Say You Still Love Me(66)

“It’s all over my pillow and in my bed, my sleeping bag. I’ve already had one shower. I’m going to need two more, probably.” He sighs heavily and shakes his head, but his easy smile tells me he’s not actually annoyed.

“So?” I glance back once, in time to return Izzy’s frantic wave before she scrambles into the backseat of her parents’ car. The parking lot is mostly empty of camper vehicles. “What now?”

“Let’s see . . . Darian will do a half-hour roundup to talk about the past week and then she’ll give counselor-of-the-week stars out.”

I feel my eyebrows rise. “Stars?”

“Every week, three counselors get a star. She’s got these big gold stickers”—he holds his hands out in front of him to mimic the size—“and she makes this elaborate production of having the winners tell everyone what they love most about being a camp counselor.”

“Oh God.” I cringe.

Kyle chuckles. “Wait until you hear some of the shit people come up with.”

“Have you gotten one before?”

“Yeah. Two, actually.”

“Really.”

“Probably not gonna get one this year, though.” He flashes me a sheepish smile. I sensed the relief pouring off him when Darian told him he could stay, even as Ashley was near tears for what this could mean for her college applications, should they see it.

I feel sorry for her, but we deserve it.

“What’s after the star award?” Counselors are supposed to get the afternoon and night off.

He shrugs. “Russell serves up lunch, and then we’ve got the rest of the day to do whatever we want. Most people catch up on sleep and try to get laundry done. If it’s nice out, they swim.” He glances up at the gray sky. Rain has been threatening all morning, but it hasn’t come to pass yet. It’s only a matter of time before the skies open up. “You wanna head into town later? Grab a burger or something?”

I smile. Is that code for our first “date”? “Yeah. Sounds good.”

Kyle rests an arm casually over my shoulder, in a way that could be explained away as simply friendly to any casual onlooker. “Before we’re on lockdown and we have to do this counselor thing all over again.”

I groan, though in truth there’s nowhere I’d rather be this summer than in this moment, with him.




I’m pretty sure I’ve never been in a car this old before.

Or one that has its side-view mirror duct-taped in place.

“Shotgun!” Eric charges for the passenger-side door of Kyle’s car, testing the handle. It’s locked.

“Nice try.” Kyle meets his best friend’s eyes.

Eric throws his head back in mock-dismay. “Fine. But do you know how uncomfortable your backseat is, bro?”

“Yeah, that’s why you’re sitting in it.” Kyle smirks, unlocking his door with his key and folding his seat forward for Ashley. She scrambles in, crawling over the passenger seat to pop a small knob on the other door, releasing the lock from the inside.

God, this is an old car.

“If I make out with him, do you think he’ll let me sit in front on the way back?” Eric mumbles, easing his tall body in, then fumbling with the seat’s latch to reset it for me. “It’s not working, Miller.”

“?’Cause you’re doin’ it wrong.” Kyle rounds the car. With one flick of his wrist, the passenger seat snaps back into place.

“Thanks.” I smile, his proximity stirring my blood.

“No problem.” He backs me up against his car, pressing his body into mine. I bite my bottom lip to hide the goofy smile threatening as I feel how much he wants me.

His heated gaze drifts down the plunging neckline of my emerald green tank top before lifting to settle on my mouth.

“You lovebirds wanna get excommunicated from Wawa? Because Darian wasn’t kidding around,” Eric warns.

“We’re not breaking any rules. Read the fine print. There aren’t any campers here,” Kyle throws back, his eyes lighting up with mischief. “If this is all I get for the week, I need to make the most of it.” He weaves his fingers through my hair and tugs gently, just enough to pull my head back and expose my neck. The kiss he sets just below my jawline sends shivers through my body.

“Come on, you can hump each other in town. I’m starvin’!” Eric complains.

Kyle sighs heavily, his lips shifting back to my mouth. “Can we drop them off in town and then leave?”

“It’s forty minutes to walk back, isn’t it?”

“They could do it in thirty, if they have to run in the rain.”

I burst out laughing. “You’re terrible.”

He grins. “Am I?”

I revel in the feel of Kyle’s lips as he deepens his kiss, his hands beginning to wander, one of them hooking the back of my thigh to pull my leg up around his hip, his fingertips skimming over my bare skin, his pelvis pressing harder against me. I can only imagine what tonight could bring, if we can find somewhere private to steal away. The very thought has my own hands wandering, sliding around his waist, pulling his body tighter against me, reveling in the feel of his soft cotton T-shirt as I imagine peeling it off him later.

The sounds of tires crunching on gravel sounds behind us, breaking us free.