Camp Rewind Read online

  Table of Contents

  Synopsis

  Praise for Meghan O’Brien

  By the Author

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  About the Author

  Other Meghan O'Brien Titles Available via Amazon

  Books Available From Bold Strokes Books

  Synopsis

  Alice Wu is at Camp Rewind only because her therapist thinks it’ll help her overcome the social anxiety she’s battled since childhood. She’s not sure she believes that theory, but will try anything to make a real friend. A casual fling would also be nice, but she’s not holding her breath.

  Rosa Salazar hopes camp will be an escape from a life permanently altered. Eviscerated online for her feminist critique of a popular video game, Rosa has endured months of anonymous threats over social media, doxxing, and, worst of all, the posting of graphic, sexually explicit material stolen from her cloud storage—including a dirty video she made for an ex. Using a fake name, she enrolls in camp craving a return to a simpler time, before the shame.

  Alice and Rosa soon discover that at Camp Rewind, anything is possible. Even an unlikely friendship that swiftly becomes something more.

  Praise for Meghan O’Brien

  Thirteen Hours

  “Meghan O’Brien’s writing style is entertaining. She is creative and her story isn’t the typical romance. It was a lovely little story with the elevator being the highlight of the story. If you want a long and very sexy foreplay then this book is for you.”—The Lesbian Review

  “Ms O’Brien has a knack for erotica and she sure isn’t shy in showing it off! Goodness, this was a scorcher. I finished it about 24 hours ago and am still blushing, burning, and wanting.”—Prism Book Alliance

  “Meghan O’Brien has given her readers some very steamy scenes in this fast paced novel. Thirteen Hours is definitely a walk on the wild side, which may have you looking twice at those with whom you share an elevator.”—Just About Write

  “Boy, if there was ever fiction that a lesbian needs during a bed death rut or simply in need of some juicing up, Thirteen Hours by Meghan O’Brien is the book I’d recommend to my good friends…If you are looking for good ole American instant gratification, simple and not-at all-straight sexy lesbian eroticism, revel in the sexiness that is Thirteen Hours.”—Tilted World

  Battle Scars

  “[The] main characters were well written and I could feel the pain and hope in each of them. As a former US Marine, I usually have a difficult time with books that try to discuss military concepts, philosophy, and events but I didn’t feel that way with this book. There were plenty of things in this book that I could relate to.”—C-Spot Reviews

  The Muse

  “Entertaining characters, laugh-out-loud moments, plenty of hot sex, all wrapped up in a really fun story. What more could you ask for?”—The Lesbian Review

  Wild

  “I love Meghan’s take on shapeshifters…The story has great pacing and keeps you on the edge of your seat until its heart-pounding end. I can’t wait for [the] sequel.”—BookDyke.com

  “I truly enjoy shifter stories but I have never had the pleasure of reading one so well written or so hot. Even for a Bold Strokes Book it was erotic and exotic!”—Prism Book Alliance

  O’Brien “knows how to write passion really well, and I do not recommend reading her books in public (unless you want everyone to know exactly what you are reading). Wild is no different. It’s very steamy, and the sex scenes are frequent, and quite erotic to say the least.”—Lesbian Book Review

  The Night Off

  “The Night Off by Meghan O’Brien is an erotic romance that is not for the faint of heart. But if you can handle BDSM that includes hard spanking, humiliation, and anal play, then you’ll be rewarded with a beautiful, emotional romance. If you’ve been looking for an erotic romance that is super dirty but has big, big feelings, you won’t find anything better than The Night Off. Meghan O’Brien is the queen of lesbian erotic romance, and this book is an absolute must.”—The Lesbian Review

  The Three

  “In The Three by Meghan O’Brien, we are treated to first-rate storytelling that features scorching love scenes with three main characters…She hits her stride well in The Three with a well-paced plot that never slows. She excels at giving us an astounding tale that is tightly written and extremely sensual. I highly recommend this unique book.”—Just About Write

  Camp Rewind

  Brought to you by

  eBooks from Bold Strokes Books, Inc.

  http://www.boldstrokesbooks.com

  eBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.

  Please respect the rights of the author and do not file share.

  Camp Rewind

  © 2016 By Meghan O’Brien. All Rights Reserved.

  ISBN 13: 978-1-62639-794-1

  This Electronic Book is published by

  Bold Strokes Books, Inc.

  P.O. Box 249

  Valley Falls, New York 12185

  First Edition: October 2016

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

  Credits

  Editor: Shelley Thrasher

  Production Design: Stacia Seaman

  Cover Design By Sheri ([email protected])

  By the Author

  Infinite Loop

  The Three

  Thirteen Hours

  Battle Scars

  Wild

  The Night Off

  The Muse

  Delayed Gratification: The Honeymoon

  Camp Rewind

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you to Shelley Thrasher for another wonderful editing experience. I absolutely love working with you. Thanks as well to the entire team at Bold Strokes for doing what they do—and putting up with my sometimes scatterbrained nature!

  Thanks also to my wife Angie for being the best.

  And finally, a shout-out to all the people I love: I appreciate your friendship and acceptance of a hopeless introvert like myself.

  Last but not least, 1) Hi, Kathleen! 2) Sorry, Mom and Dad, this one has sex in it, too…

  For the shy ones

  Chapter One

  “Camp Rewind?” Alice Wu stared at the cheerful brochure her therapist had just pushed into her hands, instinctively dubious that a sleep-away camp for grown-ups could offer even one answer to her many problems. “This is because I told you I wished my parents had sent me off to camp like a normal kid instead of forcing me to study next year’s schoolwork and practice cello in my bedroom all day, every summer. Isn’t it?”

  Her therapist, a wonderful woman named Dawn Jackson whom she’d located via an online search only thirty minutes after being served divorce papers by her ex-husband, combatted Alice’s negative tone with a sunny smile. “Looks like fun, don’t you think?”
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  As usual, Dawn managed to radiate such genuine good cheer that, despite her anxiety, Alice couldn’t help but return her smile. “It looks…interesting.”

  “And fun.” Dawn clasped her hands together on her lap and established eye contact, a sign that she was trying to make a serious point. “Alice, we’ve been meeting once a week for almost a year now. Again and again, you’ve made it clear that you blame the lack of opportunities you had to interact with other kids during your so-called ‘non-childhood’ for the social anxiety you feel now. I know the idea of a summer camp for grown-ups is intimidating, but you’ve made real strides over the past few months, even if it doesn’t always feel that way. Camp Rewind is an opportunity to interact with your peers in an environment that’s not only ideal for making new friends, but which also happens to encompass exactly what you missed growing up. Sounds perfect, doesn’t it?”

  Alice studied a glossy photo of two women and a man standing next to one another at an archery range, arrows nocked, aiming at targets some distance away. Her stomach churned at the thought of subjecting herself to a week of unfamiliar activities with strange people. According to the brochure, in addition to archery, the camp offered volleyball, arts-and-crafts activities, horseback riding, swimming, boating, nighttime campfires, and what they called a “drunk field day.” “Bring your own booze?” She skimmed the rest of the text. “You know I’m not a drinker. I’m not going to become a drinker just to fit in.”

  “Drinking isn’t required.” Dawn’s tone, like always, remained calm and modulated in counterpoint to Alice’s rising anxiety. “It’s an option, since this is a getaway for adults, but I’m confident you wouldn’t be the only person to choose not to imbibe. Plenty of people will go simply to bask in the nostalgia, or perhaps to experience a piece of a childhood they never had. Like you.” She paused. “Believe me, I know how frightening this sounds. But doesn’t some part of you want to go?” She pointed at a photo of two women laughing and appearing full of joy while sitting side by side in a paddleboat. “Don’t you want this for yourself?”

  The image blurred as Alice’s eyes filled with tears, which spilled over and ran down her cheeks before she could force away the emotional maelstrom triggered by the pointed question. “Of course I do. I want to be happy. To have friends, a boyfriend, or…whatever. You know that.”

  “Yes, I do.” Dawn softened her voice. “I know, too, how scary it is to imagine putting yourself out there like I’m suggesting. But, darling, if you want to change your life, you’ve got to do the work.”

  “I understand that, really, but this feels like learning to swim by jumping into the Bering Sea.” Alice turned the brochure over in her hands before hurriedly passing it back to Dawn. She couldn’t possibly spend four days and three excruciating nights in the company of total strangers. What if everyone hated her? Or ignored her altogether? “Can’t I try something a little less intense at first? Like, an event that lasts only a few hours?”

  “You can do whatever you want.” Dawn set the brochure on the arm of her chair, still within Alice’s line of sight. “I certainly can’t force you into anything. You’re an adult. You make your own decisions. That said, I believe you’re ready for this. I really do.”

  Dawn’s words stirred up a whole lot of complex feelings, likely as intended. At thirty-six years old, Alice didn’t have all that much experience making decisions for herself. Her parents—particularly her mother—had dictated her entire life, including her daily schedule, until she was twenty-one years old. That was when her then-college boyfriend, now ex-husband, managed to secure her father’s blessing to propose marriage, freeing her from one prison to live in another. John, her ex, was a brilliant engineer, as well as a narcissist and control freak. Though she’d accompanied him to work and family events, and occasionally, in the beginning, out with friends, she’d spent most of her married life alone at home, isolated from the outside world. She read a lot. Tinkered with her own engineering pet projects. Fantasized about being a happier person, more normal, more socially adept. More loved.

  It wasn’t that John explicitly forbade her from having friends. He simply hadn’t cared to include his painfully shy wife in his plans, more often than not, and she felt too socially awkward to even attempt to meet people outside of work on her own. Now that they were divorced, the loneliness had become too much to bear. She was desperate for a social life, but her first few efforts had been near-to-complete disasters: one Internet date with an attractive firefighter who’d reacted to her obvious case of nerves by immediately losing interest, an evening at a social painting event where she’d frozen up and seemingly rebuffed a very nice woman who’d tried to engage her in small talk, and two meetings of a local book club where she’d failed to work up the courage to contribute beyond a mumbled introduction. That had been starting small, hadn’t it? Why would Camp Rewind be any different for a hopeless dork like her?

  “What are you thinking?” Dawn’s low, soothing voice interrupted her headfirst plummet into self-flagellation.

  The tears started to flow again, which only added to the immense shame Alice already felt. “I’ve already tried less-intense activities, haven’t I? And failed. I don’t know how to talk to people. I freeze up, stutter, lose my words…even mix them up or run them together, sometimes. So why would attending a summer camp that will not only force me to interact with a bunch of people I don’t know, but also sleep in their presence, work out better than what I’ve already attempted?”

  Dawn scooted to the edge of her chair and extended her hands. After a brief hesitation, Alice took them. Squeezing gently, Dawn murmured, “I can’t promise it will. What I can promise you is that this is exactly the sort of experience you feel would have benefited you as a child. Would have changed your life, I believe you said.”

  Alice had made that foolish statement two sessions ago. Now she wished she hadn’t. She’d been so certain, at the time. I guarantee that if my mother had let me spend even one summer at camp like a normal kid instead of locking me away in my bedroom to become the perfect student and musician—a daughter she could take pride in—I wouldn’t struggle so hard to make friends today. Just one week in the summer having fun with other kids my age…would have changed my entire life. Scowling, Alice realized that she couldn’t deny how much importance she’d arbitrarily placed on the notion of a traditional summer-camp experience. “I was being silly. A few days of arts and crafts and drunken three-legged races has never really changed anyone’s life.”

  Dawn clucked her tongue. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

  Alice allowed herself to imagine actually going, for a moment. “But what if…” To her absolute horror, the tears that had recently subsided threatened to return on the back of a single, humiliating thought. “What if I don’t make any friends?”

  Once again, Dawn squeezed her hands. “I have faith that you can and will. You’re intelligent, attractive, and quite funny, once you’re able to relax. There’s plenty for you to talk about and potentially connect with someone on: your robotics career, your garden, music, the trip you took to China last year to meet your father’s family for the first time.” After a moment of obvious hesitation, she added, “To be perfectly candid, I’m told there are usually plenty of opportunities for casual romance at camp, if you were interested in that sort of thing. I know you’re lonely, and you’ve said you’re curious about whether you could enjoy physical intimacy with someone who isn’t John. This could be a safe place to explore that area of your life as a single woman. If it’s a fling you’re after, I can’t imagine you won’t find a willing partner. Even if you are a little quiet in the beginning.” Dawn winked.

  “Yeah. Maybe I’ll meet someone who enjoys their women silent and frozen in fear,” Alice muttered. “Which, let’s admit, would be astoundingly creepy.”

  Dawn laughed and let go of Alice’s hands. “Oh, I have more faith in you than that. You’ve learned to talk to me, right? It took you only two sessions t
o find your voice. First day at camp, you look around, find the friendliest face there, and pretend you’re talking to me. Even if you don’t come out of the weekend with a real friendship, I highly doubt that anyone will be outright mean to you. It may be called Camp Rewind, but these are adult men and women we’re talking about. There might be one or two jerks in the crowd—there always is, right?—but I’m positive most everyone will play nice.”

  Alice swallowed against the boulder that had lodged in her throat. “I’ll probably be the only one who shows up alone.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure about that, either.” Dawn picked up the brochure, drawing Alice’s attention to the cover for the umpteenth time. Ideal for singles, couples, and platonic groups of nostalgia-seekers! “But even if you are the only one who shows up alone, many adults want to go to a camp like this to make new friends the way they did when they were young. The brochure talks about that at length. You’re not the only grown-up who hasn’t had recent practice in the art of meeting people. For many, it’s a real struggle to form new friendships after graduating from school.”

  Wasn’t that the truth? Alice’s last friendship, which had been admittedly superficial and largely based on the fact that she and Lin were the only two women in their class following a robotics engineering track, ended when she graduated from college and became John’s wife. Since then, she’d yearned for another female friend—a real one, like she read about in books or saw on television—but hadn’t any clue where to find someone like that. Was it possible Camp Rewind really could be the answer?