"Don't tell me you don't want to, Dan." She grinned that Cherri grin, sat on her heels, displayed and unashamed and lifted the camera. "How d'you do this, like this?" She pressed the shutter, wound on.

"Yeah, like that," I said.

She looked at me over the camera. "Go on, Dan, I want to watch you too." Her voice thick with lust and I could refuse her nothing, drawing up my linen dress. My fingers touched my sensitivity and I shivered, almost crying out at the arousal coursing through my body. I pushed my hand inside my panties, allowed two fingers, then three to enter. Cherri came across, stood close and fired shots down at me as I bucked and writhed and stared at her unbelievably beautiful body and dreamed she was kissing my breasts and my mouth and... kissing my pussy... I wanted to kiss her, taste my pussy on her lips, for Cherri to taste her pussy on mine. I came hard and sudden, muffling a cry and Cherri came lower, kneeling, her knees pressing against the outside of mine, so close to me I could have reached up and touched her and only an effort of will stilled my hand from rising.

As arousal drained from my body to be replaced by embarrassment, I closed my dress and still Cherri stood near until I took the camera from her. I turned away, making myself busy, putting the camera away and out of habit pulling up the spool pin and rewinding to discover that a film had been in the camera all along. A jolt ran through my stomach. The lighting was awful, and probably nothing would come out, but I rewound a film that might have captured images of both of us and I wondered what to do with it. I released the back of the camera and pulled the film spool free. I should snap it open now, expose the film to the light, destroying all evidence of our illicit actions. But I couldn't do that, the spool burning inside my palm.

Cherri came close behind me and slid her arms around my waist, closing them in front of me, her breasts pressing against my back.

"I'm bushed now, Dan. You coming to bed?"

I nodded, slipping the film canister into the side pocket on my dress.

Chapter 14.

I started to believe Cherri had forgotten my promise to photograph her. A week passed and then on Wednesday Chrissy Simmons came to tell us a new counselor was arriving for Eagle. Almost half way through our ten week stint, but they'd received late applicants, decided to take new people on to make up the numbers in the cabins with only two counselors. The new people were being taken on as general counselors, so Cherri and I would be spared the cleaning and other drudgery we had been landed with.

We were both in a good mood as we walked back to Eagle and Cherri bumped against me, grinning. "I wonder what the new girl will be like?"

I shrugged. "As long as she likes cleaning."

Early evening, the hour between the end of activities and start of dinner. Half our kids lay on their beds reading, writing home, chatting. The bunkroom was quiet, soft voices discussing the day's events and I thought what a wonderful bunch of kids we had.

I kicked off my boots and wriggled my toes inside my socks as I lay on the narrow bunk under the window. Cherri appeared at the door with a pile of bedding.

"You'd better move all your shit off that other bed, Dan."

"You're moving in here?"

She cocked her head to one side. "You don't want me?"

"No, sure, yeah that's great. But why now?"

"You know why I couldn't before. Not after Tonya and Holly. But I'm not gonna share a room with a new girl when you're over here. But if you don't want me here just say so and I'll move all my shit back-"

"Don't be a doofus. Of course I want to share with you." I bounced off the bed, ridiculously pleased, grabbed my rucksack and spare clothes off the bed and dropped them on the floor. "I'll help you make up the bed."

Cherri didn't have much and within ten minutes she'd moved in. The smell of her invaded my room, filling my chest and head with her essence and I couldn't keep a sloppy grin off my face. Some of the girls came and peered around my doorano, wrong, around our doorawon***dering what was going on.

"We're getting married," Cherri joked to Jessica, one of the wilder girls.

"Isn't that why the last pair got thrown out?" Jessica asked, her face sweet and innocent but a wicked glint in her eye.

Cherri threw her pillow. Jessica ducked and she missed.

"Bring that back for me, Jess," Cherri said.

Jessica obliged, swung the pillow and smacked Cherri across the head, that same sweet smile on her innocent face.

"Brat! You'll pay for that."

"I won't tell," Jessica said. "As long as you're quite and don't wake us up with all your moaning."

I'd stopped being shocked at how worldly our bunch of fourteen year olds were. Modern life, what did I expect? Baywatch on TV and every girl wanted a thirty-six inch bust and tiny ass and to wear a red bikini and run along the beach with David Hasselhof.

"Remember I can make your life real tough," Cherri said, trying for stern.

Jessica only laughed. "Yeah. You and the tooth fairy and Santa. But why are you moving in together?" Jessica leaned on the doorjamb, slim arms crossed over her budding chest.

"A new counselor's arriving tomorrow," I explained.

"And you'd better watch out, bud, because I hear she's a hard case," Cherri added.

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Like you two then? I think I'll cope."

Cherri grabbed her pillow and Jessica ducked out of the doorway. I lay on my bed, arms behind my head, staring at the ceiling. Girls went past the door waving to us as they went on their way to dinner. I stayed on the bed, watching the spider making her web in the far corner of the ceiling.

"What are you grinning at?" Cherri asked, swinging her legs off her bed and sitting up.

"I'm not grinning."

She laughed. "Big shit-kicker grin all over your face, honey. What's so amusing?"

I glanced at her, tiny and oh so blonde and oh so beautiful and continued to grin. "You're funny," I said.

"And you're weird."

"That's why we make a good team."

Cherri nodded. "I guess so. You ready for more fuckin' pasta and chicken?"

"I suppose."

"I wonder what this new girl's going to be like?"

"We'll find out tomorrow."

Cherri slipped her arm through mine as we walked into the hallway, slipped free again as we went outside.

Turned out the new girl was great.

"I'm Amanda, but everyone calls me Mandy." She grinned. "Or randy Mandy in uni."

We both frowned. She came from England, her accent real cute but neither of us understood a word she said. She was pretty, red haired and a little overweight. She came into our roomaalready I thought of it as our roomaand sat on Cherri's bed while Cherri and I sat cross legged at either end of mine and told us she'd started in collegeashe said universityalast year and wanted to try something different this year during her vacation. Mandy studied pre-med, which impressed the hell out of both of us, but she didn't make out she was any better than anyone else. We'd get on. She seemed good with the kids, and they liked her straight off, which is more than they did with me, and she wasn't thrown when she discovered she'd be doing all the cleaning and other dull jobs around Eagle.

She joined our table at lunch and dinner, charmed Jack and Brian, and after we finished eating Cherri went back for her guitar and Mandy joined us at our usual bench. We had an hour of sunlight before the far ridge cast it's shade. Jack leaned against me, arm round my waist, fingers lightly stroking my belly under my t-shirt. I wondered whether we would last the rest of summer, this only ever going to be a summer thing. It's what happened at camp. But it felt good to have his arm round me, good to have his fingers touching my skin. Good to have a distraction from Cherri.

"We're going into town again a week Saturday," Brian said. "You two want to tag along?"

"Can't," I said. "We don't get the same day off."

"You do now," Jack said.

"We do?" I was being particularly dense. I'd forgotten when it was only the two of us in Eagle we couldn't have the same day free, but now Mandy had arrived we went back to Saturday and Sunday off. "Of course we do."

I liked the idea of another trip to town. I'd already decided to let Jack go further than last time. Maybe not all the way, but pretty much all the way if he wanted. Cherri had other ideas.

"Can't do next week."

Brian stared at her. "You can't?"

Jack stiffened against me. He'd been expecting me to say yes.

"We got something we have to do. How about the week after?"

"I guess."

Cherri moved closer to Brian, dropping her hand to his crotch. "You know I'll make it worthwhile waiting, don't you?"

Brian nodded, bewitched. I knew just how he felt.

Much later back in our room I asked Cherri what was so important.

"You forgot," she said, pouting.

"I did?"

"I haven't."

"What are you talking about?"

"We're going to find somewhere quiet and you're going to take my picture." She grinned, lifted an eyebrow. "You know... my picture?"

I had forgotten. Or pushed the thought from my mind. I didn't need any more temptation. Cherri wandering around in bra and panties right in the room with me was bad enough. The idea of Cherri with nothing on was... no, Dani, don't go there!

"I thought you were joking."

Cherri shook her head. "Not joking, Dan. You think I'd turn down Brian for a joke?"

Cherri unclipped her bra and tossed it on the floor. Before she pulled on the t-shirt she slept in I couldn't fail seeing how her pretty little nipples stood to attention. She caught me watching and grinned, gave her boobs a little shake. "And that's just a taster. Wait'll you catch the rest."

I threw my pillow at her, then had to get out of bed to fetch it when she didn't throw it back.

Excitement trembled through me as I locked the classroom because Jack had asked me to go sailing again, excited at the prospect of some time alone with him. Much as I loved Cherri, when she was around she got my head all muddled. Alone with Jack everything seemed much clearer, calmer. Thinking about Cherri reminded me of what happened after our last trip into town, reminded me I had a roll of film burning a hole in my pocket, crying out to be developed. I didn't know if the shots I'd taken of Cherri were good or not, if my excitement had clouded my skill. Maybe I would find out later. I wouldn't tell Cherri because she'd want to come with me and she'd probably get excited and start acting all Cherri again, and I wasn't sure if I could hold out if she started doing that, if I could prevent myself touching her like I wanted. The temptation always lurked in the background and I fought hard, knowing if I gave in our friendship would be at an end, Cherri, of course, completely unaware of what effect she had on me.

I reached up and slid the key into its secret place. When I turned Sara stood on the grass, hands on hips.

"Hi, Sara. You want something?"

"Don't fuck with me."

"I'm not... what d'you want?"

"I want to know what you're doing with Jack."

I stared at her. "Jack? Is what I might be doing with Jack any of your business anymore?"

"He dumped me for you, you know that?"

"He didn't dump you for me. Way I heard, it was the other way round. You dumped him for Greg."

"No." Greg's voice startled me as he came round the side of the cabin where he'd obviously been listening. "I was a friend to start with. A shoulder to cry on."

I laughed, the response immediate, as much from shock at their claim as anything else. "Wasn't his shoulder you were crying on when I saw you." I said to Sara.

"I want Jack back."

I was astonished. What the hell was going on here? I glanced at Greg. "You have anything to say about this?"

"Whatever Sara wants."

"Even if it means you can't have her?"

Greg grinned and shrugged as though that was up for debate. Despite everything I knew about him, everything I'd experienced at his hands, his grin remained electric. "Who says? This is 1989 Dani, we live in a liberated world these days."

"You're evil. Both of you." I stepped down from the porch meaning to push between them but Sara grabbed my arm, her fingernails digging in.

"I'm warning you."

"Warning me? Or what?" A small part of me observed my anger in amazement. This was a new Dani Walker, a Dani Walker I hardly recognized.

Greg put his hands on my shoulders, pushed me back hard. My foot caught on the edge of the step but I managed to keep my feet. Greg kept coming, slamming me against the classroom wall. He came up close, his face in mine.

"You don't know how dangerous we can be."

I was mad now. Cherri'd been right, ignoring Greg wasn't going to get me anywhere.