Daring the Bad Boy

by Monica Murphy

  He didn’t even acknowledge the girls’ existence with a good-bye.

  “So tell me the truth,” I said the moment Kyle was out of earshot. “You have a thing for Kyle.”

  “Oh, I don’t like him at all.” Kelsey rested her hand on her chest like she was shocked by what I said. “That would be An—”

  Annie clamped her hand over her friend’s mouth, muffling whatever else she was about to say. “Don’t listen to her. She has no idea what she’s talking about.” The glare Annie sent her friend was murderous.

  “It’s okay if you like the guy.” I leaned across the table, my smile easy, my mind trying to come up with something that I could blackmail her with right back. I think I just found it. “I’m sure he’d love to know all the juicy details.”

  She turned her murderous glare on me. Was it okay to admit that I thought she was kind of hot with the furious expression, lack of makeup, and messy blond bun on top of her head? Upon first glance she looked as harmless as a fluffy kitten.

  But those eyes…yeah. They were seriously pissed.

  Seriously pretty.

  And I had no business thinking like that. Campers were off-limits.

  “Hey Kels, would you be a dear and leave Jacob and me alone for a few minutes?” Annie asked sweetly, all fluffy kitten-like.

  “Um. Sure.” Kelsey made her escape in seconds. I think angry Annie scared the crap out of her.

  The moment we were alone, Annie’s smile faded and she parted her lips, ready to attack, but I spoke first.

  “You don’t have to call me Jacob.”

  Her lips snapped back together. “Huh?”

  “You called me Jacob. You keep calling me Jacob.”

  “Isn’t that your name?”

  “Well, yeah.” I shrugged. “But everyone calls me Jake.”

  “Oookay.” She dragged the word out, then shook her head, making a little face. “That’s not the point. The point is I need you to never, ever repeat anything about me having a crush on Kyle to anyone.” She paused. “Especially Kyle.”

  I said nothing. Just peeled back the foil seal on my yogurt and dunked a plastic spoon in it, stirring it around.

  “It’s not even true, that I have a crush on him.” Her voice shook a little. Meaning she was probably lying. “We’ve only been here barely a week. Not like I know him or anything.”

  “That’s how crushes normally start,” I said conversationally, keeping my cool. Not even looking at her. I bet it was driving her nuts. “You see someone, think they’re hot, next thing you know, you’ve got a crush.” I scooped up the yogurt and took a bite, then made a face. It tasted like strawberry-flavored goo. If I were alone I’d spit it out, but I didn’t want to gross Annie out, so I reluctantly swallowed the shit down. Man, that was gross.

  “Yeah, well, that’s not how mine started. I mean—I don’t even have a crush on him, so nothing started. No crush, nothing to talk about. Nothing to see here!” The last line I figured was a joke, but she wasn’t laughing, and neither was I.

  I chanced a glance at her and saw her cheeks were bright red as usual, and the worry shining in her eyes was obvious. I should just put this girl out of her misery and let her off the hook.

  But I’m sort of an asshole, and I enjoyed seeing her squirm. Just a little bit. So I remained silent.

  When I still hadn’t said anything, she leaned across the table, the neck of her tank top slipping and offering me a glimpse of her—bright pink bra? Nice.

  “It’s okay. I swear I won’t tell anyone.”

  She sat up straighter, her lips curving into a pretty smile. “Thank—”

  “Though I don’t know why you’re so worried about anyone finding out. From what I’ve heard, he’s been with pretty much every girl in your cabin,” I added.

  The pretty smile fell, her eyes going dim. “Trust me, I know,” she mumbled, her disappointment visible.

  I sort of hated that she was disappointed. And I was the one who disappointed her, even though it was with information regarding the tool, aka Kyle. Not like I did anything to her personally. “So I’d guess you have a solid chance with the guy.”

  “I so don’t want to have this conversation right now, especially with you.”

  Ouch. Whatever. “I get it.” I stood, my gaze locked on hers. “Just…don’t be so down on yourself when it comes to Kyle.”

  She frowned. “Why do you say that?”

  “Because maybe you have more to offer him than he deserves.”

  Her eyes went wide and her mouth popped open. “What do you mean?” she asked, her voice soft, her head tilted to the side like what I just said confused the hell out of her.

  But I didn’t answer.

  I was already gone. Hightailing my ass out of there before I said something really stupid. Like that she was cute and she seemed smart and she could do so much better than Kyle. Not that I really knew her. Not that I knew anything about her. It was just a sense I had. She was definitely better than the tool.

  She was probably better than me, too.

  Chapter Eight

  JAKE

  After leaving Annie behind, I felt like a world-class jerk.

  Know how when you’re in a crowded place and you see someone? Maybe even make eye contact with them and talk for a little while? Afterward, every time you walk around that same crowded place, you see them. Again. And again. Until it becomes this strange coincidence that doesn’t feel like a coincidence at all.

  More like it was meant to be.

  That was happening with Annie. Everywhere I looked, there she was. I stopped by to deliver boxes at the arts and crafts building, and boom, there was Annie sitting at a table, making a lanyard. I passed a cluster of trees not too far from the dining hall and there she was, sitting next to Kelsey, staring at me with hurt and confusion filling her eyes.

  I looked away, feeling like an ass.

  Afternoon activities were usually total chaos, so Dane and I always manned the lake. I sat in the lifeguard tower while Dane was on the ground, making sure everyone was properly using their paddles while in the canoes or kayaks and not smacking the crap out of each other. The younger boys loved nothing more than splashing the girls with their paddles until they were soaked, which always caused lots of screeching and out-of-control behavior.

  Meaning one of us almost always had to be on canoe duty.

  I’m sitting in the chair under the shade that kept the sun off me so I wouldn’t burn to a crisp, my sunglasses on, a whistle on a cord around my neck. Some of the older girls liked to mill around on the tiny beach near the lifeguard post, flashing one of us—usually Dane—flirtatious smiles and cleavage shots. I didn’t get as much potential boob action as Dane did, but I’d had my fair share. Pretty distracting when I’m supposed to be watching the water, but we really had no swimmers who would go too far out, so I was mostly in the clear.

  I leaned forward and propped my elbows on my thighs, my gaze sharp as I scanned the lake. Some of the canoes were out now, and they were keeping the rowdy play to a minimum. Dane was still on the shore, helping load up the kayaks with kids, blowing his whistle every ten seconds to get the campers to pay attention to whatever he was saying. The weather was extra hot today, so it seemed everyone chose a water sport as their afternoon activity.

  Never been more thankful to not have to work the ground. Usually lifeguard tower detail was boring. No one was drowning out here.

  Except possibly Annie.

  I knew she wasn’t at the lake, since I hadn’t seen her. Not that I was really looking, but I figured she’d just pop up anyway. I grabbed the binoculars and once more scanned the area, totally not looking for Annie. I moved beyond the lake, checking out the rest of the grounds.

  Yep, there she was. Sitting in front of the arts and crafts building on a bright pink beach towel, talking with the group of girls from her cabin. They were all chatting animatedly, I could tell even from this distance, and I knew that most of the girls in G7A were one-half of the
popular clique that lorded over the camp like a bunch of queen bees.

  They were awful.

  Lacey was the cabin counselor for G7B and those girls were even worse—just like Lacey. She was the ultimate queen bee, yet I’d had no problem hanging out with her.

  What sort of guy did that make me?

  A guy who learned his lesson and now wanted to steer clear, that’s who.

  Tearing my gaze away from Annie and her little group of friends, I did another scan of the lake. The boys were splashing the girls with their paddles, but it was harmless stuff. The kayaks were headed out, one at a time, Dane yelling commands and blowing his whistle like a crazy man.

  Shit. This was really boring.

  I grabbed my baseball cap and slipped it on backward, setting the binoculars to the side before I leaned back in my chair, grabbing the book I’d brought with me. Not that I’m a secret reader or anything, but what else was I going to do while I sat up here for two hours and Dane has everything under control on the ground?

  At least it was a gorgeous day. The sky was this bright, almost fake-looking blue, dotted with puffy white clouds. The slightest breeze would waft past not often enough, swaying the big pines that surrounded the camp and rattling the leaves in the poplar trees that were everywhere.

  I’d never been up here in the fall, but I’d bet it looked pretty damn magical. Not that I was a big fan of fall leaves or anything. Seriously, who cared about that shit? They all just eventually fell off, only to sprout back up again. The circle of life and all that crap.

  I’m like the Lion King over here.

  “You’re a moron.”

  I glanced down to see Kyle standing at the base of the lifeguard tower, classic Ray-Bans covering his eyes and wearing the ugliest, brightest Hawaiian-print swim trunks I’d ever seen. I stashed my book so he wouldn’t see it, wishing I didn’t care if he did.

  “Thanks. Nice shorts.” I flicked my chin at him and he smiled.

  “They’re fucking awful. Thanks for noticing.” Kyle glanced around, like he was making sure no one was nearby before he said, “We’re thinking of sneaking off during movie night. Wanna go with us?”

  I inwardly groaned. Was this a conspiracy or what? They all wanted me to sneak off. “Where to?”

  “Not sure yet. Blake somehow snuck a bottle of peppermint schnapps in his bag.” Kyle’s brows waggled above his sunglasses. “Contraband, baby.”

  “Peppermint schnapps?” If someone were to smuggle in booze to camp, that was the worst crap you could bring. “That stuff is awful.”

  Kyle shrugged. “It’s all we got. Take it or leave it.”

  I’d rather leave it, but I didn’t want to say yes or no yet. What if…Annie would be there? I couldn’t imagine her wanting to drink smuggled-in schnapps, but maybe she would. “Where are you guys meeting?”

  “We’ll talk at movie night. I’ll have more details then.” He grinned, looking pleased with himself. “Catch ya later.”

  I watched him go, then slumped against my seat again, wishing he’d stay longer. Talking to a tool was better than having no one to talk to at all. I looked over at my book, but I wasn’t in the mood to read. I crossed my arms in front of my chest, which was damp from sweat and my sunscreen melting off. I needed to coat myself with some more soon.

  My eyelids felt heavy, and I startled when my head fell forward, then jerked back. Crap, I was falling asleep. I grabbed my water bottle and took a swig. Stood on the tiny platform in front of the chair and stretched my arms above my head. Hating how wobbly this thing was when all I did was stand.

  I was tired. Last night’s adventures didn’t allow for much sleep, especially since my mind had been full of thoughts of Annie, and I could really go for some right now. But I knew that wasn’t happening.

  No way, no how.

  …

  ANNIE

  “You should go talk to him,” Kelsey said as we sat on the giant pink beach towel and chatted with the other girls from our cabin. They included us in their conversation, but they were clearly talking about something we really didn’t have much knowledge about. They didn’t bring up last night or Kyle, not even once, thank God.

  I was tired of talking about it, so I was fine with that.

  “Go talk to who?” I plucked at the grass, pulling it out of the ground one blade at a time. It was thin and sharp, could probably cut my skin if I didn’t watch out, but I was feeling reckless. A little hopeless. A lot confused. I didn’t know why Jake said those things to me earlier. He didn’t give me a chance to ask him, either, taking off without even a good-bye. Every time I saw him around today, which felt like all the time, he’d send me a guilty look before turning away.

  I didn’t get it. Worse, we never even talked about our swimming lesson plans, which meant I should go find him and ask when we might start. My grand summer camp plans were slipping away from me minute by minute, all because I lacked a certain skill. I would be forever banned to dry land while Kyle was either in the pool or at the lake. He spent most of his time by the water.

  Life was so cruel.

  And I was being oh so dramatic.

  “Jake!” Kelsey whisper-hissed. She always acted like I should know who or what she was talking about. And when it came to Kelsey, I could never read her mind. “He’s working lifeguard duty so no one’s really around. Go ask him when he’s going to give you those lessons.”

  “I can’t do that.” Ugh. If I could slap myself, I so would. That was the old Annie talking. The wimpy, I can’t handle talking to a boy alone Annie. I swore to myself I wasn’t that girl any longer, and I needed to prove it to myself.

  “Just flash him your boobs,” Kelsey said with a laugh. “Boys love that sort of thing.”

  She would say that, knowing it was the last thing I’d ever do. “That’s a terrible idea. I won’t flash Jacob—Jake my boobs.” I wouldn’t flash Kyle my boobs, either. I didn’t care if he was my dream crush.

  “You act like it’s the end of the world, but it’s so not. We only just got here! We’ve barely been here a week! You have weeks left to prove to Kyle you’re the one for him. All you need are a couple of swim lessons so you can doggy-paddle or whatever. That way you’ll feel confident in the water,” Kelsey pointed out. We’d sort of turned our backs on the other girls so they weren’t listening to our conversation and we weren’t listening to theirs.

  And I so wished I had Kelsey’s confidence that I could make it work with Kyle, but I didn’t. She did have a point, though. I could try to convince Jake to teach me a quick doggy paddle and be done with it. I couldn’t even manage to do that—doggy-paddle. I’m that bad of a swimmer. I just looked like I was flailing and near death. I’m a hopeless case.

  I needed Jake to fix that.

  “Just…go over there and show him what God gave you.” She checked me out, her eyes roving over me from head to toe, like she was some perverted guy. “You’re looking good right now, Annie. Don’t waste your time sitting here with us when you could be making conversation with the hotness that is Jacob Fazio.”

  “Oh my God, keep your voice down,” I whispered, reaching out to grab her arm. I didn’t want any of the other girls to hear us talking about Jake or Kyle or my stupid plans. And it wasn’t Jake I wanted to talk to. It was Kyle.

  Kyle, who was headed straight for us—right at this very moment.

  I sprang to my feet, ignoring Kelsey, ignoring the other girls as I walked toward him, plastering a smile on my face, trying my best to calm my nerves. I didn’t think. I couldn’t. Thinking would get me twisted up over the tiny details and that was the last thing I needed.

  Focus. You’ve got this.

  He wore really ugly board shorts that he somehow could make look good, and he smirked as he stopped directly in front of me, his eyes shaded by sunglasses. I wished I wore some, too, so I could hide behind them. “Hey, new girl,” he drawled.

  The nickname made me blush, like usual. I seriously hated my fair skin. “Hi, Kyle.”r />
  “What are you up to?”

  “Nothing much.” I shrugged, my brain scrambling to come up with something else. Anything else to keep the conversation going. But the second I got around him, I became tongue-tied. He stole all my words, all my rational thoughts, making me feel useless.

  It was weird, how I could talk to Jake so easily yet I became mute around Kyle…

  “You going to movie night?” he asked.

  “Of course.” The girls already warned me movie night was code for covert hookups happening. It was dark, the counselors were lax, Fozzie usually wasn’t around. Stolen kisses were on the movie night agenda.

  I wondered if Kyle was interested in sitting with me. I wondered if he’d—

  “We’re sneaking out. Blake’s got a secret stash of alcohol.” Kyle grinned, looking pleased. “Want to come with?”

  My mouth dropped open. Was he seriously asking me to sneak out with him tonight? To go drink alcohol? Why did he keep pushing it on me?

  “Sure,” I said before I could second-guess myself and say something stupid. Like no.

  “Great.” He tilted his head to the side, looking at the girls still sitting on the towel, I assumed. “Don’t tell your friends, though. Especially that Chelsea girl.”

  “Her name’s Kelsey,” I corrected him, though he acted like he didn’t hear me. Or didn’t care. Probably both. “And why don’t you want me to tell them?”

  “They have big mouths.” He stepped closer and lowered his voice, like he was about to share a big secret. “They’ll tell everyone, and we only have one bottle. But for you, new girl? I don’t mind sharing with you.”

  Everything inside me went warm and tingly. He liked me. He must! “Okay,” I said softly. “I won’t tell.”

  “Promise?”

  I nodded. “I promise.”

  “Cool. I’ll talk to you later. At the movie. We’re still in the planning stages.” He held out his fist, and I bumped mine against his. Now I felt like his bro or whatever. This guy totally sent mixed signals.

  “Sounds good,” I said weakly, watching as he gave me a quick wave before he took off.