In My Dreams I Hold a Knife(72)

Heather squealed, and we took off across the rest stop to where the cars were parked, the boys piling into Mint’s Range Rover, the girls into Heather’s convertible.

Heather revved her engine and tossed the gas-station owner a kiss.

“You kids are delinquents!” he yelled, waving his kerchief after us.

“We’re so sorry!” Caro said as Heather reversed and then roared forward, trailing Mint.

“No, we’re not,” Heather yelled with a backwards wave. “We improved it!”

We slid onto the highway, which in Myrtle Beach was a two-lane road running parallel to the coast. The sun was setting, casting a softer, golden light. With every break between the houses, I could see the ocean, waves tumbling. The salty wind whipped our hair.

In front of us, Jack leaned out the window of Mint’s car and whooped in victory. Heather whooped back.

“You’re insane,” I told her, spitting hair out of my mouth, where the wind had kicked it.

“It’s spring break. You know I love you dearly, Miss Straight-A’s-or-Hara-Kiri, but try loosening up for once in your life.”

Caro snorted at Heather’s words, turning in the passenger seat to grin at me. Her dark hair flew over her shoulders, streaming into the back seat.

“I’m not uptight,” I said. “I’m very loose.”

“Ha! That’s not what Mint told me.”

I glared at the back of Heather’s head.

“That’s it!” Caro squealed, pointing at the mansion on the corner.

“No way,” I breathed. “It’s huge.”

Heather whistled. “Well, thank you, Momma Minter.” She turned in her seat and winked at me. “Whatever you do, hold on to that one.”

Mint’s car slid smoothly into the driveway. Heather followed, sighing dramatically as she hand-cranked her convertible top. “God help me with this car. I need a new one, desperately.”

“It’s an Audi,” I said, popping my door open.

“Yeah, and like, four years old.”

I caught Caro’s eye. We both started laughing.

“What?” Heather asked. “What’s funny?”

Coop raced over to us. “Jess, you’re going to love this. There’s a deck in the back that looks right over the ocean.”

Frankie popped Mint’s trunk. “Why Jess and not me? I enjoy decks.”

“For sunsets,” Coop said, as if Frankie was an idiot. “So she can draw then.”

Mint swung his bag over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow. “You draw?”

“I don’t… It’s just a hobby,” I said.

Caro practically tripped over her own feet. “Remember she drew our entire float last year? The castle? It was so much work.”

“Gross—no one’s working on spring break,” Heather said. “Even hobbies.”

“I call dibs on the master.” Jack ran for the front door, then turned back with an impish grin. “Suck it, Mint. Rule of first possession!”

Mint’s face paled. “Oh no you do not.”

Frankie rolled his eyes. “For sure Jack became a history major so he can cite obscure old laws to get what he wants.”

“You can take turns in the master,” said Caro, the peace broker.

“Jack,” Heather admonished. “You know Mint and Jess need privacy. They’re sensitive flowers. Let them have it.”

My cheeks flamed. Sensitive, uptight Jessica Miller.

I looked at the ocean, vast and tumbling behind the house. “You know what? I’m going skinny-dipping.”

“You’re what?” Jack stopped his mad dash for the front door and turned, wide-eyed.

I yanked off my shirt and tossed it on the ground. “Naked. In the ocean.”

Around me, nothing but a circle of shocked faces.

“With the sharks?” Caro blurted.

“With the sharks and the whales and the fish.” I sprinted past the house toward the beach. There was no one around but us, so it wasn’t the most daring trick in the world, but still, I felt invincible as I ran. Not uptight—strong and brave and unstoppable. The early evening sun was magnificent over the water, creating a shining path that stretched over the waves, all the way to the horizon. I was half-convinced I could walk it, like a bridge.

I tore off my shorts, grinning over my shoulder. “You guys coming?”

Frankie whooped and charged forward. “Way to steal my move, Miller.”

“Last one in buys drinks tonight!” Heather yelled, ripping off her top and unhooking her bra.

“Ahhh!” I shrieked, covering my eyes as she ripped off her shorts. As usual, she had to be the most. Now, the most naked.

“I know this is an elaborate plan to see me naked again,” Frankie said, kicking off his shoes so they flew in opposite directions. “Even though you’re probably braced for it, I want to remind you: there is not, in fact, a whale in my pants. It’s just me.”

“Gross, Frankie!” Caro squealed, tugging on her necklace. She hadn’t taken off a stitch of clothing.

“Birthday suit, Rodriguez!” Heather took a running leap into the waves, now one hundred and ten percent naked.

“It’s okay—I’m going to skinny-dip in my clothes.” To her credit, Caro bounded after Heather into the waves.