Daring the Bad Boy (Endless Summer)(30)

I averted my gaze. Wow, this just felt way too personal. Or maybe I was just overreacting.

“Yeah. Go. Wanna meet tomorrow night? Same time, same place?”

“Do you?” I asked incredulously, turning to face him once more.

“Yeah.” He nodded. “The quicker we get this over with, the better, right?”

Ouch. Right. I needed to remember that he was doing this reluctantly. Not like he wanted to really help me or anything. “Right,” I said firmly, heading over to the lounger to grab my clothes. “Guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” he echoed after me.





Chapter Eleven


JAKE

“You made it! Glad you’re here, bro.” Kyle clapped me on the back, shooting a grin to all of his friends—most of them guys from his cabin—before he turned that giant smile on me, the bottle of schnapps clutched in his hand. He waved it at me. “Want some?”

I glanced around, hating how close my uncle’s office was. “I thought the plan was to sneak off first and then drink.” Drinking in the woods was much safer than drinking behind the arts and crafts building, for the love of God. Not that these idiots would realize that. From the way it appeared, they’d been passing the bottle around a while. “We’d be better off by the lake.”

We had no idea where Uncle Bob was. He could pop out of his office door at any time, though he was probably back at his cabin and already asleep.

Still. I didn’t want to take any chances. Not when everything was at stake. My uncle catches me and I’m headed straight to juvenile hall. No house arrest for me; the judge had made that clear. I needed to stay clean and not do anything stupid.

But I must be an idiot like the rest of these guys because here I was, not moving, ready to get my drink on.

“Nah, forget that plan. It’ll take too long to get to the woods, and there are a few people at the lake already. Bunch of snitches, too.” Kyle laughed, and so did the other guys. “Some of the girls from G7A and B are out there. We don’t need the aggravation.”

More like they didn’t want to share the schnapps. I wondered if Annie was out there. Or maybe she was going to hang out with us, though I doubted this was really her scene. “We get caught, we’re done for,” I reminded them, glancing over my shoulder at the main office. The light still shone where my uncle’s secretary worked, but I didn’t think she was still there. Though maybe she was. Hell, maybe he was, too. I couldn’t be sure.

“Stop being such a downer. We’re ready to get our party on right now.” Kyle brought the bottle to his lips and took a swig before Blake—the one who brought the booze in the first place—swiped the bottle from him. “Saw you chatting up the new girl earlier.”

Unease filled me. “Who are you talking about?”

“You know who. The new girl. Whatever her name is.” Kyle flicked his hair out of his eyes, a habit I found freaking annoying. “I can’t remember. I’m blaming the schnapps.” He cracked up, like what he said was so damn funny.

It wasn’t. I was irritated. He couldn’t even remember her name? She was totally hot for him, and he barely knew she existed. “Her name is Annie,” I said through my clenched teeth.

“Right. Annie.” Kyle snapped his fingers. “Annie, Amy, something like that.”

Jackass.

“Saw you two talking by the lake. Like, she was up in the tower with you.” Kyle tilted his head to the side, immediately reminding me of a dog. My dog looked at me like that when he was confused by whatever I was saying. And I’m pretty sure my dog was smarter than Kyle. “You two got something going on or what?”

“Who, me and Annie?” I laughed, but not too forcefully. I didn’t want to look like I was faking it—even though I was. “We’re just friends.”

“Gotcha.” Kyle flicked his hair out of his eyes again. “Good to know.”

No one said anything as we continued to pass the bottle around. I couldn’t speak, my mind twisted over the many things Kyle could want from Annie. The girl whose name he didn’t even know. He must like her. She liked him, so her wish would come true. She’d probably end up with Kyle this summer; they could have a cute little camp romance and then go their separate ways come August.

Just the thought left a sour feeling in my stomach.

“I invited Annie to join us tonight, though I’m starting to think she’s gonna chicken out.”

My entire body went stiff at the mention of her name. “So what’s going on with you two? You like her?” I asked, trying my best to keep my voice even. I shouldn’t be jealous. I had no reason to be jealous. I wasn’t interested in her, not like that.

“I guess.” Kyle shrugged. “Everyone else here is been there, done that, you know what I mean? I always approve of new blood.”

“What about the redhead, her friend?” Blake asked, passing the bottle to someone else. “She’s pretty new, too.”

“I don’t like redheads. They’re not my type.” Kyle’s mouth stretched into that stupid grin again. I could tell he was already feeling the alcohol, the lightweight. “I do like blondes, though. I like blondes a lot.”

I took the bottle that was passed to me and looked around before I took a quick drink. I freaking needed it after hearing Kyle talk about Annie and how he liked blondes. What the hell ever. I only planned on having a few drinks and then I was out of here. Couldn’t chance sticking around for too long. What if Uncle Bob came across us? I’d get sent home, no questions asked. My dad would be so pissed he wouldn’t bother sending me to juvie. He’d murder me in my sleep and it would be rest in peace, Jake.