Daring the Bad Boy (Endless Summer)(44)

“Don’t cry,” I said helplessly. It felt like she would never stop. I wasn’t used to crying girls, and I didn’t know how to deal or how to make her feel better. Her tears were breaking my heart, and I’d firmly believed I didn’t have one anymore after I lost my mom.

“I’m sorry,” she said with a sniff, lifting her head away from my shoulder so she could look up at me. Her arms were still around my neck, her fingers absently playing with the ends of my hair, and I lifted one shoulder, trying to ease the shivery feeling her touch was causing. “I didn’t mean to fall apart like that.”

“I think you pushed yourself too hard.” I’d helped with that, too, not that I wanted to admit it.

“Totally.” She sniffed and smiled up at me even through the tears. “You were kind of a jerk.”

“I was going for encouraging, but I don’t think it worked,” I admitted.

“It’s okay,” she said softly. “Really. I’m not mad. More like disappointed in myself.”

She dropped her arms from my neck, and I immediately felt empty. I slowly pushed away from her, and we both headed toward the shallow end, neither of us saying anything. My brain felt like a tornado had blown straight through it, twisting my thoughts into a confused, jumbled mess.

How did I feel about her? How did she feel about me? Crap, was she still hot for that stupid tool Kyle? I really didn’t think so, not anymore, though I still worried. Worried more that she thought of me as that annoying guy who owed her a few swim lessons.

I didn’t know. And I didn’t know how to ask her, either. I was just left questioning everything.

After tonight’s swim lesson, I was more confused than ever.





Chapter Fifteen


JAKE

“So come on, tell me the truth. You like the new girl, don’t you?” Brian asked conversationally as we were gathering wood for that night’s bonfire.

I stopped tossing a few logs into the wheelbarrow beside me, wiping the sweat off my forehead with my wrist, since my hands were covered with work gloves to prevent splinters from getting into my skin. “I’m pleading the fifth.”

“What? Get the hell out. Just admit it.” Brian tossed a bundle of kindling in his wheelbarrow and glanced around before he returned his gaze to me. “No one else is nearby. Your secret is safe with me.”

Should I trust him? We weren’t that close—not because we didn’t like each other, but because he chose to spend all of his free time with Hannah. I understood why, too. They were totally into each other. Hannah was cute and nice, and she seemed like fun. They made a good couple. I could even admit I was sort of envious of what they shared.

“Yeah,” I reluctantly admitted. “I like her. But I can’t do anything about it because of the rules. And my uncle really holds me to them, too.”

Brian made an irritated face. “Screw the rules, man. Everyone pairs up around here all the time, especially the junior counselors and the last-year campers. What are you, seventeen?”

I nodded and grabbed my water bottle, taking a long swig. It was hot as hell out here today, and we were doing manual labor under the blazing sun. I couldn’t wait to get back to the lake so I could jump in and cool off before I resumed lifeguard duty.

“And she’s gotta be what? Sixteen?”

“I’ve never asked her,” I said after I took another drink. Maybe I should. Crap, what if she was fifteen or…fourteen? Fourteen was practically a freakin’ baby.

“She’s with the last-year bunk, so she has to be sixteen. Don’t get your panties in a twist. She’s not some tween you’re fantasizing about.” Brian laughed and shook his head. “I mean, seriously, what’s the big deal if you two wanted to hang out? How’s that a crime? I’ll even let you in on my own secret.” He took a few steps closer, like he was going to share something particularly juicy. “Last year, Hannah and I hooked up.”

“So?”

“So I was a nineteen-year-old counselor who’d just finished with my freshman year of college and Hannah was sixteen and only done with her junior year in high school.” I raised my eyebrows and he laughed. “But who gives a shit? I thought she was cute, she was into me, so yeah. We started hanging out and I really got to know her. We liked each other. When the summer was over, we went our separate ways but still kept in contact, you know?”

“Really?”

He nodded, looking sheepish. “I went and saw her during part of winter break, just before Christmas. Stayed the week at her parents’ house and had to sleep in her older brother’s room, since he’d moved out the year before last. It was kind of weird. Her parents didn’t know what to think of us.”

“Wow, you two were really trying to make this work.” I was surprised. I never thought much of these camp relationships. Always figured they were brief flings before the summer was over.

“We’re in love,” he admitted. “She graduated from high school in June, and she’s going to UNC with me in the fall.”

“Seriously? Are you guys moving in together?” I asked.

“Nah, she’s living in the dorms while I’m off campus, but we’re definitely serious about each other.” Brian slipped off his work gloves and stretched his fingers out. “I’m just trying to tell you that if you really like this girl, don’t let that stupid rule get in the way. You’re only a year apart. It’s no big deal. You can either go your separate ways at the end of summer, or you can stay in contact and see if you could really make this work.”