Page 37 of Forever Wild
“No,” she admits. Then her hazel eyes flick to me. “You were right.”
I don’t remember what I said about him, but it pleases me to hear her say it anyway.
“I’m sorry.”
“No, you’re not.” She laughs.
“No, I’m not.” But for different reasons than she thinks.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Because you’re leaving at the end of the summer?”
“That and other reasons.” She sits taller. “What about you?”
“What about me?” I ask carefully, unsure what to make of the question. Does she mean…no, she can’t mean that.
“I’ve not seen a single woman traipsing in or out of your house.” She gets a contemplative look on her face then. “Actually, I don’t think I’ve seen you with anyone in a while. Dry spell?”
“I’m not exactly in any shape to date right now.”
“I wasn’t talking about dating.” She laughs again, but there’s a tightening in my groin that makes it hard to reciprocate.
I need to change the conversation.
“Briar Lake is a cool town. You’ll like it there.”
Whatever expression I expected to get out of her by bringing up her internship, the one she flashes me isn’t it.
“Yeah,” she says finally. “That’s what everyone tells me.”
“You haven’t been?”
“No, I have. A couple of times with Grace. Her parents have a place there, but we mostly stayed at their house or were out on the lake. I haven’t really seen the town.”
“You will,” I say. “It’s got a certain charm I think you’ll like.”
“Yeah, I’m sure I will.”
12
PLEASE DON’T
EVERLY
The next few days pass in a similar fashion. I show up at Jack’s after I’ve finished doing my house-sitting duties. He works out and I lie by the pool and try not to get caught staring at him.
I know that he sees me as Ty’s little sister, but in some ways that just makes me feel safer in my crush. There’s no way he would ever reciprocate so what’s the harm in checking him out?
Jack finishes up his workout and walks over to where I’m sitting on my lounge chair. He uncaps a bottle of water, takes a long drink nearly emptying the bottle, and then splashes the rest on me.
The cold water startles me as much as his playful behavior. One side of his mouth pulls up in a boyish grin.
“That feels nice. It might be time to get in and cool off again.”
“It is hot out today,” he says as he stares toward the pool.
“Do you ever get in?” I ask.
