Page 39 of The Cabin

I walk up and poke him in the side just to be annoying. “So youdolike me.”

He rolls his eyes and lifts his shirt off over his head.

Wow. Amazing. All my thoughts have suddenly disappeared. Gone. In the blink of an eye. I’m staring. I know I’m staring. I just don’t know how tostopstaring.

“Looks like you likeme, lollipop.” His retort is made worse by him having to lean down to make eye contact. Very much a, ‘Hey, lady, my eyes are up here!’ moment.

“Don’t flatter yourself, I thought you had a bug on your stomach.”

He just shakes his head, laughing to himself, and starts untying his shoes. Whatever. I’m just going to sit on this nice rock over here, hang my feet over the water, and eat my sandwich in peace.

You know what would go great with this sandwich? An eight-pack. And eight-pack of…something. Hmmm.

“Is that your underwear?” I screech, shielding my eyes and choking a little. They’re so tight. Black short shorts. His butt. Omg.

“I couldn’t find my bathing suit. I don’t even know if I packed it.” Oh, he’s packingsomething.

“So, what? I just have to be subjected to this against my will?” I peek between my fingers and find him already waist deep in the water.

“Is it, though?” He cocks his head to the side. “Against your will?”

“Oh, put a sock in it.”

“Only if you do it for me.” His smirk is out of a movie. The best I can come up with is making fun of him by doing the ugliest imitation of his current expression.

“Mature.”

“They let me teach children.” My eyes widen and my eyebrows lift up in mock intrigue. “Can you believe that?”

“Less and less every day.” He’s out in the middle at this point and I’m unfortunately out of sandwich. “Are you coming in?”

“There’s probably alligators in there. No way.”

He swims up to my rock. “Get in, Sol.” Oh, fuck. Here we go.

“Grayson don’t even start –”

“In. Now.” Mentally, I’m screaming in frustration, but my body has betrayed me and is acting all breathless and demure for him.

I stand up and slip my shoes off, reaching for my shorts and sliding them down my legs. Well, I have to kind of peel them down my legs because I had to wear bike shorts so I didn’t get chub rub. “Okay, but don’t freaking watch me, creep.”

“I was already looking at you when you decided to take your pants off.”

“You ordered me into the water, what did you expect me to do?”

“Just get in already.”

Walking along the rocks to the muddy area where you can get in easier, I take my shirt off and put it on a nearby tree branch for later.

“What the fuck are you wearing?”

My head snaps up and I take a few steps into the water. “This, Grayson, is called a bathing suit.” I make my voice sound like I’m talking to a toddler. Also, can we just note it’s a miracle I even brought a bathing suit? T-shirts, leggings, and one random bathing suit. And the other day I found a red lace bra I didn’t even know I had at the very bottom of one of my bags. When I scooped my entire underwear and bra drawer into my luggage, it must’ve been wrapped up with something else. I don’t remember ever buying it, and I certainly don’t remember the last time I wore anything remotely like it.

“That is not a bathing suit.”

I put my hands on my hips. “Then why was it in the bathing suit section?” It wasn’t. I ordered it online years ago in one of my sad attempts to get Brian to notice me. Well, I guess I went to the bathing suit section on the website, so… that probably counts.

“Because it got put back in the wrong place.”

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