Page 94 of The Surprise

The night he almost hit me with his car.

It’s a stupid memory, but it makes me smile, anyway.

“Why are you so happy?” the good-looking jerk asks.

“Ethan,” I say. “He’s that guy.”

“The blond one?”

I nod.

“The one who’s dating that other girl?” The jerk cocks his eyebrow.

“Shut up,” I say. “Maybe they’re not.”

“Then stop being a chicken and turn on your phone,” he says. “Find out.”

I shake my head. “That’s dumb.”

“You could send her a photo, too,” he says. “You’re with someone else.”

That’s true. I’m notsopathetic that her dating Ethan would wreck me. I have options. I power my phone up, and Jackson presses his face against mine. To him, my dad’s not a villain. To him, my family’s not an embarrassment. In fact, our grandparents want us to date or something.

I snap a photo.

He snatches my phone and looks at it. “That’s not going to make anyone jealous.” He points. “You need to get the deck and the stars. Then they’ll realize we’re on a boat.” He stands up and heads out, and no one stops us. I’m not sure anyone even notices that we’re leaving.

I stumble after him, trying to grab my phone back. “It’s fine.”

“Come on.” He pulls me against the rail and snaps another one. Then he pokes my cheek. Again. And again.

I finally turn. “What?”

That’s when he kisses me.

“Hey.” I slap at his chest until he releases me.

“What?” He’s smiling. “That was nice. You’re not half bad.”

I finally succeed in getting my phone back. “Stop.” But it’s too late. He’s already texted someone a photo. It’s not like I have Hannah’s number, but when I squint with my bleary eyes, I realize she’s texted again. More stuff. He sent the photo in response to a string of texts she’s sent. At least it doesn’t look like it’s a photo of us kissing, but still. I’m about to unsend it when he yanks my phone back.

The photo was sent with the text: YOU’RE NOT THE ONLY ONE GETTING ACTION.

Ugh. “Hey.”

“What?”

“Don’t delete those photos.” He’s smiling. “You’ll be glad you sent that one later.”

“Why?”

He frowns, and then looks at my phone. A smile spreads across his face.

“Because check out what you just got in response.” He hands my phone back and taps on the front of it.

Now I can’tnotlook. Hannah sent me another photo. And in this one, she’s wearing abikini, and Ethan’s in the background, smiling. I drop my phone again.

This time, Jackson catches it. “Whoa, there. You’re dangerous, you know?”

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