What Happens Now(62)

Camden waited in the car while I ran into my house, then back out again five minutes later. When we got to the lake, the early birds had just arrived to stake out their spots. Mabel was writing the day’s ice cream offerings on her whiteboard. The place had that Heart of Summer feel, another day where all kinds of life would happen here and it seemed impossible that in six months’ time, the lake would be frozen and abandoned, the beach lost in a foot of snow.

Kendall and James were already there when we arrived. In our old spot. I looked at it and Kendall saw me look at it, then smiled at me.

“Brings back memories,” she said.

“Shhh,” I whispered as I leaned in to hug her. “Thou shalt not talk about last summer.”

Kendall nodded and I spread my blanket out next to her. She watched James rather suspiciously as he went over to talk to Eliza and Max.

“What’s the matter?” I asked.

“I’m befuddled.”

“How was it when he picked you up?”

“Really boring,” she sighed. “He came in. He met my mom. We drove away.”

“Did he open the car door for you first, or did he get in on his side, then do a lean-and-unlock?”

Kendall’s shoulders slumped. “He leaned and unlocked.”

“I wish you’d relax and stop trying to figure him out. You like him, you’re spending time with him. At the lake, no less! That should be enough for now. That’s plenty.”

“That’s easy for you to say, newly crowned Queen of the Fangirls. You’ve got your king.”

“Jamie told you about AlternateArt?”

“Yes.” She snaked the sss.

I opened my mouth to say what was destined to be another platitude, something from the repertoire of supportive-sounding but clinically empty best-friend-isms. But then Camden sat down next to me and wriggled out of his shirt. It was almost alarming to see him in a bathing suit now, his chest with the beads of sweat trailing down, his waist with the hint of fuzz in the middle. He hadn’t been shirtless that whole night at the Barn, yet here he was in all his uncharted territory. There went my kneecaps again.

Then James and Eliza and Max joined us. A cooler bag was opened, tortilla chips and iced tea passed around. We talked about plans for the SuperCon: what costume tweaks had to happen, what panels we should attend, who was going to drive. Eliza told a hilarious story about a cat she’d been pet-sitting for.

“I thought he had a piece of pink ribbon stuck to his back legs. So I tried to pick it off, but then realized the ribbon was not stuck to his back legs. It was coming out of his butt.”

We offered a collective ew.

“Did you pull it out?” asked Camden.

“Uh-uh. You’re not supposed to ever do that. In case you pull its intestines out or something. No, I watched that litter box like a hawk for two days. Then . . . voilà. It was enough ribbon to wrap a present!”

We all cracked up.

“Please don’t ever give me that present,” said Max.

Eliza laughed, then eyed him sharply. “See, Max. I laughed. Evidence of a sense of humor.”

Max opened his mouth to say something, but it seemed like he couldn’t decide what it was going to be. On instinct, I jumped in and told a similar story about Danielle eating a penny when she was four years old.

All of us here at the lake, being and sharing and enjoying. It was worth it, whatever consequences might happen as a result of me taking this day. I’d crossed over to something I didn’t know was there until it manifested.

After the snacks were gone and the good stories told, we quieted down. It felt natural, part of the expected lazy rhythm of summer. In this lull, I stood up and took a step down the beach, then turned back to Camden and motioned toward the water. Suddenly I was traveling across the sand, not even feeling the jagged pebbles that I usually stepped over, knowing Camden was following me. I did a running dive and heard him do the same. The water. Finally warm, finally that ideal temperature that almost feels bittersweet on your skin because it lasts such a short time. When I came up for air, I scanned the beach, then realized I was looking for Danielle. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been here without her, where I didn’t have to worry about her safety. To set a good example.

Now I swiveled around, looking for Camden. He was treading water a dozen feet away, waiting for me to notice him. He jerked his head toward the raft and I nodded back, then we started swimming.

I thought fleetingly of that day when he taught Dani how to dive, when I’d watched Eliza and Max doing exactly what I was doing now. It felt like eons ago.

Camden reached the raft first and when I climbed up, he was already sitting there casually, his knees drawn to his chest. I crawled to a spot across from him and folded my legs to my side. The sun was beginning to get intense and I could already feel the heat grow on my back.

“Alone at last,” he said, searching my face. Maybe he’d had those hunger pangs, too.

“Not really.”

“Close enough.”

He leaned in now and kissed me. Not quickly, not slowly. Just perfectly. I almost cried from the relief of it. We stayed connected for as long as we could, knowing there were surely people watching us.

When Camden pulled away, he sighed, then stretched out on his stomach. His elbows bent, his head sideways on his hands facing me. I lay down on my left side using my arm as a pillow and we stared at each other.