Page 11 of If the Summer Lasted Forever
“Gia’s not coming,” Paige quickly adds.
Slowly, I nod, letting my hackles down. That’s the second time the girl has invaded my thoughts in just a few days. Now, don’t get me wrong—It’s not that I don’t like Gia…
Okay. It’s that I don’t like Gia.
And I know that’s wrong—I really do. But she made out with Thomas Wallert last year during a town picnic even though sheknewhe was dating me. You know what her excuse was? She thought I was home with a headache.
Because that makes it all better.
After that, Thomas and I broke things off. Which ended up working out better for me than Gia. You see, not even two weeks later, Thomas’s girlfriend from home—the one he forgot to mention he had—showed up and found them together. Better Gia than me, thank you very much.
“Why did you invite Jarrett?” I ask, more curious than anything else. Unlike his sister, Jarrett is nice. He’s also been in love with Paige since we were five. Though he was always on the short, scrawny side, he’s filled out in the last few years and shot up about six inches. He’s cute, but I’m not sure he’s flashy enough to catch Paige’s attention.
“Their cousin is visiting from Nebraska,” she answers, still avoiding my eyes. “I thought it would be fun to welcome him to Gray Jay.”
And it clicks. Jarrett didn’t attract Paige’s attention—his cousin did. And why not? There’s nothing Paige likes more than a summer boy.
“So, I’m there to keep Jarrett company while you flirt with his cousin? Why drag us along at all? You could have just asked him out.”
She laughs and takes my shoulders, giving me a lazy shake as she finally looks at me. “It’s okay to get out of here every once in a while.”
“You sound like my mom.” I roll my eyes and snatch the shorts and shirt from her hands. “All right. Let’s try this ‘fun’ you speak of.”
CHAPTER FIVE
The sun shines,warming the graying wooden boards of the floating dock. In contrast, the breeze picks up a chill as it blows over the lake and is downright cold by the time it reaches us. I rub my arms, trying to warm up, wondering how Paige talked me into changing.
She hops into her dad’s pontoon boat, impervious to the cold, and stashes a soft-sided, insulated picnic tote under a seat. Her legs are a warm caramel even though it’s so early in the year, and they are crazy long. Mine are white and covered in goosebumps.
The boys aren’t here yet, and if it weren’t for the fact that Paige rode here with me, and I don’t want to leave her stranded, I might go back to the campground.
“Don’t even think about it,” she says, not even bothering to look up from the seat in front of the wheel.
I smile because she knows me too well.
The engine rumbles to life. It’s a familiar sound—the sound of warm days spent lounging on the deck, soaking up the summer sun. Warmer days than today.
“I can’t believe your dad’s letting us take out his baby by ourselves.” I shift my weight between my feet, trying to keep warm by staying in constant motion.
“He knew Jarrett was coming with us.”
Jarrett’s that type—quiet, responsible. Parents love him, teachers love him…and girls like Paige don’t give him the time of day.
The boys show up several minutes later, wearing heavy sweatshirts and jeans. I give Paige a pointed look, and she laughs under her breath, easily reading my mind.
“Tanner, this is Lacey,” Paige says, commencing the mandatory introductions.
I give the flaxen-haired boy a wave. He’s tall and extremely cute. With his flirtatious eyes and dimpled smile, he looks more like Gia than Jarrett.
“Hey, Lacey,” he says, greeting me with an upward jerk of his chin that reminds me of a different boy…a boy that has started consuming more of my thoughts than he should.
Tanner joins Paige in the boat, leaving me on the dock with Jarrett.
“Are you cold?” Jarrett directs the question to me, though his eyes wander to Paige. He frowns as she sets her hand on Tanner’s arm. “You can have my sweatshirt if you want.”
Poor guy. He seems to understand the arrangement.
“Nah, I’ll warm up,” I assure him, though it’s bound to get colder when we’re cutting across the water, and I might soon regret the decision.
