chestânot a healthy situation at all. I also completely stopped breathing, and thatâs not particularly good for long-term survival either. The hands swiveled me around, and I was facingâRob Thompson.
âRob! You scared me to death!â I hissed at him through clenched teeth. Rob was Edaâs son. He was a Camp Crockett counselor. He was nineteen and more than six feet tall, so he towered over me like a tree.
Rob laughed at my reaction. He was the closest thing Madison and I had to a big brother. He teased both of us a lot, but me especially, since Iâm so much younger than he is.
Robâs sandy blond curls were cut short to keep themfrom completely taking over his head, which curly hair can do very easily if you donât watch it. He wore glasses and had a little bit of acne, but otherwise, he was sort of cute, in a slightly geeky way.
âHey, small stuffâyouâre not dancing. The question is why. Insecurities? Lack of rhythm? Bunions?â
I frowned at him. âI have danced. A little,â I lied. I was pretty sure Rob hadnât watched me every single second, so how would he know the difference?
âOh, yeah?â His eyebrows went up above the rims of his glasses. âListen. Iâve personally seen at least two different guys walk up to you. You either turn them down or walk away. That is
cold
, my little sista. Icy. Frosty. Glacial. You canât be dissing these little dudes like that. Youâll give them a complex. Break their hearts. Crush their souls.â
âWhy donât you go embarrass Madison now, okay, please? That is, if you can find her. Sheâs dressed like a shrub.â
Madison and all the other CATs were busy doing Porch Patrol duty. That meant they walked around outside Camp Crockettâs dining hall with flashlights to make sure nobody went past the dining hall porch. They always made it a big deal by dressing up in camouflage and taping tree branches and leaves to their clothes.
âUh, yeah, nice try to get rid of me. Iâve seen her already. I actually saved her from a vicious woodpecker attack. Certain death loomed before her, had I not been there with my swift reflexes. So now youâre my next project.â Rob propped his elbow on my shoulder and leaned down.
âOkay, small stuff. Look around. These are the finest that Camp Crockett has to offer, Iâm sorry to say. Pathetic. Disappointing. Downright sad. But youâre only twelve, so itâs not like youâve got lofty standardsâam I right?â
âI wish I was invisible,â I groaned. Why was Rob torturing me like this?
âEh, sorry. Canât help you there. My invisibility cloakâs at the cleanerâs. Hereâs what I want you to do.â He was still leaning on me. âName the little dude of your dreams. Point him out. Heâs yours. Done deal. Iâll work my magic, and youâll be paired with him for the rest of this romantic evening.â
I covered my face with my hands. âThis is the worst night of my life.â I ducked out from under Robâs elbow and tried to walk away, but he blocked my escape.
âJordan. Seriously. You ought to dance. Are you sure you donât want me to fix you up with someone? How about one of the little dudes in my cabin?â
At that moment, I happened to see something that made my heart feel like it really had fallen out of my chest. And then someone had stepped on it. It was now all covered in dust, lying flattened under everyoneâs feet.
Because I looked across the dance floor and saw that Ethan was now dancing with Kelly.
So much for waiting until he came to me. Iâd been right all along. He didnât want to talk to me again. He didnât like me anymore. Heâd had his eye on someone else instead.
âWhatâs up?â Rob asked me, looking across the dining hall to see what it was I was suddenly so focused on.
âNothing. I