Daring the Bad Boy (Endless Summer)(23)

Life was so cruel.

And I was being oh so dramatic.

“Jake!” Kelsey whisper-hissed. She always acted like I should know who or what she was talking about. And when it came to Kelsey, I could never read her mind. “He’s working lifeguard duty so no one’s really around. Go ask him when he’s going to give you those lessons.”

“I can’t do that.” Ugh. If I could slap myself, I so would. That was the old Annie talking. The wimpy, I can’t handle talking to a boy alone Annie. I swore to myself I wasn’t that girl any longer, and I needed to prove it to myself.

“Just flash him your boobs,” Kelsey said with a laugh. “Boys love that sort of thing.”

She would say that, knowing it was the last thing I’d ever do. “That’s a terrible idea. I won’t flash Jacob—Jake my boobs.” I wouldn’t flash Kyle my boobs, either. I didn’t care if he was my dream crush.

“You act like it’s the end of the world, but it’s so not. We only just got here! We’ve barely been here a week! You have weeks left to prove to Kyle you’re the one for him. All you need are a couple of swim lessons so you can doggy-paddle or whatever. That way you’ll feel confident in the water,” Kelsey pointed out. We’d sort of turned our backs on the other girls so they weren’t listening to our conversation and we weren’t listening to theirs.

And I so wished I had Kelsey’s confidence that I could make it work with Kyle, but I didn’t. She did have a point, though. I could try to convince Jake to teach me a quick doggy paddle and be done with it. I couldn’t even manage to do that—doggy-paddle. I’m that bad of a swimmer. I just looked like I was flailing and near death. I’m a hopeless case.

I needed Jake to fix that.

“Just…go over there and show him what God gave you.” She checked me out, her eyes roving over me from head to toe, like she was some perverted guy. “You’re looking good right now, Annie. Don’t waste your time sitting here with us when you could be making conversation with the hotness that is Jacob Fazio.”

“Oh my God, keep your voice down,” I whispered, reaching out to grab her arm. I didn’t want any of the other girls to hear us talking about Jake or Kyle or my stupid plans. And it wasn’t Jake I wanted to talk to. It was Kyle.

Kyle, who was headed straight for us—right at this very moment.

I sprang to my feet, ignoring Kelsey, ignoring the other girls as I walked toward him, plastering a smile on my face, trying my best to calm my nerves. I didn’t think. I couldn’t. Thinking would get me twisted up over the tiny details and that was the last thing I needed.

Focus. You’ve got this.

He wore really ugly board shorts that he somehow could make look good, and he smirked as he stopped directly in front of me, his eyes shaded by sunglasses. I wished I wore some, too, so I could hide behind them. “Hey, new girl,” he drawled.

The nickname made me blush, like usual. I seriously hated my fair skin. “Hi, Kyle.”

“What are you up to?”

“Nothing much.” I shrugged, my brain scrambling to come up with something else. Anything else to keep the conversation going. But the second I got around him, I became tongue-tied. He stole all my words, all my rational thoughts, making me feel useless.

It was weird, how I could talk to Jake so easily yet I became mute around Kyle…

“You going to movie night?” he asked.

“Of course.” The girls already warned me movie night was code for covert hookups happening. It was dark, the counselors were lax, Fozzie usually wasn’t around. Stolen kisses were on the movie night agenda.

I wondered if Kyle was interested in sitting with me. I wondered if he’d—

“We’re sneaking out. Blake’s got a secret stash of alcohol.” Kyle grinned, looking pleased. “Want to come with?”

My mouth dropped open. Was he seriously asking me to sneak out with him tonight? To go drink alcohol? Why did he keep pushing it on me?

“Sure,” I said before I could second-guess myself and say something stupid. Like no.

“Great.” He tilted his head to the side, looking at the girls still sitting on the towel, I assumed. “Don’t tell your friends, though. Especially that Chelsea girl.”

“Her name’s Kelsey,” I corrected him, though he acted like he didn’t hear me. Or didn’t care. Probably both. “And why don’t you want me to tell them?”

“They have big mouths.” He stepped closer and lowered his voice, like he was about to share a big secret. “They’ll tell everyone, and we only have one bottle. But for you, new girl? I don’t mind sharing with you.”

Everything inside me went warm and tingly. He liked me. He must! “Okay,” I said softly. “I won’t tell.”

“Promise?”

I nodded. “I promise.”

“Cool. I’ll talk to you later. At the movie. We’re still in the planning stages.” He held out his fist, and I bumped mine against his. Now I felt like his bro or whatever. This guy totally sent mixed signals.

“Sounds good,” I said weakly, watching as he gave me a quick wave before he took off.

Kelsey was at my side in seconds. “What did he say?”

“I, um, I think he wants us to sit together tonight,” I lied, hoping like crazy she’d believe me.