Daring the Bad Boy (Endless Summer)(8)

“What about you, Annie?” Caitie asked, her eyes sparkling as her gaze met mine. “What’s your superpower?”

What could I say? That I was a really great reader? That sounded lame, though it was the truth. I could read a book a day, even when I had to be at school and had homework. But that wasn’t really a skill. Nothing I did could be considered a skill. I wasn’t really part of any groups at school. I had nothing.

“Hey, chicas.”

My entire table forgot Caitie’s question when they set eyes on the boy who’d just stopped by our table. When I turned to see who it was, I sort of forgot, too.

Okay, my mind went completely blank, because the hottest boy I’d ever set eyes on stood just behind Kaycee, a sly smile curving his lips as he flipped his slightly shaggy golden-brown hair out of his eyes. “Hey, Kyle,” they all singsonged.

“What’s going on? Ready to watch Fozzie Bear make an ass out of himself tonight?” Kyle laughed and the girls giggled.

“I think it’s adorable, how he gets up on stage and humiliates himself by singing really awful songs,” Gwen said. “When I was eight I thought he was the coolest thing ever.”

“Me, too,” Presley agreed, her gaze glued to Kyle.

My gaze was glued to Kyle, too. I couldn’t help it. He was by far the handsomest boy I’d ever been this close to, like, ever.

“Yeah, well, I think he’s lame as hell.” He flicked his head again, and it almost felt like a practiced move, probably because he had to do it all the time. Why didn’t he just get a haircut? “We should all sit next to each other.”

“That would be awesome,” Caitie said, sounding cool, though I could see the excitement in her eyes as she looked at all of us real quick before she turned to face Kyle. “You guys should save us a spot.”

“Will do. See ya.” He waved and sauntered back to his table, where he proceeded to high-five every single boy sitting there.

“Oh. My. God.” Kaycee fanned herself. “Did he get hotter over the winter, or what?”

“Every summer it’s worse,” Bobbee said. “As in, he gets better-looking and it drives us all right out of our minds.”

The girls erupted in laughter, chiming in with their agreement.

“Who is he?” I couldn’t help but ask, earning curious looks from every girl at our table.

“Only the most popular boy at camp,” Presley said. “He’s been coming for second session for what feels like forever and I swear, he’s gone out with every single one of us at least once, right, girls?”

Gwen nodded, her lips twisting as she scanned all of us crowded around the rickety table. “Definitely, especially during our middle school years.” Her smirk grew. “Let me ask an important question. Who here at this table has kissed Kyle?”

Six hands shot into the air, with the exception of Kelsey and me.

I looked to my right to find a boy watching me. The dark-haired one everyone had been talking about earlier. The camp director’s nephew, Jacob. He was cute, too. Not classically handsome like Kyle, but he had that brooding, loner look going for him.

And that was sort of hot. I could see why the girls went on about him, too.

“What do you think of Kyle, Annie?” Bobbee asked, nudging me in the side to get my attention.

Way to put me on the spot. “Um, he’s all right.”

They all laughed, and for a fleeting moment, I thought they were laughing at me. But then I realized they were laughing at the absurdity of my words.

Because seriously, we all thought Kyle was better than all right. Did we want to necessarily admit that out loud?

Probably not.





Chapter Four


ANNIE

Four days into camp, and I’d come to some realizations.

Summer camp is just as clichéd as I wished it to be. And this wasn’t an insult, either. I liked the fact that the camp director was sort of odd and crazy yet lovable. That Nancy, the lady who ran the arts and crafts building, believed she was a hippie and wore flowing skirts and flowers in her hair. That all the boys checked out all the girls and the little kids ran circles around us every night no matter what we were trying to do, and that our bathroom looked like a girl bomb exploded inside and that our counselor Hannah left every night after lights-out so she could go hook up with Brian, one of the counselors for the teen boys’ cabins.

That last bit of gossip I’d just learned over breakfast. Presley told all of us as we ate eggs and bacon and hash browns. Well, some of us were eating fruit and yogurt—Gwen and Bobbee—because they didn’t want to start their day off with “nothing but fat and carbs ”—direct quote.

“She waits about fifteen or twenty minutes before she leaves,” Presley said, her eyes wide as she watched us, the knowing look on her face saying it all. “So last night I decided to follow her.”

“You did not,” Hailey practically squealed.

Presley shushed her, and Kaycee clapped her hand over Hailey’s mouth. “I did, too,” Presley said proudly. “She went to the dock and there was Brian waiting for her. They sat together on the edge, right over the lake, and when they started kissing, that’s when I practically fell into a bush. They heard me and I had to run away because I swear, Brian was standing up and ready to investigate. What if he’d found me?”