Daring the Bad Boy (Endless Summer)(34)

“Oh.” His expression switched. Now he was irritated. “No. He never has girlfriends.”

“Wait a minute. How do you know?” It’s not like Jake and Kyle were good friends. Yeah, they seemed friendly, but Jake had been at camp only a month longer than I had. How would he know much about Kyle?

“He told me so.” Jake looked away, a warm wind suddenly washing over us, making his hair flutter over his forehead. “I think our lesson is done for the night. Don’t you?”

“Um, okay. Sure.” I ignored the disappointment that filled me and made a mad dash for the ladder, climbing out of the pool as quickly as I could and grabbing a towel so I could wrap it around me. Jake remained in the water, drifting closer to the deep end, and I watched him, frowning when he still didn’t get out of the pool. “Aren’t you coming out?”

“I don’t think so. You go on, Annie. I’ll see you around.” He ducked under the water and began to swim in earnest. His arms sliced through the water, his legs kicking up a huge splash, and I watched him for a while, impressed with his speed, his pure determination seeming to propel him across the length of the pool and back.

He didn’t talk to me. So after waiting around for a few minutes, I reluctantly left the pool area and went in search of my friends. Trying to ignore the confusion over my feelings toward Jake that lingered.

But it was hard. He remained on my mind the rest of the night, even when I tried to go to sleep.

I was starting to think it wasn’t Kyle I liked at all.





Chapter Twelve


JAKE

I went in search of Annie, frustration filling me when I couldn’t find her anywhere. I needed to start my lifeguard tower shift in less than fifteen minutes and I had no freaking clue where she was.

Luckily enough, I ran into some of the girls who were in her cabin out by the volleyball court.

“Hey!” I shouted at them, crooking my finger when they all turned to look at me, their brows lowered in puzzlement. “Come here.”

They bounded over to where I stood, all four of them like they were a pack or a herd or something. I had no idea what their names were, not that it really mattered. “What’s going on?” one of them asked.

I could see the curiosity blazing in their eyes. I was opening myself up to all sorts of questions—and rumors—by talking to them. But I had no choice. “I’m hoping maybe one of you, uh, knows where Annie is?”

They all turned to each other, matching smirks on their faces before another one of them said, “She’s in the arts and crafts building.”

Relief flooding me, I took off, yelling a thanks over my shoulder as I did so. I could hear them laughing behind me, but I didn’t care. I needed to talk to Annie, and it couldn’t wait much longer.

I’d sort of avoided her the past two days, which wasn’t cool. But that last night together in the pool, the more we talked, the madder I got. Worse, I’d felt jealous over her constant questions about Kyle. I knew she liked him. Hell, I lured her into the pool with promises of information on Kyle. And then when I had to give up the goods, see that dreamy look glaze her eyes every time she said his name, I don’t know. It made me…angry.

Jealous, too. And I never felt jealous. It was hard for me to admit even to myself that I was jealous of Kyle. The guy was a selfish idiot. He didn’t care about anyone else, especially Annie. He didn’t even remember her name.

That tool wasn’t worth the ground she freaking walked on.

Not that I could tell her, or do anything about it. Not that I could say to her that I liked her. I couldn’t like her. She was off-limits.

Forbidden.

At one point late last night when I couldn’t sleep, I wondered if that made her even more attractive, the forbidden part. And how totally messed up that was. Could it be true? Was I proving the point that we want what we can’t have?

I wasn’t sure.

Despite my wariness, and my avoiding her, I missed her. A lot. I wanted to continue giving her those stupid swimming lessons. I wanted to make her smile and encourage her to keep going and see the flush of pleasure sweep across her cheeks when I told her she did a good job. Seeing her so happy did something to my chest that made it feel tight, like I could hardly breathe.

Truth? My reaction to her made me uncomfortable. I wasn’t used to feeling like this, like I wanted something—someone—I couldn’t have. I’d been angry and sad before, when I lost my mom and wanted her back so damn bad. I was pissed at everyone and for a while there, it felt like my world was coming to an end. But eventually I moved on because I had to. Life didn’t let you stop no matter how hard you tried to make it slow down. I realized that quickly.

The death of my mother was the only thing I could relate to my confusing feelings for Annie, which messed with my head even more. How could losing my mom compare to losing any and all potential contact with Annie? I knew I wasn’t in love with her—how could I be? I barely knew her. But maybe she was the first girl who’d entered my life that could possibly matter.

And I didn’t know what to do with that.

“Relationships can cause problems, especially if you’re in a position of authority,” Uncle Bob had advised me when I first arrived. “If you want to…date a counselor, I have no problem with that as long as it doesn’t affect your ability to work. Though honestly, I’d discourage you from getting yourself involved in any sort of relationship with a counselor. You need to keep your head on straight this summer and not get into trouble. That’s why I need to tell you up front—if you’re interested in a camper, it can’t happen, Jake. They’re taboo. And don’t you forget it.”