Daring the Bad Boy (Endless Summer)(56)

Her words practically broke my heart. “I know, Annie. Shit, just…be patient with me, okay? I’ll talk to my uncle, I swear.”

“You promise?” She dropped to the ground and stared up at me, her expression hopeful.

“I promise,” I said solemnly, though there were no guarantees my uncle would approve.

And that was my biggest fear.





Chapter Nineteen


ANNIE

“He’s a jerk,” Caitie said.

“Totally,” Kaycee added.

“You should dump him,” Presley suggested, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “That would show him.”

“Aw, I think maybe you should give him some more time? From everything you tell us, Annie, I think Jake’s really into you.” This was from Hailey, the hopeful romantic of the group.

“Please.” Bobbee rolled her eyes. She was our realist. “Keep making him suffer. Or realize that this is just a summer fling and enjoy it while it lasts. Either way, don’t give him all the power.”

“Why don’t you go talk to Fozzie?” Gwen suggested, the ever-so-logical one. The much-needed one in this cabin of crazy. “Tell him that you have real feelings for his nephew, and that you think Jake has feelings for you, too.”

Okay, that wasn’t a bad idea.

Gwen plopped down on the bed beside me and slung her arm around my shoulders. Everyone knew I was miserable after my talk with Jake. I was sitting on Kelsey’s bunk since she wasn’t around. I rarely saw her lately, and none of us had any idea what she was up to. She’d become the mystery girl. Everyone had all sorts of theories except for me.

I’d been too busy enjoying my many secret rendezvous with Jake—until they weren’t fun anymore and I started to get a complex.

“Do you really think Fozzie Bear would listen to me?” I asked Gwen.

She shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t see why not. He seems reasonable.”

“Unless he has that stupid megaphone in his hand. If he starts talking to you with that thing, you’re done for,” Caitie pointed out.

Everyone in the cabin started to giggle. Even me, and I so needed to lighten my mood right now.

“Let’s go sit outside and talk more about this,” Kaycee suggested, fanning herself. “It’s way too stuffy in here.”

It had become unbearably hot these last few days, and I wondered if that was affecting my mood. I guess I could blame it on the heat, though the one who really deserved the blame was Jake.

I knew he didn’t want his uncle to find out we were together, and I knew his reasoning behind it, too, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. I felt like he could never take our relationship seriously, if he couldn’t admit to anyone that we were together. And that hurt. Everything else about our relationship was perfect. Laughing with him, telling each other stories, comparing our likes and dislikes. Kissing him.

Lots and lots of kissing…

He was always so patient with me. And so sweet. I was the totally inept, inexperienced girlfriend and he never complained. Ever. He could. He probably should.

But he never did.

I was the one who finally had to put my foot down first. I was the one who asked questions and pushed him and put conditions on our relationship. And that probably wasn’t fair. Who was I to ask him to do all of this for me, when he had so much on the line at home?

Maybe I was the one who was in the wrong.

I followed everyone out onto the front porch, dumping a pile of wet towels onto the ground so I could sit in one of the chairs. The thin cushion was damp from the towels and I winced, feeling the water seep into my shorts.

It sucked. Pretty much like everything else in my life at the moment.

“Hannah is gonna get on us for not cleaning up after ourselves,” Hailey said.

We all glanced around the cluttered front porch. There were swimsuits and towels everywhere. Garbage. Flip-flops scattered all over the floor. I was pretty sure I saw a lacy black bra lying discarded under the chair Presley sat in and a pile of candy wrappers under Caitie’s chair.

Whoops. Those candy wrappers belonged to me.

“We’ll do it later,” Presley said with a little groan. “It’s too hot to move.”

“What am I going to do about Jake, you guys?” I nibbled on my thumbnail, bringing back that old bad habit with a vengeance. I was at a complete loss. I needed serious advice. “I’m so confused.”

“You already know how I feel,” Bobbee said, and Caitie and Presley nodded their agreement.

It was easy for Presley to agree. She had Kyle now. They were the most popular couple in camp. Not that I was jealous of her relationship with Kyle. I just wished I could walk around with my boyfriend without fear of him getting in trouble.

“I don’t know if I want to break up with him. I really like him,” I said miserably. “But I think we’re at a standstill.”

“You don’t want to sneak around, and he’s afraid to tell his uncle,” Gwen said. “I guess you have a choice. You can either talk to his uncle, or you can continue to sneak around and always feel like he’s hiding you for another reason. Eventually you’ll become paranoid, get angry, and then in a fit of rage, you’ll end it for good.”

I blinked at her. “Sounds like you have it all planned out.”