Daring the Bad Boy (Endless Summer)(50)

“Maybe I’ll go ask Presley,” Kyle continued. “I haven’t kissed her since the summer we were eleven.”

“I think that’s a…good idea,” I said, trying my hardest not to laugh. If he was making his girlfriend choice based on the fact it had been a while since he kissed her, then maybe I dodged a bullet.

And that would also help distract her from her supposed crush on Jake…

I went to where the rest of the girls from my cabin were sitting. We’d lost a few to boys already, and I was sure we’d lose a few more before the night was over.

“What just happened with you and Kyle, Annie? Why aren’t you two sitting together? He didn’t say something stupid, did he?” Bobbee reached out and touched my arm. “Kyle’s such a jerk. Are you okay?”

The concern I saw in her eyes surprised me. I always thought Bobbee didn’t really like me. “I’m fine,” I reassured her. “Really. Kyle and I…we would never work.” I decided not to tell her that I was the one who rejected Kyle first.

“I agree.” Gwen was sitting on my other side and she leaned in, murmuring close to my ear. “You’re better off without him.”

I smiled at her. I knew she meant that in the most genuine way possible. “Thanks, Gwen.”

Fozzie Bear suddenly made his appearance, standing next to the roaring bonfire, his megaphone clutched in his hand. He flicked the power on and the thing squealed, making all of us cover our ears.

We all hated that thing as much as he loved it.

“Who’s ready to hear some spooky stories?”

A chorus of “me!” rose up into the air.

“Good, good! Sounds like we’re ready! So let’s get this party started!” he announced.

Perfect. I was ready to start, too. Maybe I wouldn’t sit with the boy of my choice tonight, but I was with my friends.

And that would be good enough.





Chapter Seventeen


ANNIE

“…and so the phone rang again, and the girl answered, yelling, ‘Please, I beg of you, stop calling!’” Nancy lifted her head from the giant, ragged book she held open in her lap, her desolate gaze scanning all of our rapt faces. “And the man said, ‘You still haven’t checked the children. You need to check the children!’”

Gwen clutched my arm, her nails digging into my skin. I had to give it to Nancy, she was really into her storytelling, and she was super creepy. She wore a long-sleeved black dress that covered her from neck to toe, and she wore a wig, the hair long, straight, and black as night.

“I’ve heard this one before,” Bobbee said, leaning over me to whisper at both Gwen and me. “So she’s going to call the cops and they say—”

“Ssh!” Gwen pressed her finger to her lips, glaring at Bobbee. “Don’t spoil it!”

I bent my head, trying to contain my laughter. I mean yeah, these stories were scary and Nancy was delivering them in an extra spooky way, but I’d heard most of them already. When I was younger I’d devour those stories and freak myself out. Then watch scary movies and freak myself out even more.

Lifting my head, I glanced around. I didn’t see too much kissing going on. Everyone was fully invested in Nancy’s storytelling, which was awesome.

I still hadn’t found Jake. Where had he gone? Why wasn’t he around? He was supposed to be in charge of maintaining the bonfire, but I only saw Brian standing near it, with Hannah by his side, of course.

Nancy had already moved on to another story and I hadn’t spotted Jake. Giving up, I watched Nancy get into it as she told the infamous story of the couple making out in a car parked in the middle of nowhere when the announcement sounds over the radio that a psycho just escaped the insane asylum—and he was easily identifiable, since his right hand was a hook.

I’d heard this one before, too. Nancy had a theme going on here—most of her stories had to do with teenage characters—specifically boyfriend/girlfriend types. Love was in the air everywhere, and I was feeling sort of left out.

Pushing my negative thoughts away, I focused fully on Nancy’s story, getting into it. She paused and looked around every few minutes, to make sure we were paying attention as the story crept closer to the terrifying ending. I pressed my lips together, noting that everyone sitting around me was deathly quiet, their bodies bent forward as if they were hanging on Nancy’s every word, and I found myself doing the same thing.

“…and when the girlfriend got out of the car, she slammed the door hard, a terrifying scream coming from her just afterward. The boyfriend put the car in park and climbed out of the driver’s seat, running around to the other side to see what was making his girlfriend scream and cry so hard.”

A pause. A beat. A collective sucked-in breath.

“There. Hanging from the passenger-side door handle, was…a…HOOK!”

A hand clamped down on my shoulder the exact moment Nancy yelled the last word, and I screamed. Screamed so loud that I made Bobbee and Gwen and Hailey all scream, too.

Everyone else started to laugh, and I clamped my hand over my mouth, whirling around to see who just scared the crap out of me.

Jake sat there, a sheepish grin on his face, though his eyes sparkled with amusement. “Sorry,” he murmured, barely able to contain his laughter.