably did,” I fibbed, “but I must’ve forgotten. No worries. We’ll make it work. Do we need to buy a present?”