Daring the Bad Boy

by Monica Murphy

  So why was I tempted to say no? Tempted to run away from him and pretend like he never talked to me?

  “Annie?” He prompted when I still hadn’t said anything.

  I shook myself and smiled at him. “Um, yeah. I’ll be there tonight.”

  “Dope. I’ll see you later, then.” He turned and walked back to his table completely empty-handed.

  Like the only reason he’d been there was to talk to me.

  I didn’t know what to think, how to react. I glanced over at my table to see all seven heads watching me, their smiles huge, their eyes sparkling as they started to make all sorts of lovey, kissy gestures. Turning away, I scanned the entire room, my gaze settling on Jake and where he sat with the rest of the miscellaneous staff.

  He was watching me, his expression dark, his mouth thin. Like he just saw everything go down between Kyle and me, and he didn’t like it. Jake bent his head, tearing his gaze from mine.

  And it felt like he just tore a hole in my heart.

  Chapter Sixteen

  JAKE

  I was angry and I had no reason to be, not really. So Kyle talked to her. So what? She never laughed when he talked to her. She didn’t blush, either. I took that as a good sign. Maybe I was the only one who could make her laugh, could make her cheeks turn pink. I liked it when she blushed. It was cute. Everything about her was cute.

  Pretty.

  Beautiful.

  Ah, crap, I had it frickin’ bad.

  Grabbing another piece of wood out of the wheelbarrow, I threw it into the fire, the flames snapping and little sparks flying high into the night sky. Brian started to laugh, and I shot him a dirty look, which shut him up.

  “What’s your prob tonight?” Brian asked.

  I didn’t answer him. Supposedly this night wasn’t just about Nancy telling trippy ghost stories in the hopes of giving us all massive nightmares. It was also a night when everyone who’d been circling each other the last few weeks finally tried to seal the deal. And by seal the deal, that meant they made out, declared each other boyfriend and girlfriend or whatever other bullshit they wanted to do to further their romantic lives.

  It all sounded like a bunch of crap to me. Especially when I saw that tool Kyle go talk to Annie during dinner. He had a plan for her tonight, I could tell. When he returned to his table, all the other guys had given him a high five. He wanted to hook up with Annie.

  My Annie.

  Frowning, I told myself I couldn’t be that possessive. She didn’t belong to me. I was still so confused I didn’t know exactly how she felt about me. We could consider each other friends. We’d grown closer. But was she interested in me beyond being a friend? Having her in my arms last night in the pool, that wasn’t just a friendly hug. That had been more.

  But maybe it had only been more to me. Maybe she thought nothing of it. Nothing of me.

  She was too good for me anyway.

  I grabbed another log and threw it into the fire, making Brian yell, “Watch out, dude!”

  Screw it. I was pissed and taking it out on the fire.

  “Go sit down and cool off,” Brian said, waving toward the old log benches that surrounded the bonfire area. “You’re going to set this whole place on fire if you don’t calm down.”

  Yeah. I felt like I could burn the entire camp down with my anger alone, which was so freaking stupid. I was trying to get that shit under control. Not let things get to me anymore. I’d been doing so well, too. Teaching the kids at swim lessons in the morning, working my lifeguard detail with no complaints and even earning a few compliments from Dane lately. Hell, I had Nancy approach me this morning asking if I’d lead a paper-airplane-making class in arts and crafts next week. I’d said yes, too stunned by her request to say anything else.

  But now I was acting like a jealous fool, all because I saw Kyle talk to Annie. Who knew what he said to her? I could be mad over nothing. Though I doubted it. Kyle was interested in Annie. Annie was interested in Kyle. Her dreams were finally coming true. I should be happy for her.

  I wasn’t.

  “I’ll be back in a minute,” I told Brian before I jogged over to the main building, where Uncle Bob’s office was. I walked inside, smiling at his secretary as I went past her desk. The woman worked morning, noon, and night. It was like she never took any time off. I bet she slept at her desk, too.

  Knocking on Uncle Bob’s partially open door, I heard him yell “come in,” and I pushed the door open to find him sitting behind his desk. Leaning back in his chair, his feet kicked up on the desk, his arms bent behind his head. He looked like he was taking a nap.

  “Ah, I was just headed out to the fire now. Can’t wait to see what Nancy has up her sleeve tonight.” He pushed his feet off the desk and sat forward, a big grin on his face. “What are you up to, Jake?”

  “Could I use the phone? I want to call my dad.” He’d been on my mind a lot lately, especially after my conversation with Annie last night, and I was seized with the need to call him. Maybe not the best idea, considering I still had residual anger coursing through my veins, but maybe hearing his voice would calm me down. Remind me why I was really here.

  To get my head on straight, not let it get fucked with by some girl.

  “Of course you can call your dad. I’m leaving right now, so you can have some privacy.” Uncle Bob waved a hand toward the phone that sat on his desk. “Don’t talk too long, though. You don’t want to miss Nancy’s stories!”

  He rose from his chair, and I watched him lumber across his office. Stopping at the door, he turned to look at me. “Tell your dad I said hello.” They were brothers, but they weren’t that close anymore. My dad had distanced himself from everyone after Mom died.

  “I will,” I said, settling in Bob’s just vacated chair. “Thanks, Uncle Bob.”

  “Of course. And like I said, don’t talk too long. I’ve been waiting to hear Nancy’s scary ghost stories all year. They’re the best.” He shut the door behind him and was gone.

  Great. So Uncle Bob would be there tonight. I knew it would end up a make-out fest, but I didn’t want him to see me with Annie.

  If I even had a chance to get with Annie tonight.

  Feeling miserable, I dialed my dad’s number, grateful when he answered on the second ring.

  “Hey Dad. It’s me.”

  “Jacob! How are you? Everything okay?” We’d had a deal that I wouldn’t call much this summer. We were both fine with that at the time. He’d been frustrated with me and I’d been resentful toward him, so it worked out.

  But for some reason, it felt good to hear his voice.

  “I’m fine,” I said, pushing past the crack of emotion I heard in my voice. I hoped he didn’t notice. “I just wanted to call and say hey. So…hey.”

  “Hey. How’s the weather up there?”

  “Hot. Muggy.”

  “Breathing in all that mountain air has to be good for you.”

  “Yeah, I guess so. I spend most of my time outside, since I’m a lifeguard.” He already knew that, but I thought I’d remind him.

  “Making friends?”

  I rolled my eyes. He sounded like I was a ten-year-old camper, not a counselor. “I guess.”

  “Met any girls?”

  “Sort of.” Now the conversation had become flat-out awkward.

  “Some of my fondest memories are of the girls I met during summer camp.”

  “Are you serious? I didn’t know you went to camp.”

  “I went to the very camp you’re at,” he admitted. “So did your uncle. Seems like he loved it way more than I ever did. That’s why he’s still there.”

  We never talked about the past, Dad and I. He didn’t like to focus on it, or so I thought. “What sort of girls did you meet at camp?”

  “Well, I ended up a junior counselor there one summer and…I met your mother.”

  “Seriously?” My voice cracked. Again. I had no idea they met here.

  “Seriously. She was the prettiest girl I’d
ever seen. I knew the moment I laid eyes on her that I needed to spend the entire summer with her. So I did. Once we got to know each other, we found out we lived in the same town and that was that. We were together.” He laughed, sounding…happy? I couldn’t remember the last time he sounded like this. “It was like we were meant to be.”

  It hurt, to hear him talk about her. To hear that wistful tone in his voice, the love that he felt for her. A lump formed in my throat, and I tried to swallow past it. I needed to change the subject.

  “There’s this girl,” I said. “This is her first year here, and she’s just so…” What? I couldn’t describe Annie with just a few simple words. There were so many things I could say about her. That she was scared yet strong. That she was determined and smart and had no fear of telling me how she really felt. It was like she understood me, that I understood her, and I’d never been so comfortable with a girl before. Not like how I felt when I was with Annie.

  But I didn’t want to look like a sap, not even in front of my father. “I like her,” I said instead.

  “If she’s a camper, then you’re not supposed to get involved with her, right? Since you’re a counselor.” He sounded worried. He sounded more like my dad.

  Just great. I should’ve never brought her up.

  “Right. I haven’t done anything, I promise.” I didn’t want him mad. And I definitely didn’t want him telling Uncle Bob that I had feelings for a camper. Next thing I knew, I’d be in trouble.

  Though I was surprised my dad wasn’t as mad as I figured he’d be.

  “Good. Keep on the straight and narrow.” I rolled my eyes at his words. “Do the right thing, son. I trust that you’re able to figure out what that is.”

  We ended the call, and I remained in Uncle Bob’s chair for a few quiet minutes, going over everything my dad said.

  Yeah. I wanted to do the right thing. But I also wanted Annie. When did I ever really follow the rules?

  Though this time, I should. I didn’t want to get fired. Kicked out of camp, sent back home. Everything would be over for me. I’d be in juvie; I might even get kicked out of school.

  Doing the right thing was boring. I went after what I wanted, rules be damned. As long as I was careful, we wouldn’t get caught.

  And I was always careful.

  …

  ANNIE

  My group arrived at the bonfire site a few minutes before the ghost stories were scheduled to start. The place was already packed, so many people paired off into couples, and I glanced around, looking for Jake.

  Instead, I spotted Kyle first, who approached me with a big smile on his handsome face. I could admit he looked really good tonight, wearing a blue button-up shirt and black shorts, his hair actually combed back. “Hey, you made it,” he said in greeting.

  “Yeah. I did.” Of course I did. I told him I’d be here. Though I guess something could’ve happened to me in between dinner and now. Or I could’ve decided to ditch tonight. Kelsey had. I didn’t know where she ran off to, but she’d asked me to cover for her after dinner and I’d automatically said yes.

  She’d become more and more mysterious lately, and I had no idea what she was up to.

  “Dope.” He nodded, glanced around, seeming uncomfortable. It felt like a lot of people were watching us, which was weird. “So, uh. You wanna sit together?”

  Two weeks ago I would’ve died for this opportunity. I wouldn’t have even hesitated a second to say yes. I should probably say yes, because this was, after all, Kyle. The boy I crushed on. The boy I was learning to swim for. The boy I declared to my heart that I wanted. These were my summer dreams coming to fruition, and we were more than halfway through the session. We had ten days left, and finally everything was falling into place.

  Yet here I stood full of doubt, my gaze darting everywhere, searching the crowd and looking for the boy who meant so much to me. More than this boy standing in front of me ever would.

  But Jake was nowhere to be found. And the disappointment crashing through me at his not being here was a truth I needed to face.

  I wasn’t interested in Kyle. Not anymore. I wanted Jake.

  “I appreciate the offer but…I sort of want to sit with someone else,” I said gently, feeling like a jerk. But it was better to be honest with him, right?

  “Really? Um, all right.” He glanced down, shoving his hands into his pockets, clearly uncomfortable. “I get it.”

  “You do?”

  “Well, yeah.” He looked up, his gaze meeting mine. “You’re the pretty new girl. You have your choice of any guy here.”

  His words left me stunned. He thought I was the pretty new girl and had my choice of any guy at camp? He had to be kidding.

  “Maybe I’ll go ask Presley,” Kyle continued. “I haven’t kissed her since the summer we were eleven.”

  “I think that’s a…good idea,” I said, trying my hardest not to laugh. If he was making his girlfriend choice based on the fact it had been a while since he kissed her, then maybe I dodged a bullet.

  And that would also help distract her from her supposed crush on Jake…

  I went to where the rest of the girls from my cabin were sitting. We’d lost a few to boys already, and I was sure we’d lose a few more before the night was over.

  “What just happened with you and Kyle, Annie? Why aren’t you two sitting together? He didn’t say something stupid, did he?” Bobbee reached out and touched my arm. “Kyle’s such a jerk. Are you okay?”

  The concern I saw in her eyes surprised me. I always thought Bobbee didn’t really like me. “I’m fine,” I reassured her. “Really. Kyle and I…we would never work.” I decided not to tell her that I was the one who rejected Kyle first.

  “I agree.” Gwen was sitting on my other side and she leaned in, murmuring close to my ear. “You’re better off without him.”

  I smiled at her. I knew she meant that in the most genuine way possible. “Thanks, Gwen.”

  Fozzie Bear suddenly made his appearance, standing next to the roaring bonfire, his megaphone clutched in his hand. He flicked the power on and the thing squealed, making all of us cover our ears.

  We all hated that thing as much as he loved it.

  “Who’s ready to hear some spooky stories?”

  A chorus of “me!” rose up into the air.

  “Good, good! Sounds like we’re ready! So let’s get this party started!” he announced.

  Perfect. I was ready to start, too. Maybe I wouldn’t sit with the boy of my choice tonight, but I was with my friends.

  And that would be good enough.

  Chapter Seventeen

  ANNIE

  “…and so the phone rang again, and the girl answered, yelling, ‘Please, I beg of you, stop calling!’” Nancy lifted her head from the giant, ragged book she held open in her lap, her desolate gaze scanning all of our rapt faces. “And the man said, ‘You still haven’t checked the children. You need to check the children!’”

  Gwen clutched my arm, her nails digging into my skin. I had to give it to Nancy, she was really into her storytelling, and she was super creepy. She wore a long-sleeved black dress that covered her from neck to toe, and she wore a wig, the hair long, straight, and black as night.

  “I’ve heard this one before,” Bobbee said, leaning over me to whisper at both Gwen and me. “So she’s going to call the cops and they say—”

  “Ssh!” Gwen pressed her finger to her lips, glaring at Bobbee. “Don’t spoil it!”

  I bent my head, trying to contain my laughter. I mean yeah, these stories were scary and Nancy was delivering them in an extra spooky way, but I’d heard most of them already. When I was younger I’d devour those stories and freak myself out. Then watch scary movies and freak myself out even more.

  Lifting my head, I glanced around. I didn’t see too much kissing going on. Everyone was fully invested in Nancy’s storytelling, which was awesome.

  I still hadn’t found Jake. Where had he gone? Why wasn’t he around? He
was supposed to be in charge of maintaining the bonfire, but I only saw Brian standing near it, with Hannah by his side, of course.

  Nancy had already moved on to another story and I hadn’t spotted Jake. Giving up, I watched Nancy get into it as she told the infamous story of the couple making out in a car parked in the middle of nowhere when the announcement sounds over the radio that a psycho just escaped the insane asylum—and he was easily identifiable, since his right hand was a hook.

  I’d heard this one before, too. Nancy had a theme going on here—most of her stories had to do with teenage characters—specifically boyfriend/girlfriend types. Love was in the air everywhere, and I was feeling sort of left out.

  Pushing my negative thoughts away, I focused fully on Nancy’s story, getting into it. She paused and looked around every few minutes, to make sure we were paying attention as the story crept closer to the terrifying ending. I pressed my lips together, noting that everyone sitting around me was deathly quiet, their bodies bent forward as if they were hanging on Nancy’s every word, and I found myself doing the same thing.

  “…and when the girlfriend got out of the car, she slammed the door hard, a terrifying scream coming from her just afterward. The boyfriend put the car in park and climbed out of the driver’s seat, running around to the other side to see what was making his girlfriend scream and cry so hard.”

  A pause. A beat. A collective sucked-in breath.

  “There. Hanging from the passenger-side door handle, was…a…HOOK!”

  A hand clamped down on my shoulder the exact moment Nancy yelled the last word, and I screamed. Screamed so loud that I made Bobbee and Gwen and Hailey all scream, too.

  Everyone else started to laugh, and I clamped my hand over my mouth, whirling around to see who just scared the crap out of me.

  Jake sat there, a sheepish grin on his face, though his eyes sparkled with amusement. “Sorry,” he murmured, barely able to contain his laughter.

  I dropped my hand. “You scared me to death!” I said with a gasp, shaking my head. I tried to act mad, but it was too hard. I was so happy to see him. So happy that he was sitting behind me, alone, his big hand still on my shoulder. He gave it a squeeze before he removed it, and I faced forward once more, trying my best to act like his touch, his nearness, didn’t affect me.