Daring the Bad Boy (Endless Summer)(21)

I said nothing. Just peeled back the foil seal on my yogurt and dunked a plastic spoon in it, stirring it around.

“It’s not even true, that I have a crush on him.” Her voice shook a little. Meaning she was probably lying. “We’ve only been here barely a week. Not like I know him or anything.”

“That’s how crushes normally start,” I said conversationally, keeping my cool. Not even looking at her. I bet it was driving her nuts. “You see someone, think they’re hot, next thing you know, you’ve got a crush.” I scooped up the yogurt and took a bite, then made a face. It tasted like strawberry-flavored goo. If I were alone I’d spit it out, but I didn’t want to gross Annie out, so I reluctantly swallowed the shit down. Man, that was gross.

“Yeah, well, that’s not how mine started. I mean—I don’t even have a crush on him, so nothing started. No crush, nothing to talk about. Nothing to see here!” The last line I figured was a joke, but she wasn’t laughing, and neither was I.

I chanced a glance at her and saw her cheeks were bright red as usual, and the worry shining in her eyes was obvious. I should just put this girl out of her misery and let her off the hook.

But I’m sort of an *, and I enjoyed seeing her squirm. Just a little bit. So I remained silent.

When I still hadn’t said anything, she leaned across the table, the neck of her tank top slipping and offering me a glimpse of her—bright pink bra? Nice.

“It’s okay. I swear I won’t tell anyone.”

She sat up straighter, her lips curving into a pretty smile. “Thank—”

“Though I don’t know why you’re so worried about anyone finding out. From what I’ve heard, he’s been with pretty much every girl in your cabin,” I added.

The pretty smile fell, her eyes going dim. “Trust me, I know,” she mumbled, her disappointment visible.

I sort of hated that she was disappointed. And I was the one who disappointed her, even though it was with information regarding the tool, aka Kyle. Not like I did anything to her personally. “So I’d guess you have a solid chance with the guy.”

“I so don’t want to have this conversation right now, especially with you.”

Ouch. Whatever. “I get it.” I stood, my gaze locked on hers. “Just…don’t be so down on yourself when it comes to Kyle.”

She frowned. “Why do you say that?”

“Because maybe you have more to offer him than he deserves.”

Her eyes went wide and her mouth popped open. “What do you mean?” she asked, her voice soft, her head tilted to the side like what I just said confused the hell out of her.

But I didn’t answer.

I was already gone. Hightailing my ass out of there before I said something really stupid. Like that she was cute and she seemed smart and she could do so much better than Kyle. Not that I really knew her. Not that I knew anything about her. It was just a sense I had. She was definitely better than the tool.

She was probably better than me, too.





Chapter Eight


JAKE

After leaving Annie behind, I felt like a world-class jerk.

Know how when you’re in a crowded place and you see someone? Maybe even make eye contact with them and talk for a little while? Afterward, every time you walk around that same crowded place, you see them. Again. And again. Until it becomes this strange coincidence that doesn’t feel like a coincidence at all.

More like it was meant to be.

That was happening with Annie. Everywhere I looked, there she was. I stopped by to deliver boxes at the arts and crafts building, and boom, there was Annie sitting at a table, making a lanyard. I passed a cluster of trees not too far from the dining hall and there she was, sitting next to Kelsey, staring at me with hurt and confusion filling her eyes.

I looked away, feeling like an ass.

Afternoon activities were usually total chaos, so Dane and I always manned the lake. I sat in the lifeguard tower while Dane was on the ground, making sure everyone was properly using their paddles while in the canoes or kayaks and not smacking the crap out of each other. The younger boys loved nothing more than splashing the girls with their paddles until they were soaked, which always caused lots of screeching and out-of-control behavior.

Meaning one of us almost always had to be on canoe duty.

I’m sitting in the chair under the shade that kept the sun off me so I wouldn’t burn to a crisp, my sunglasses on, a whistle on a cord around my neck. Some of the older girls liked to mill around on the tiny beach near the lifeguard post, flashing one of us—usually Dane—flirtatious smiles and cleavage shots. I didn’t get as much potential boob action as Dane did, but I’d had my fair share. Pretty distracting when I’m supposed to be watching the water, but we really had no swimmers who would go too far out, so I was mostly in the clear.

I leaned forward and propped my elbows on my thighs, my gaze sharp as I scanned the lake. Some of the canoes were out now, and they were keeping the rowdy play to a minimum. Dane was still on the shore, helping load up the kayaks with kids, blowing his whistle every ten seconds to get the campers to pay attention to whatever he was saying. The weather was extra hot today, so it seemed everyone chose a water sport as their afternoon activity.

Never been more thankful to not have to work the ground. Usually lifeguard tower detail was boring. No one was drowning out here.