Everyone headed back to their cabins after the bonfire, drifting into quiet as the night settled over the retreat. Dawn arrived softly, the forest still wrapped in silence when Nathan slipped out for an early jog. By the time he returned, the sky had warmed into a pale gold glow. Celine was still asleep, curled peacefully on her side, unaware of the way the morning sun hit her hair like a soft halo.
Nathan decided not to wake her. He brewed coffee, cooked breakfast for two, and set the plates out neatly on the table. When Celine finally rushed out of her room—hair messy, eyes still sleepy—she almost gasped seeing him freshly showered, dressed, and calmly finishing a phone call while a full breakfast waited for her.
Nathan muted the call and asked gently, "Coffee?"
Her heart softened immediately. He poured it for her as she sat and she felt spoiled, cherished even, in a way she wasn't used to. When he leaned down and rubbed her shoulders lightly before stepping outside to finish his call, she told herself quietly that tomorrow she would wake up earlier and do all this for him.
She finished breakfast while staring out the wide cabin windows. The forest felt endless, calming. After cleaning up, she returned to her room and dressed in an oversized canvas utility jacket, a black cropped sports bra, black-and-white dolphin shorts, crew socks, sneakers, pigtails, and a camper hat. Cute, sporty, and somehow very her.
She stepped outside and found Nathan sitting on the back deck. Her excitement bubbled immediately. "Hey, I'm ready! And thank you for breakfast. I loved it. I'm really bummed I didn't get to do it for you, but tomorrow I will."
Nathan looked at her and paused—a long, warm pause. Her outfit highlighted her slim figure, her cheeks glowed pink, and her eyes were bright with morning energy. He smiled and stood. "Don't be sad. I just wake up way too early. I'm glad you liked it."
She told him Sadie and Toby wanted to meet them at the clubhouse soon, but they still had time, so she suggested they explore the trails. Nathan agreed immediately.
The walk was peaceful and playful—Celine kept jumping at tiny sounds, hiding behind Nathan like something dangerous lurked in every bush. He kept laughing, teasing her gently each time. They shared stories of the places they wanted to travel to, the lingering goals they still hadn't chased. When they reached the creek, they tried skipping rocks, though Celine's rocks mostly sank while Nathan pretended to be impressed anyway.
They eventually sat on a wooden bench overlooking the creek. The water shimmered beneath the sunlight, and the gentle trickling filled the silence. The conversation drifted toward family, and Celine noticed immediately how different Nathan became—more reserved, quieter, like there was a door he wasn't ready to open. She dropped the topic without pushing. She wanted him to feel safe, not cornered.
By the time they reached the clubhouse, everyone was already there, buzzing with excitement for the day's activities. The Brandts announced a full day of couple games, and everyone groaned and cheered at once.
The relay race started first. Nathan practically flew across the field, earning cheers from their team. When they won, Celine threw her arms around him, laughing, cheeks flushed with pride. Nathan pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, and everyone watching swooned. Dean saw it too—his jaw clenched so visibly Denise nudged him.
Next came the chaotic poster game—the one where couples danced around a large sheet of poster paper, which shrank every round. The chaos was hysterical. Sadie and Toby fell out first, Sadie shouting dramatically, "Redeem us, Celine!" Everyone roared with laughter.
As the rounds went on, it came down to Nathan and Celine versus the Brandts. When the poster shrank so small that balancing became impossible, Nathan instinctively swept Celine off the ground, trying to make them both fit as she shrieked and laughed in his arms. They lost anyway, and the entire place erupted in laughter that echoed across the property. The Brandts declared the losing couple would host a dinner party sometime soon. Celine hid her face from embarrassment while Nathan told her it couldn't be that bad.
Lunch was served inside, and Nathan insisted on getting Celine's food for her. Watching him walk away with a plate in hand made her chest warm. But while she grabbed drinks, Denise approached her with a bitter smirk.
"Nice play," she sneered. "So you think Dean is going to come running back because you found someone to act like your personal servant?"
Celine stared at her calmly, then smiled—not sweetly, but with a graceful kind of warning. "Thank you for the attention. But Nathan does things for me because he wants to. Because he loves me." Her voice softened dangerously. "If you weren't insecure, you wouldn't be so pressed."
Denise froze. Celine walked away first.
Nathan returned with her salad, and the guys immediately teased him.
"Dude, stop it. You're making us look bad."
Celine blushed.
Nathan laughed proudly and said, loud enough for everyone to hear, "What can I say? When I'm in love, I show it."
More teasing.
More swooning.
More blushing.
Dean looked humiliated.
The final game was the hand-guessing challenge. The girls stood in front of a long table where only the men's hands stuck out through a partition. Celine was trembling by the time it was her turn. She moved slowly, touching each hand gently, her breath shaky.
Nathan whispered behind the wall, as if she could hear him, "It's okay if you get it wrong."
Dean smirked, certain she would choose him. She had known him for years. How could she possibly know Nathan's hand better?
But Celine remembered everything—how Nathan's hand felt warm and smooth, the way he held her carefully, the faint mole on the back of his left hand near his pointer finger. She searched for it. Found it. Held it tightly.
Nathan let out a breath like something inside him just broke open.
People gasped.
Celine had chosen him without hesitation.
Not Dean.
Not even close.
When he stepped out from behind the wall, Nathan wrapped Celine in a tight hug and kissed her cheek twice, unable to hide the emotion rushing through him. She looked up shyly, glowing, as if she were the only person he had ever wanted.
Dean watched silently, looking like someone had ripped the ground out from under him.
Nathan held her just a little longer than he should have, his hand warm on her back, his voice low and full of something he couldn't hide even if he tried.
"She's unbelievable," he whispered.
And for the first time, he knew with absolute certainty—
she wasn't just part of the act anymore.
And he wasn't sure he ever wanted her to be.