Daring the Bad Boy (Endless Summer)(7)

I looked away, refocused on Lacey. I couldn’t let myself get interested in the blonde—a camper. No way. That was going against the rules, and Uncle Bob wouldn’t let me get away with shit.

“We should hang together tonight. Later. After the skit,” she said.

Huh. I wished we could go somewhere during the skit. The camp introductory night brought out the worst in my uncle, where he sang the cheesiest songs completely off-key and the counselors put together a special skit welcoming everyone to camp. I’d already seen it with the first session, and I really wasn’t in the mood to see it again. Though the kids seemed to love it. Luckily enough, I didn’t have to participate.

“Sounds good,” I said nonchalantly. “What time are you thinking?”

“I don’t know, after lights-out?” Lights-out was ten o’clock, but all the counselors were free once the kids fell asleep. Mostly. Sometimes the older campers sneaked out, too, though none of the counselors ever busted them. “Maybe around eleven?” She tilted her head to the side, her hair spilling over her shoulder, her gaze knowing. She was hot and she knew it, with her long dark hair and those equally dark eyes.

I should say no. Lacey looked like trouble. But I’d always had a thing for trouble, so I found myself saying, “Out by the volleyball court?” That was code for star-gazing, which was also code for making out.

Her smile grew and she nodded. “See you then.” With that, she turned and went back to her table.

“Nice,” Brian said once she was out of earshot. He jabbed me in the ribs with his elbow again. “Looks like someone’s getting laid tonight.”

“Don’t jump to conclusions.” I doubted I’d get laid. But there were plenty of other things we could do to pass the time.

And I was looking forward to doing each and every one of those things, too.

…

ANNIE

“Okay, it works like this.” Hannah smiled at Kelsey and me, as we were the ones sitting directly across from her. She was trying to show me the ropes, since this was my first time at camp, and Kelsey was just along for the ride. She’d glommed on to me like she had no other friends here, and I was starting to think that was true. The other girls in our cabin sat at the table with us, and while they seemed friendly enough, they had their own core group.

Leaving Kelsey and me on the outside looking in.

“Every day, I assign someone to be the one who goes and fetches our food for each meal. It’s a rotating schedule. Tonight, I’ll get everyone’s food. Tomorrow it’s someone else’s turn and so on. The schedule is on the bathroom wall in the cabin, so make sure and check it so you know when it’s your turn. Okay?” Hannah smiled at the both of us and we nodded. “I’ll be right back.”

“She’s really nice,” Kelsey said after Hannah left. “Way better than Lacey.”

“Who’s Lacey?” I didn’t want to be excluded from the rest of the table’s conversation, but the other girls were scooted close together, their heads bent as they gossiped about Jake, the same dark-haired boy they’d all gone on about earlier. I heard lots of giggling and exaggerated descriptions of his hotness, and I really wanted in on that conversation.

“The other counselor for our age group. There are two cabins full of sixteen-year-old girls. Lacey was my counselor last year, and she’s a total bitch.” Kelsey waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “Just be glad she’s not our counselor.”

Hannah came back to the table multiple times with our plates and food before we were all finally able to dig in. The other girls talked to us finally, Hailey being the most friendly, and we all had a good laugh over our names all ending with an “ee” sound—with the exception of Gwen. Not that it seemed to bother her. She was calm yet friendly, and she seemed to be unfazed by just about anything.

Once we started all chatting together as we ate spaghetti, I realized everyone in my group seemed to have a super talent. Kaycee was an excellent softball player who was on her way to a full scholarship in college. Hailey was an excellent singer. Presley was an actress and was big in the drama club at her high school—I noticed her flair for drama, so that was no surprise. Caitie played soccer, and Bobbee was a dancer. She and Gwen had been putting together a routine for the end-of-summer talent show for six years running, and they were already eager to come up with something new.

“What about you?” I asked Kelsey. “What do you like to do?”

Kelsey shrugged and pushed her empty tray away from her. “You’ll laugh.”

“No, we won’t,” Bobbee was quick to say. “We’re nice. I promise.”

The other girls laughed, and I winced. I hoped they weren’t laughing at Kelsey. That wouldn’t be nice. I wanted to like these girls, not feel like I ended up with a bunch of possible bullies.

“I’m on the debate team at school,” Kelsey admitted, wrinkling her nose.

“Well, that’s cool,” Hailey said. “I’m on the academic pentathlon team at my school. I have been since seventh grade.”

“Nerd,” Gwen murmured, making everyone giggle.

“So does this mean you’re really great at arguing?” Presley asked.

Kelsey nodded. “I could convince you to do just about anything if I set my mind to it.”