Nick Scipio
Best Laid Plans
A Summer Camp Swingers Novel
Contents
Preface
Part I
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Part II
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Part III
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
About the Author
More Summer Camp Swingers
Also by Nick Scipio
Preface
Welcome to Camp!
If you’ve been here before, this book takes place in March 1984 and fits between Chapters 20–21 of Kinky Confessions (book 4 in the Summer Camp Swingers: Christy series). You can read them in order or not. I’ve tried to include enough details to make both storylines work independently.
This book is a revised and updated version of the one originally published in 2015. I rewrote a lot of the dialogue to reflect events in the main Summer Camp Swingers saga. I updated many of the existing scenes and wrote several new ones. I think the new version flows better, without a lot of the exposition that slowed down the first one.
Now, if you’re new to Camp, let me give you a quick tour.
Summer Camp Swingers is a coming-of-age story originally set in the late ’70s and early ’80s, the golden years after the sexual revolution but before AIDS changed everything.
Paul and his family spend their summers at a nudist camp, where he learns about sex, love, relationships, and more. Then he goes off to college, makes new friends, and learns how to be a grown-up.
The story unfolds over the course of 26 books in 5 series: Susan, Gina, Kendall, Wren, and Christy. You can find a complete list at the end of this book.
You can also visit Free Dessert Publishing for links to these and other books in the Summer Camp Swingers Universe.
In the meantime, please enjoy Best Laid Plans.
Nick Scipio
June 12, 2021
Part I
Chapter 1
Being a grown-up is a lot of work. My life since the first of the year had been full of classes, projects, homework, and studying. The days changed but the amount of work never did. My free time never lived up to its name, either. I had dozens of ways to fill it, and the weekends were worse. Christy and I managed a few ski trips, but I still seemed to be busy all the time, so I was looking forward to spring break and a well-deserved vacation.
I finished my last exam and straightened the papers on my desk. Then I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and did absolutely nothing. It felt good to relax and clear my mind, if only for a few minutes. But eventually I had to get going, so I slung my backpack over my shoulder and turned in the exam. I’d probably never see the professor again, but I told her I’d enjoyed the course. She thanked me and said to enjoy my break.
I walked outside and turned my face to the sun to soak up the warmth. The weather had been beautiful for the past week, which had made it hard to focus and study. The mornings were still cold, but the afternoons were balmy and clear. I rolled up my sleeves and strolled toward home.
The house was empty when I arrived. I’d taken Christy to the airport the day before, and Trip and Wren had gone that morning, before I’d left for my exam. They were headed to Florida for a week in her family’s condo on the beach. Christy and I had originally been supposed to fly down with them, but our plans had changed at the last minute. Instead, she’d flown to San Diego to see her best friend from high school, Brooke, while I was going to my parents’ house for a few days before I flew out to join her.
I still had a three-hour drive ahead of me, though, and needed to get moving if I didn’t want to hit Atlanta’s notorious rush hour traffic. It wasn’t Los Angeles, but it was bad enough. So I packed a suitcase and backpack, threw everything in the car, and hit the road.
I made it to my parents’ house without too much hassle. Inside, I dropped my things in the kitchen and ventured into the living room.
“Hi, I’m home! Mom? Dad? Erin?”
“I’m on the phone,” my mom called from the back.
I glanced into my old bedroom, now Erin’s. I’d given it to her for Christmas, and she’d made it her own with posters, awards, and other knickknacks. She was a bit of a neat freak, like me, but the room was unusually clean. I stuck my head into her old room next. Mom had turned it into a combination office and craft room. It was less tidy but just as empty. Finally, I reached the master bedroom at the end of the hall. My mother was sitting cross-legged on the bed. She was talking on the phone, although she smiled and waved hello when she saw me.
“Paul just got home,” she said into the cordless handset, “so I’d better go. Okay, I’ll tell him. I love you too. Have a nice dinner with the crew. Call me in the morning. Bye.” She pushed the button to hang up and collapsed the antenna. “Sorry about that,” she said. “Your dad had a reverse seniority trip, so he’s in Fort Wayne tonight. Shreveport tomorrow night.”
“Oh. That sucks. I mean, good for him and all, but I was looking forward to seeing him.”
“He’ll be home Friday. What time’re you leaving Saturday?”
“Nine in the morning. My flight leaves a little before eleven.” I could fly standby for free—a perk of being a pilot’s kid—but I tried to avoid stops and layovers, where I might get bumped by a paying passenger. I also had a dress code and code of conduct, so it wasn’t as carefree as most people thought.
Mom’s face fell, but she knew the realities of flying standby as well as I did.
“Sorry,” I said. “If I leave later I’ll have a couple of stops or a four-hour layover in Dallas. Not the worst place to spend a few hours, but still a thousand miles from anywhere I want to be.”
“I understand.”
I nodded toward the front of the house. “Where’s Erin? I thought she was staying home for spring break. Her car’s in the driveway, but she isn’t here.”
“She’s in Florida with Leah and friends.”
“Oh? She decide to spend some money after all?”
“No, your dad and I paid for it. She’s doing well in school and we’ve been getting along better, so…”
My eyebrows rose.
“We thought she deserved a vacation. It’s her senior year. She’s actually turning into a responsible adult. What can I say?” she added with a shrug. “Maybe we raised her right after all.”
“Yeah, after you made all those mistakes with me!” I laughed.
Mom rolled her eyes and stood. She wore a simple V-neck sweater and jeans, although she made them seem comfortable and attractive at the same time. She wasn’t a Playmate or anything, but she didn’t look forty-two either. And I privately admitted that she might’ve been the reason I was dating a blue-eyed blonde myself. Christy wasn’t a carbon copy, but they had enough in common to make me wonder about the old cliché that men marry women like their mothers.
“It’s great to see you,” she said as we hugged. Then she held me at arm’s length.
I couldn’t help but notice that her nipples were hard. They cast little shadows in the soft light from above, but I tried to ignore them.
“You look good,” she said.
“Thanks. You too.”
“You aren’t eating enough, though. Christy still doesn’t cook?”
“Don’t start, Mom. She cooks. Just not very often. Besides, we live with a semi-professional chef, so Wren does most of the cooking in the house.”