Say You Still Love Me(81)

I cringe. “You’re kidding.”

Kyle gives me a flat look. “I wish.”




The sun is minutes from dropping below the horizon when we pull into Wawa’s parking lot.

Eric groans as he climbs out of the backseat of Kyle’s car, capping it off with an exaggerated stretch, the grease-coated paper bag from Tony’s that holds a second peanut-butter-and-bacon burger dangling from his fingertips. “It’s a freaking ghost town around here,” he murmurs, surveying the silent campground. Several of the counselors have taken off for the night—either to go home or elsewhere, needing an escape from Wawa after three weeks straight. The rest are in hiding. Likely sleeping.

“I think Wade said he was going to start up a fire by the lake.” Ashley scoops her frizzy hair into a ponytail and secures it with an elastic.

“Good. Come on, Freckles.” Eric hooks an arm around her neck and leads her toward the gravel path that will take them to the beach. “Meet you guys there?”

Kyle’s eyes graze over mine. “Yeah. In a bit.”

“Oh, right. Shane’s gone tonight. Gotcha. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Eric tosses over his shoulder.

Meanwhile Ashley grins mischievously at me, giving me a thumbs-up sign.

My cheeks begin to burn. Great. Everyone will have heard about this by the morning.

“Don’t forget, you’re still on probation,” Kyle throws back.

Eric waves it away. “It’s Saturday! No curfew tonight!”

Kyle sighs, passing me the bag of snacks I picked up at the local grocery store at a fraction of the price of the canteen, before pulling me into his arms. “You need anything at your cabin first?”

“Nope.”

He leans down to set his forehead against mine. “So . . . you want to head to mine, then?” he asks softly.

It’s been a week of heated glances and teasing touches while in passing. A week of ten o’clock curfews and restless nights, anticipating tonight.

I smile. “Yes. Definitely.”




Kyle is quiet as he leads me to the boys’ cabins. The boys’ and girls’ sides are virtually identical—a cluster of ten small brown rectangular buildings set beneath a canopy of leggy evergreens and elm trees, with a separate shower and restroom off to one side.

By the time we reach the one marked “Seventeen” and he guides me inside, my stomach is a twisted mess of nerves.

“Same as yours, right?”

“Pretty much.” Musty air that’s ten degrees hotter than outside, low ceiling, six sets of bunk beds, ink-covered walls where campers have scribbled their name to memorialize their attendance, the tacky orange-and-brown floral curtains . . . Check, check, check. Except . . . My nose crinkles. “It smells like dirty, wet socks?”

“Believe me, it has smelled a lot worse.” Kyle chuckles, tugging the curtains back and sliding open both windows all the way. “Sorry, I should have done that before we left.”

I wander over to the only bed with a pillow and sleeping bag on it. The bag has been unzipped and stretched out to cover the thin, single mattress, the end dangling off to graze the worn wood floor. I gingerly take a seat on the edge, my hand smoothing over the soft blue-and-red flannel interior. “This is you?”

“That’s me,” he murmurs softly.

Our eyes meet and lock.

“You good?” he asks.

“Yeah, why?”

“Nothing. Just . . . you’ve been acting weird since that phone call with your dad.” Kyle kicks off his shoes. “Thought maybe you were worried about pissing him off.”

“No. I’m not. He doesn’t get to decide who I’m with.” I set my jaw stubbornly, as if the small act of defiance gives weight to my declaration.

Kyle opens his mouth to answer but decides against it, instead tugging his wallet out of his back pocket, to toss onto the floor below his pillow.

Does he have a condom in there, I wonder?

I didn’t even think to ask about getting one.

My heart begins to race with the thought of what we’re about to do.

Am I really ready for this? We’ve kissed, a lot. We’ve fooled around, a bit.

Branches snap just outside and then a moment later Colin’s face pops up in front of the window. “Hey, Miller, you comin’ out to—” He cuts off when he sees me sitting on the bed. “Oh. Never mind. See you guys later.” With that, he’s gone, whistling to himself.

Kyle shakes his head. “Would people leave us alone for just one night?”

“It’s hard being so popular.”

“It is.” He drags the curtain closed and smacks the light switch, throwing us into darkness, save for the safety nightlight that each cabin has near the door. “There. Hopefully they’ll think I’m already out.”

I can just make out his outline as he strolls over to take a seat next to me, the rustic wood frame giving nothing under our combined weight.

He grazes my cheek with the backs of his knuckles. “This night is all I’ve been able to think about, all week long.”

“Me, too,” I admit, shifting to pull my leg up so I’m facing him.

Only he’s already moving with me, guiding me backward. The next thing I know, I’m on my back and Kyle is lying next to me, pressed up against my side, his fingers trailing along my collarbone.