Camp Counselor Nights

I've had the chance to travel plenty in my time, but one of my favorite places on Earth won't be found on any "must-see" lists. Even though it's known to only a small community of people, I think anyone who had the chance to see it would agree that it was one of the most beautiful places in the world. It didn't hurt that such a place was tied to one of my fondest memories, either.

During my college years and early twenties, I spent my summers as a Camp Counselor at a sleepaway camp nestled amongst the Carolina foothills. The camp itself was what you would expect: a large lake where the campers would swim and canoe, wooden cabins, an amphitheater, and a wealth of activities for the privileged children who attended the camp year after year. I was quite fond of the place, especially the people I grew close to, but one area of the camp held a special place in my heart.

Located a short hike away from the camp proper was a second lake. If it had a real name I never learned it, as the campers and counselors alike just referred to it as the "New Lake". The lake itself wasn't large, perhaps a few acres. A trail from the camp wrapped around it's perimeter, and the trails through the woods around it led to various campsites and overlooks the camp used for overnight trips and day hikes. The edge of the lake closest to camp was flat and lined in parts with beach, while the far side butted up against rock wall, some of which was quite high. There was a zip-line into the lake from the ledge of one of the rock walls that was a popular attraction for both the campers and staff. Rumor (more like camp legend I suppose) amongst the male campers and staff was that it was a rite of passage for the girl campers to ride the zip line topless, or nude if you believed some people.

But as much as all of this added to the beauty and mystique of the New Lake, none of those were why it became one of my favorite places in the world. On the near shore jutting out into the lake was a long white dock. The end of the dock extended almost to the middle of the lake, and was lined sporadically with ladders. On a clear day, the perfectly still lake would reflect everything around it. If you sat on the dock, it was like you were surrounded by the trees and the sky. It was even more amazing at night. The mirror-like surface reflected every star, and if the moon was full it bathed the whole scene in a soft blue glow.

Unless a camp group was spending the day there, it was always blissfully silent at the lake. The occasional chirp or song of a bird would break the silence, but it was almost as if it were a sacred place they knew to stay away from. You could have gone back in time for all you knew, as it seemed like there were never any planes or helicopters flying overhead. Nighttime was even more serene, and you could feel the darkness closing in on you. Crickets would sometimes sing, but like the birds they seemed to avoid it.

I discovered the lake during my first summer as a counselor. Our group had gone camping and spent some time on the lake while we were out there. A few days later, after a stressful day, I found myself hiking there, not knowing why exactly. I had walked out onto the dock and laid down on my back. The starry sky engulfed me and the silence heightened my senses. I could hear the faint lapping of water against the dock and the gentle sounds of wind blowing through the trees. My mind felt at ease, and when I finally got up to walk back to my cabin I felt whole and renewed again. Ever since that night, I had returned here often, always by myself, when I needed some peace and tranquility.

So, it came to be that two years later I was back out on the dock, laying down on a towel I had brought, staring up at the stars. The moon was full, and I could see everything almost as clearly as if the sun were out and I was looking at the picture through a blue filter. At first I just sat and let the silence surround me, and then I lay down on the towel and slipped my headphones over my ears, hitting play on my CD player and starting a mix of acoustic guitar songs a friend had burned for me. The first chords hit, and I drifted away into my own thoughts.

I had arrived at the lake earlier than normal that night. My co-counselor and best friend Jeff had seen the stress on my face while we were putting our campers down to bed. "Go man, I got this. Really, go, it's been a long day. I can handle this." Jeff had insisted, and I thanked him, grabbed my Discman and towel, and headed up the trail. Jeff was a good guy. We worked well together and always knew when the other needed some time away. We had been paired together halfway through my first summer when my first co-counselor quit, and had been inseparable since.

It really had been a long day. Jeff and I had been woken up early by the sound of retching; one of our boys had gotten sick on the floor. While Jeff took him to the clinic, I cleaned up and got the other boys ready for breakfast. Our group had a new Unit Leader this summer who was overseeing the entire Pioneer Camper section. The campers in our unit were late Elementary School to Early Middle School age and our area consisted of sixteen cabins in total: eight boy cabins and eight girl cabins. The new Unit Leader was in his first summer at the camp and had brought his own ideas about how things should be run. He was constantly riding the counselors, and his act had already grown stale two weeks into the summer. For whatever reason, he had been especially hard on Jeff and me, often assigning us extra duties and work while criticizing our methods. That morning he had made our cabin stay after breakfast for cleanup and then failed our cabin's inspection after we had raced back to clean it up before the campers had to go to their first activities of the day, making us re-do the entire thing after ripping the sheets from the bunks and knocking things off the shelves he felt weren't organized enough.

The day had only gotten longer from there. Some time after lunch, the emergency siren had sounded. Jeff watched our cabin as I scrambled as fast as I could to the lake. The siren only sounded if a camper came up missing during a swim session, where they did buddy check counts every several minutes. If the siren rang, all available counselors had to report to the swimming area as quickly as possible to do a shallow water search, where we stood shoulder to shoulder, sweeping with our feet and counting out after each sweep. When this came up empty, I grabbed my team and we began a deep-water search. I had been designated as a search team leader as I was a strong swimmer had had been lifeguard certified. My boat had just finished searching a sector of the lake, with each dive dreading the thought of finding a limp, lifeless body, when the all-clear siren rang. We returned to shore to find out that unbeknownst to her partner, the missing little girl had left the swimming area to go back to her cabin for something. As we secured our boat I saw the little girl weeping as the camp director and her unit leader, both looking very stern, chewed her out for not following the rules.

The evening had not gotten any better, as our Unit Leader again had our bunk stay behind after dinner for cleanup. The evening activity I had planned for our group with a few other counselors had been somewhat of a disaster as a few of our less desirable counselors wouldn't take it seriously and couldn't keep their campers from misbehaving, essentially taking the fun out of the game. I was over it all by the time the activity had ended, and Jeff could sense it as we took our campers back to get them ready for bed. Of course, on top of all of this was something, someone really, that had been weighing on my mind the most: Chelsea.

I had turned twenty just before that summer had begun. My years on the swim team in High School and a consistent work out schedule had given mean a lean, muscular physique. I wasn't sculpted, but my body was well-toned and laced with muscle, and I was in the best shape of my life. My brown hair had grown shaggy, my eyes a bright hazel. It was to be my third summer as a counselor at the camp, a job I had loved since day one. Over my first two summers, I had hooked up with several female staff members. I really wasn't what you would call a player, but I was popular with the ladies. I had found that the women who worked at the camp weren't looking for long-term relationships; it seemed most of them were just looking for a good time and a summer fling. This suited me just fine, of course, and I had enjoyed myself quite a bit over the first two summers.

During staff orientation that summer, Jeff and I had been sitting together in the auditorium greeting old friends and eyeballing the new counselors, particularly the female staff. We were both glad to see there was no lack of pretty faces in the crowd, but when I spotted Chelsea I was instantly smitten. I saw her from across the auditorium being led around by Jackie, a pretty brunette counselor and a friend of ours. Chelsea's beauty struck me immediately and my hungry eyes studied her from afar. Chelsea had long dirty blonde hair, brilliant blue eyes, and a dazzling smile. She had a petite frame with soft, rounded shoulders, firm full breasts, a narrow waist, curvy hips, and a spectacular round little rear end. That night she had been wearing a form-fitting button up sleeveless blouse with the top few buttons undone, exposing a tantalizing glimpse of her tanned skin and a hint of her ample cleavage. She had on short jean shorts, which accentuated her perfect posterior and her toned, tanned, extremely sexy legs. I wasn't the only one who had noticed, several eyes kept darting in her direction. Next to me I heard Jeff say, "Wow... are you seeing this too?"

I had the opportunity to meet Chelsea a few times during orientation and hung out with her a bit during free times since camp had begun. I found out that she had turned eighteen just before summer began and would be starting college in the fall. We were always with a group of friends and while she smiled at me often I found myself, for the first time since middle school, tongue-tied around a girl. I saw her around camp often and had to be careful not to stare. Her lovely hair alternated between hanging freely over her shoulders like it had that first night at orientation, being tied back in a ponytail, resting on the top of her head in a messy bun, or done up in braids which hung down over her shoulders. No matter how she wore it, she always looked amazing. Chelsea filled out our staff uniform like nobody I had ever seen. The standard light gray tee shirt bearing the camp logo emblazoned with "STAFF" across the back always looked painted onto her shapely body. Her large, firm breasts caused the logo to curve around their sides. She always wore her shirt tucked into her shorts, and it hugged her curves perfectly. The tiny blue shorts also looked to have been molded just for her. Her tight round ass protruded sexily, framed nicely by the tight fabric. Her brilliantly tanned legs looked long and sexy in spite of her diminutive stature. She usually wore a pair of blue and white Adidas sneakers, which never seemed to get dirty and either blue or white ankle socks to complete the ensemble. The colors really popped against her light bronze skin. She was a vision, and I knew that if I didn't make my move soon I would miss any chance of being by her side.

Two days earlier, I had the chance to do just that. I was walking a group of campers back from the climbing wall when we met a group of girls from the Senior camp that was heading back to camp from the horse stables. Chelsea, looking as beautiful as ever, was walking behind them. She noticed me approaching and stopped to wait, greeting my boys as they passed. We walked side by side down the path and struck up a pleasant conversation. It was mostly small talk, discussing our days and some of the latest camp gossip. I was astonished and pleased at how easy I found it to talk to her. Within minutes we had a nice rapport going, and when I made her laugh, she reached out and touched my arm, sending a tingle through my body. Too soon, it seemed, we came upon the side path leading to the Senior girls' cabins. Chelsea smiled broadly at me, waving goodbye. As I started to walk away, she called out behind me. "Hey, you going to be at the Social on Saturday?" When I responded in the affirmative, Chelsea smiled again and said, "Great, hope to see you there!"

I turned around, walking backwards, and waved back at her. She spun and headed up the path, her hair tied up in a ponytail that bobbed as she moved. Her round ass undulated in her tight shorts. As much as I hated to see her go, I loved to watch her leave.

The counselor social was being held in the auditorium, complete with music and dancing. I was sure Chelsea had asked if I was going for a reason, and was hoping I got the chance to find out. I showed up to the social late, having had to deal with an issue in our bunk before heading out. Jeff was on duty that night, and he wished me luck as I departed. I had carefully brushed my hair and wore a tight tee shirt and a pair of Dockers shorts. When I got to the Auditorium, I greeted my friends and grabbed a cup of soda, scanning the room. I finally spotted Chelsea standing alone against the far side of the auditorium. My mouth dropped open when I saw how beautiful she looked dressed in a short sundress that showed off her lovely cleavage and hugged her curvaceous body. I started to make my way across the room to her, but stopped short when another figure stepped in front of Chelsea. I stepped into the shadows against the wall and watched for a moment.

I instantly recognized the figure that was approaching Chelsea through the crowd. Jason, the camp owner's son, approached her with a cup of cola in each hand. I suppose Jason was a somewhat good-looking guy: a twenty-two year old with jet-black hair, dark blue eyes, and a decent physique. All of this was greatly overshadowed, however, by his well-deserved reputation as a world-class douchebag. Clearly spoiled by his Daddy's money, Jason drove a shiny new BMW and was always wearing designer brand-name clothes. He had been given the title of "Associate Camp Director", though it seemed nobody knew what he really did all day besides boss other staff members around. He had a small group of "friends" that followed him around and, like him, seemed exempt from most of the rules the rest of the staff was expected to adhere to. It seemed the majority of the staff, counselors, specialists, medical, janitorial, and kitchen workers included, held him in the highest contempt.

In spite of all of this, every summer Jason always seemed to have his share of admirers, typically new staff members possibly drawn to him by his money and power, or fooled by his good looks and false charm. There had been numerous stories over the past few years about these "relationships" often ending in humiliation and heartbreak for the girl involved once his true nature revealed itself.

But there he was, chatting up Chelsea. I wanted to confront him, tell him to leave her alone, but I knew he could make my life at the camp miserable if I were to get in his way. Instead, I sat watching them, anger building inside me. I half-heartedly danced with a few friends, my eyes constantly flicking back to the two of them, hoping for my window of opportunity. I felt ill watching as Chelsea smiled and laughed with him. They danced to a few songs before joining a cluster of staffers, all of who I recognized to be part of his "inner circle". Chelsea shook hands as Jason introduced her around. I cringed watching as he touched her back or shoulders every chance he got. A while later, the two of them broke off from the group again and headed outside. I watched and waited, but they never returned. Disgusted and furious at myself for having missed my chance, I excused myself and left the social. I went to bed early that night, still seething and trying not to let myself think about what the two of them might be doing.

Jeff, of course, was very understanding and supportive when I told him what had happened and did his best to support me and cheer me up. Still for the next few days my anger and disappointment just wouldn't go away. When I headed out to the lake that night, I was mostly hoping to clear my mind, calm my anger, and figure out what my next move would be.

The lake hadn't disappointed. Just being there was soothing and I felt the stress of my wash away until my mind was clear and my body relaxed. I realized I had been so worked up about everything that I hadn't been enjoying my time at camp and was letting it impact my work. If Chelsea was spoken for... well that was certainly painful to think about... but there were other girls who were interested if she wasn't. Feeling at ease, I let the music fill my soul as I lay there on the dock, the stars reflecting in my eyes and filling my field of vision.

I was so at peace in this serene, beautiful place that when a face suddenly appeared, slightly blurred, above me, I nearly jumped out of my skin. I heard a pleasant giggle as I sat up, catching my breath from the scare, and pulled my headphones off. I turned; initially annoyed that someone had disturbed the peace and solitude of my sanctuary. Any annoyance or anger quickly disappeared as my eyes focused on the figure illuminated in the moonlight before me. It was Chelsea.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!" she said, her voice making my senses tingle. "Jeff told me I might be able to find you here."

"It's... it's OK," I stammered, shaken a bit by this turn of events.

Chelsea smiled at me, and my eyes quickly took inventory. Her hair was done up in braids, one hanging down over each shoulder. She was still wearing her staff uniform (as was I), and even after a full day of activities it looked immaculate. I again marveled at how stunningly beautiful she was before realizing she was standing there expectantly, an awkward silence hanging in the air. I motioned for her sit down next to me, and she did just that. Her closeness made my body tingle, and I could smell the flowery scent of her hair and the intoxicating aroma of the body spray she wore.

"It's so beautiful out here! Do you come out here often?" Chelsea asked, her beautiful face turned towards mine.

Her face, that incredibly beautiful face is a sight I'll never forget as long as I live. Her big blue eyes, that cute button nose, her pouty lips and startlingly white teeth. "Yeah, I love it out here. I come out here sometimes to think. It's peaceful," I replied.

"It sure is. The moon is so big tonight! And the stars..." Her voice trailed off as she looked around. I could see the stars reflected in her eyes, the pale moonlight making her face glow like an angel.

"How's Jason?" I asked, the words coming out with more anger and bitterness than I had intended. I immediately regretted saying them, and was surprised she didn't hit me and walk away.

"Ugh," Chelsea's face wrinkled in disgust, though I instantly recognized it wasn't disgust towards me. "Creep corners me at the social and he seemed charming enough. He brought me a Coke and we talked for a while, even danced together. Introduces me to his stuck-up friends and then talked me into taking a walk with him. I kind of got a bad vibe off him, but figured it couldn't hurt. At first it wasn't too bad, we walked around the hiking path for a while, he showed me his stupid car, and then walked over to the footbridge over the creek. It's really very pretty down there, and we stopped at the middle of the bridge and looked around. At least I thought that's what we were doing. Next thing I know he is trying to kiss me and grab my boobs! I kneed him in the balls and went back to my cabin, I was so ticked off!"