Page 101 of Class Clown

“How do you not know?” Meredith pushed.

“I’m not you, Meredith, I don’t inform guys of what we’ll be doing and how they’ll fall into place,” I joked.

Meredith huffed. “I’ll have you know Brooks is very happy and gets a vote in his life.”

“Well, Nico gets a vote too. So, I don’t know,” I replied.

“Do you hope to bring him with you at some point?” Hailey asked, kindly.

I nodded, feeling some of those tears sneak back into place behind my eyes. “Yeah, I really do.”

The door to Cole’s office opened, and I sat up in my chair to find Nico standing there. I knew he had other places to be. The sun was still up, and I could hear campers calling back and forth to each other, yet there he stood, his dark eyes taking me in, his ball cap missing.

“Hey, Bee,” he said gently.

“Is that him?” Meredith asked.

“Bee?” Aryn asked.

I nodded, and he stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. A couple more of those tears trickled loose and I swiped at them.

“Yeah, that’s what he calls me,” I whispered to them as he crossed to stand next to me.

“That’s adorable,” Hailey sighed.

“We told you he’s awesome,” Meredith stated. “You’ll love him, Hailey.”

“We should let you go,” Aryn joined in. “There’s some love in the mountains brewing.”

I giggled, my chin wobbling, and we all said our goodbyes. When I put my phone down, Nico reached out a hand, helping me to stand, and then pulled me close to his chest.

“Why the tears and the disappearing act?” he asked, rubbing a warm palm down my back.

“I had a really hard conversation with Kristy. I hurt her and Gina,” I replied shakily. “The whole camp is talking about it. I feel bad and didn’t want to cause more gossip.”

“Mmm. I wondered why I was getting so many looks at dinner.”

I laugh-sniffled. “You always get looks. You’re a hottie.”

He squeezed me close and nudged his nose against my temple. “The closest I ever come to giggling is when you say sweet things like that.”

A smile bloomed across my face. “I’m sorry to make things weird for you at camp. You’re the assistant director, and I know you like to maintain your dignity.”

“I’m glad you think I still have dignity, or worry about that kind of thing. A few tours with the Marines will humble a guy really fast. Camp gossip only bothers me because it’s making you cry.”

“I’m mostly crying because I’ve always been so popular and now I’m not,” I joked, with one last sniff.

He held me closer. “You’re still my beautiful prom queen.”

“Nico?”

“Hmmm?”

Nerves pounded in my chest as I wrapped my arms tighter around his waist and leaned close to whisper the truest thing I’d probably ever let past my lips. “Be careful with me. I’m pretty soft on the inside, and I think you’re getting farther in there than anyone has before.”

His head tipped, his lips replacing his nose along my hairline. “Same here.”

Chapter 24

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