Daring the Bad Boy (Endless Summer)(22)

Except possibly Annie.

I knew she wasn’t at the lake, since I hadn’t seen her. Not that I was really looking, but I figured she’d just pop up anyway. I grabbed the binoculars and once more scanned the area, totally not looking for Annie. I moved beyond the lake, checking out the rest of the grounds.

Yep, there she was. Sitting in front of the arts and crafts building on a bright pink beach towel, talking with the group of girls from her cabin. They were all chatting animatedly, I could tell even from this distance, and I knew that most of the girls in G7A were one-half of the popular clique that lorded over the camp like a bunch of queen bees.

They were awful.

Lacey was the cabin counselor for G7B and those girls were even worse—just like Lacey. She was the ultimate queen bee, yet I’d had no problem hanging out with her.

What sort of guy did that make me?

A guy who learned his lesson and now wanted to steer clear, that’s who.

Tearing my gaze away from Annie and her little group of friends, I did another scan of the lake. The boys were splashing the girls with their paddles, but it was harmless stuff. The kayaks were headed out, one at a time, Dane yelling commands and blowing his whistle like a crazy man.

Shit. This was really boring.

I grabbed my baseball cap and slipped it on backward, setting the binoculars to the side before I leaned back in my chair, grabbing the book I’d brought with me. Not that I’m a secret reader or anything, but what else was I going to do while I sat up here for two hours and Dane has everything under control on the ground?

At least it was a gorgeous day. The sky was this bright, almost fake-looking blue, dotted with puffy white clouds. The slightest breeze would waft past not often enough, swaying the big pines that surrounded the camp and rattling the leaves in the poplar trees that were everywhere.

I’d never been up here in the fall, but I’d bet it looked pretty damn magical. Not that I was a big fan of fall leaves or anything. Seriously, who cared about that shit? They all just eventually fell off, only to sprout back up again. The circle of life and all that crap.

I’m like the Lion King over here.

“You’re a moron.”

I glanced down to see Kyle standing at the base of the lifeguard tower, classic Ray-Bans covering his eyes and wearing the ugliest, brightest Hawaiian-print swim trunks I’d ever seen. I stashed my book so he wouldn’t see it, wishing I didn’t care if he did.

“Thanks. Nice shorts.” I flicked my chin at him and he smiled.

“They’re f*cking awful. Thanks for noticing.” Kyle glanced around, like he was making sure no one was nearby before he said, “We’re thinking of sneaking off during movie night. Wanna go with us?”

I inwardly groaned. Was this a conspiracy or what? They all wanted me to sneak off. “Where to?”

“Not sure yet. Blake somehow snuck a bottle of peppermint schnapps in his bag.” Kyle’s brows waggled above his sunglasses. “Contraband, baby.”

“Peppermint schnapps?” If someone were to smuggle in booze to camp, that was the worst crap you could bring. “That stuff is awful.”

Kyle shrugged. “It’s all we got. Take it or leave it.”

I’d rather leave it, but I didn’t want to say yes or no yet. What if…Annie would be there? I couldn’t imagine her wanting to drink smuggled-in schnapps, but maybe she would. “Where are you guys meeting?”

“We’ll talk at movie night. I’ll have more details then.” He grinned, looking pleased with himself. “Catch ya later.”

I watched him go, then slumped against my seat again, wishing he’d stay longer. Talking to a tool was better than having no one to talk to at all. I looked over at my book, but I wasn’t in the mood to read. I crossed my arms in front of my chest, which was damp from sweat and my sunscreen melting off. I needed to coat myself with some more soon.

My eyelids felt heavy, and I startled when my head fell forward, then jerked back. Crap, I was falling asleep. I grabbed my water bottle and took a swig. Stood on the tiny platform in front of the chair and stretched my arms above my head. Hating how wobbly this thing was when all I did was stand.

I was tired. Last night’s adventures didn’t allow for much sleep, especially since my mind had been full of thoughts of Annie, and I could really go for some right now. But I knew that wasn’t happening.

No way, no how.

…

ANNIE

“You should go talk to him,” Kelsey said as we sat on the giant pink beach towel and chatted with the other girls from our cabin. They included us in their conversation, but they were clearly talking about something we really didn’t have much knowledge about. They didn’t bring up last night or Kyle, not even once, thank God.

I was tired of talking about it, so I was fine with that.

“Go talk to who?” I plucked at the grass, pulling it out of the ground one blade at a time. It was thin and sharp, could probably cut my skin if I didn’t watch out, but I was feeling reckless. A little hopeless. A lot confused. I didn’t know why Jake said those things to me earlier. He didn’t give me a chance to ask him, either, taking off without even a good-bye. Every time I saw him around today, which felt like all the time, he’d send me a guilty look before turning away.

I didn’t get it. Worse, we never even talked about our swimming lesson plans, which meant I should go find him and ask when we might start. My grand summer camp plans were slipping away from me minute by minute, all because I lacked a certain skill. I would be forever banned to dry land while Kyle was either in the pool or at the lake. He spent most of his time by the water.