Logan comes closer. His fingers brush my hair back behind my ear before he leans in. His lips meet mine with the same quiet certainty. He’s become so confident with kissing since the other night. He’s firm, but gentle at the same time.
All of them surrounding me like this with kisses makes my head spin. Even though we’ve gotten used to this dynamic over the last week, where they take turns kissing me, I still can’t believe I’m this lucky.
Ford waits until I meet his eyes. He steps forward and rests his palm against my hip. His kiss is slow and heavier, and makes my knees weak. By the time he breaks it, my hand is fisted in the front of his tank top.
No part of me wants to stop right now. I could keep kissing all of them for hours. If I’m honest, I want to do more than that. There’s an urgency building inside me that wants me to go further. But it’s broad daylight out.
What if that’s too fast for them?
When he finally steps back, he grins at me and motions with his head toward the lake. “Let’s cool off, this heat wave is killer.”
We strip down to swimsuits. I toss my clothes under the oak. Wes dives first, barely making a splash. Jace cannonballs from the ridge, and Logan walks into the water to float in the shallows.
Ford offers me a grin.“Bet I can beat you to the deep spot.”
I roll my eyes but take off with a laugh and a shout.
The water jolts my system and the warmth building below my navel lessens to something I can ignore. The cold bites, but I swim hard, kicking past the shelf drop until we hit where it’s too deep to stand.
Ford beats me by a second and flashes another grin. He ducks under and uses his legs to splash me before he comes back up.“Beat you!”
I wipe the water from my face. “Only because your legs are twice as long as mine.”
The five of us swim until we’re breathless. Jace dunks me twice. I get him back by pulling his shorts halfway down. He doesn’t seem to care. Wes floats nearby, one arm under his head. Soon, I join Logan near the shallows, and we drift side by side. It feels so good to be in the water.
I close my eyes, enjoying this time with them. I can’t believe this time next week camp will be over. It’s gone so fast, I barely had time to hold on to it. My hand finds the pendant at my neck. It’s a nice weight against my chest. At least I’ll have something of them with me from now on.
Hopefully, this next year we can figure out ways to meet up. Since we’ll no longer be relying on our parents to drive us everywhere. I would take a two-hour bus ride if it means getting to spend time with them.
Eventually, my phone’s alarm goes off on the shore. I head back to turn it off. I look at them. “We should head back. Still gotta clean up and get dressed for the dance.”
They get out of the water and we dry off and get dressed. I’m excited about tonight. I can’t help but feel that something has shifted, that tonight may change things between us. Not only will we be on a date in front of the other campers, but we’ll probably come back to the clearing to stargaze after.
What if something more happens between us?I wouldn’t mind that.
I hold Jace’s hand as we walk back to camp. They drop me off at my cabin and we agree to have them pick me up in an hour and a half.
The second they’re out of sight, my stomach twists and I grimace as a tense pain grips the base of my skull. I rub the back of my neck, trying to get it to loosen as I open the cabin door. It’s probably from being out in the sun all day, and we didn’t drink much water.
Whitney Houston’sI Wanna Dance with Somebodyblasts through the cabin when I step inside. It doesn’t help my headache. I thought they would be into a different kind of music, like Nicki Minaj, but they look to be into it as they sing along.
The girls are already halfway through getting ready. I duck into the bathroom for a quick shower. The water’s lukewarm and doesn’t ease the heaviness in my muscles that’s returning after being gone most of the day. After a quick dry off and getting into my robe, I make my way back to my bunk.
I try to work my curls into something halfway decent. I’ve gotten better with taming them, but I still suck at styling them into anything that looks good.
My hands tremble. I drop the flower clip I’m trying to put in it more than once. I growl when my hair just looks like a bird’s nest at the back.
“You good, Fran?”
Marcy watches me from across the cabin. Her eyeliner’s halfway done, but her voice isn’t mocking, which is strange.
I start to wave her off. The last thing I need is a fight. They’ve been decent all summer and I don’t want that to end now. We mostly ignore each other. There haven’t been insults or whispers like prior summers.
Tasha nudges Brielle. They share a look. Tasha clears her throat. “Can we help you? We’re good with hair and makeup.”
Normally, I’d say no. But I can’t get the tightness out of my neck, and I don’t have the energy to fake that I’m fine.
Why am I so tired and achy all of the sudden?
