I have to win her back. We’re Wes and Brooklyn, that’s all I’ve known for the past three years.
This plan has to work.
17
Anaya
It’s a muggy and overcast afternoon at the Inn. The air is thick, hanging heavy as a warm blanket. I stand in the shallows of Legacy Lake, relishing the cool water lapping at my ankles. In front of me, five kids ranging between the ages of 8 and 12 are treading water.
I wipe the sweat from my brow before blowing my whistle. “Okay guys, that’s two minutes. You’re all done!”
I wait for them to emerge from the water, high-fiving each of them as they file out of the lake. Parents stand clustered along the beach to pick up their children, and the next few minutes are a whirlwind of rounding up swim goggles and caps.
“Lucy, you forgot your towel!” I call after a sweet, freckle-faced little girl.
Her mom turns and smiles. “Oh, thank you Anaya. You’re an angel.”
“No problem, Mrs Briggs.” I hand her the pink My Little Pony beach towel and ruffle Lucy’s hair. “I’ll see you for class tomorrow, Luce.”
Lucy gives me a gap-toothed grin. “Sure thing, Coach.”
When I finally have five children and five sets of belongings safely dispersed back to their families, I make my way up the beach. Wes is perched on his lifeguard chair, looking at me over the top of his sunglasses. I smile shyly and give him a wave.
Wes and I have been working together for a week now, and I can’t believe how much fun I have when I’m with him. Not to mention how amazing he looks as a lifeguard, seated on his chair with a whistle dangling around his neck. His white baseball cap and black Ray Bans shade his face from the sun, but his tanned skin is already getting darker.
“Aren’t you meant to be watching the lake?” I poke my tongue out at him, hoping he didn’t catch me checking him out.
“I was watching the lake. And now I’m watching you.”
He smiles and my stomach does a strange flipping motion. I constantly feel bashful around Wes, while he’s able to be shamelessly flirty and confident at all times. He’s obviously much better at this fake relationship thing. Or, he’s way less affected by me than I am by him.
I roll my eyes and lean on the base of his chair. “There’s no one around, you don’t have to lay on the boyfriend charm.”
He presses his mouth in a line for a moment, and I wonder if I said or did something wrong. But then, he breaks into his usual smile. “I can’t help how charming I am. It just comes naturally.”
I laugh loudly. “If your head inflates any further, you’ll lose your balance and fall off your lifeguard chair.”
“Is that a challenge?” Wes smirks and hops down to stand with me. “You know, the kids love you. The parents do, too.”
I blush and shrug awkwardly. “Thanks. I love the kids. And their parents... Mostly.”
He checks his watch. “I have another fifteen minutes on the clock. Wanna keep me company? There’s only a few stragglers left.”
I scan the beach and watch as a few groups start to pack away their things. Above, the sky is fading into an ominous shade of gray.
“Anything for you, honeymuffin,” I say, and I’m rewarded with a laugh. “I just need to put away the floaties and life preservers first.”
He winks dramatically. “Hurry back.”
I laugh but I feel a bit breathless. I know he’s overacting his boyfriend role to be funny, but his words make my heart pound irregularly.
The sky is pressing down, gray and angry with rain, as I round up all of the lifejackets and preservers I used in my lessons. I take them to the Activities Shed and get to work hosing them down as my mind wanders. I need to stop being so dazzled by Wes and his ridiculous, fake innuendos. The reality is, we’re friends and I enjoy his friendship. It’s been forever since I had a good friend, and Wes makes me laugh. He’s kind, and he really listens when I talk.
I want us to continue being friends come September. Our fake relationship is simply an arrangement of convenience. But, if I keep getting butterflies every time I look at him, I might catch feelings. And I can’t do that.
My philosophy is that if I don’t let anyone get too close, they can’t hurt me. Like my mom did. She walked out one day and never came back. Ever since she left, I’ve closed myself off from feeling anything for anyone. Feelings just ruin things and I can’t risk losing Wes.
Never mind the fact that his ex-girlfriend is the one he truly wants.
I walk to the door of the Activities Shed and glimpse towards the lifeguard chair. Wes is perched up high, but he’s not looking at the lake. He’s frowning at someone walking towards him — Someone in a very skimpy bikini.
My heart sinks like a stone. Chloe.
18
Anaya
My heart races as I watch Chloe approach Wes. I can’t believe she’s still here. Miraculously, since Wes and I announced that we were together, I haven’t seen her around much. In fact, it’s been a couple of days since I last saw her lingering around the property. I figured she’d left Legacy Inn and I was in the clear for now.
I should’ve known better. Chloe wouldn’t leave without a grand finale, complete with fireworks. Like a tiger, she was stealthily waiting for her opportunity to pounce. What’s her plan?
Chloe glides up to Wes coyly, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. Her violet bikini is the same color as the stormy sky, and it sure doesn’t leave much to the imagination. Should I go and say something? Should I interfere?
But I’m frozen to the spot. I’m not ready for this. So, feeling sick to my stomach, I watch from a distance.
“Hey, Wes,” Chloe simpers flirtatiously. She takes off her sunglasses and bats her ridiculously long eyelashes at him.
“Hi.” His tone is cold, disinterested.
She puts a hand on her hip and bites her lower lip seductively. “Remember me?”
Oh my gosh, she’s flirting with him. It’s a power play. What better way to prove that Wes isn’t interested in me than for him to appear interested in her? It would unravel our fake relationship in an instant.
Wide-eyed and nervous, I stare at the exchange. Chloe looks gorgeous, I can’t deny it. She’s like a brunette carbon copy of Brooklyn — girly, peppy and perfect. I wouldn’t blame Wes for getting sucked in by her charms.
But, Wes doesn’t appear to check her out, or even to notice her. Instead, he frowns deeply. “Sorry. Have we met?”
I clamp a hand over my mouth to stop a squeal of laughter. Is he really not taking the bait? I lean closer, precariously hanging out the door of the shed.
Chloe’s shark-like grin falters. She swallows, then reapplies her big, fake smile. “Maybe we have, maybe we haven’t. The question is, would you like to get to know me?”
Wes rolls his eyes. “I have a girlfriend. And come to think of it, you might know her. Her name’s Anaya?”
Chloe’s perfect mouth pops open. She looks like a lost fish. I shove my fist into my mouth to keep from laughing.
“Of course.” She hastily rearranges herself into a forced-casual stance. “We’re friends at school.”
“Sure you are,” Wes says evenly.
“I meant to ask.” Her voice is slimy. “How did you lovebirds meet, anyway?”
My heart picks up speed and my thoughts are in a whirlwind. Wes and I never came up with a backstory of how we met!
But, Wes being Wes, he grins. “I think you’ll love this story, it’s the cutest thing. I’m starting at Edendale High in the fall and I came by a while ago to meet the football coach. We chatted about me becoming the school’s quarterback next year. Anyway, I saw Anaya walking out of school and I did a double take. The sun was lighting her in a halo, and — boom — I fell for her on the spot. Love at first sight.”
I lean further forward, entranced.
Wes continues. “She’s just so beautiful, you know? Inside and out. Not like the cardboard cutout kind of beautiful either. I got to kn
ow her, and she is just so much more than her looks. She’s feisty and loyal and funny and smart. She’s the best girlfriend I could ever ask for.”
Chloe’s mouth drops further with every word. Her eyes bug out of her head. Meanwhile, my heart soars.
She recovers enough to say, “and where is this girlfriend of yours today?”
Wes nods in the direction of the Activities Shed, and I leap backwards to hide myself. Unfortunately, in the process, I catch my foot on a rock. I tumble gracelessly to the ground in plain sight of both Chloe and Wes.
“Would you look at that, she’s right there.” From my prostrate position on the ground, I can hear the laughter in Wes’s voice. “You okay, babe?”
I scramble to my feet, my face aflame. I dust myself off and approach them casually, like I haven’t been listening the whole time. “Oh, hey guys.”
“Hello, Anaya,” Chloe says, her tone clipped. “Hope you didn’t fall on your face too hard.”
“And I hope you fall in the lake,” I mutter darkly.
“What was that?” Chloe simpers.
“I said, I tripped while I was rinsing lifejackets.”
I hear a snort behind me and glance at Wes. He’s convulsing in silent laughter, his body shaking. I narrow my eyes at him, and he motions to the side of his face. “You got a little something...”
My hand flies to my cheek. It’s caked in sand. I hastily brush the sand away and widen my eyes, trying to silence Wes with a look. But, to no avail, his face is practically purple from holding in laughter.
“Oh, would you look at that.” Wes looks at his watch, hiding another snort. “Guess my shift is over.”
He blows his whistle and jogs to the shoreline to direct the remaining guests out of the water.
While he’s distracted, Chloe squares up to me. “I’m not sure how you ended up with a guy like Wes, but let me tell you, your little fling isn’t going to make it come September. When Wes gets to Edendale and realizes what a nobody you are, he’ll want someone else. Someone like me.”
A clap of thunder fills the air, punctuating her threat. I shiver, but keep my face composed. I scramble for a snappy comeback, but the truth is, she’s probably right.
Suddenly, Wes appears again and brushes past Chloe. “Excuse me.”
He makes a beeline for me and stops right in front of me, so close that I can smell the sunscreen on his skin. He lowers his voice to a sultry, sexy tone. “I missed you today.”
Wes reaches out and caresses my cheek. Goosebumps rise across my skin at his touch. He cups the back of my head and folds me into a hug, stroking my hair as he pulls me tight to his chest. My body relaxes into him, and I loop my arms around him, breathing him in. For a moment I forget about Chloe, forget this is fake, forget everything. I get lost in Wes’s embrace.
All too soon, he drops a kiss on the top of my head and lets go. His eyes dance as he pulls back, holding my hand.
“Missed you too,” I squeak when I’ve remembered myself.
Chloe looks from me to Wes, her face dark. As if on cue, the sky opens. The rain comes down in sheets and Chloe shrieks. Rivers of black mascara pour down her cheeks, making her look like an angry panda.
I suppress a giggle. “Chloe, as usual, it was a pleasure. But my boyfriend and I better be going.”
Chloe grumbles under her breath and then stomps soggily up the beach.
“Stay dry.” Wes calls to her retreating back.
I burst into laughter and the two of us make a run for the Activities Shed, still holding hands. Once safely inside, we look at each other. We’re both dripping wet like drowned rats. I laugh so hard that tears stream down my face, and I have to bend over to catch my hiccuping breath.
When we finally calm down, Wes untangles his hand from mine and grabs some towels. He hands me one with a sweet smile. “If I do say so myself, the part where I pretended not to recognize her was pretty genius. She totally fell for it.”
I laugh and shake my head. Of course he recognized her. I wrap my towel tight around me and shiver.
“By the way, thank you for, you know… all those nice things you said about me,” I say quietly.
His blue eyes sparkle as they meet mine. “So, you think it worked? Was the performance Oscar-worthy?”
A pang resounds through my body but I quickly try to beat it down. All of the nice things he said, the words that warmed my heart… they were part of the performance, part of the charade. He didn’t mean any of them, but why would I expect otherwise?
I force a smile. “You were amazing.”
19
Wes
“Ugh, I hate mint chocolate chip. It’s like eating toothpaste.” Anaya stares at my cone disdainfully. We’re swinging in the hammocks by our cabins, making the most of our lunch break. Two weeks into summer at Legacy Inn and hanging out in the hammocks has become a daily habit. One I look forward to more and more.
“Nooooooo! Don’t tell me it’s true!” I widen my eyes dramatically. “What other terrible, dark secrets is my girlfriend hiding?”
“Oh, you know.” Anaya giggles and then bares her teeth. “I’m actually a vampire, thirsty for blood.”
“Vampire, I can handle. But not liking mint ice cream? Unacceptable!” I take a huge bite of my ice cream and wince. “Brain freeze.”
Anaya smugly licks the edge of her toffee crunch ice cream. “See! I told you that flavor is trouble.”
I reach over and give her a shove, causing her hammock to rock faster. “You’re trouble.”
“You like it.” She flashes me a big smile.
I give her another shove, and she squeals as her hammock picks up speed. I collapse into laughter. Between long days of lifeguarding by the lake, chilling out with Jonathan in the evenings, and waking up early to swim with Anaya, this summer is already a lot more fun than I thought it was going to be.
The best part is that when I lay in bed at night, waiting for sleep to come, my mind is clear and happy. I’ve hardly given a thought to football, or my new school, or how mad I am with my dad. I miss my mom, of course, but she’s doing well. She’s spending time with my grandparents and searching for a new job.
The only thing that’s causing me any sort of mental anguish is—
“Ahem.”
The familiar tone makes me jump. I stop swinging and whirl around. “Brooklyn! What’re you doing here?”
“I got here early.” She smiles. “Surprise!”
I scramble clumsily out of my hammock and brush off my shirt. “Awesome.”
I haven’t seen Brooklyn since the day I arrived at the Inn two weeks ago. She didn’t turn up with the rest of her family last weekend — social media told me she was in Jackson Hole with some of her cheer friends.
Now that she’s back, it’s time to set our plan in motion. It’s showtime on me and Anaya.
“How was Jackson Hole? Were you at Cassandra’s place?” I can’t believe how nervous I feel.
“Wes Adams.” Brooklyn puts a hand over her mouth, feigning shock. “Are you monitoring my whereabouts?”
“No,” I say evenly. “But it was hard to miss the 234 Instagram posts about your trip.”
Brooklyn bursts into laughter. I’m not sure why — it wasn’t a joke. Meanwhile, Anaya gets out of her hammock and stands next to me. She puts a soft hand on my arm, presumably to show Brooklyn that we’re together. It’s a small gesture, but I feel reassured at her touch. I’ll have my life back on track in no time.
“You remember Anaya?” I ask Brooklyn, my confidence returning.
“Oh sure.” Brooklyn’s smile is little more than a grimace. “Nice to see you again, Anya.”
“It’s An-ay-a, actually,” she responds levelly. “And likewise.”
Brooklyn frowns in the direction of Anaya’s hand on my forearm. “Whatever.”
I bite my lip. Brooklyn is never normally this rude and I feel embarrassed for her behavior. But, the sight of me and Anaya together is clearly bothering her. It has to be jealou
sy, which means that the plan is working.
Anaya gives Brooklyn a prickly smile. “Well, Wes and I had better get back to work.”
Brooklyn nods. “Of course. I’ll see you on the beach this afternoon, Wes.”
She doesn’t bother to say goodbye to Anaya.
After Brooklyn sashays off, I turn to Anaya, apologetic. “I’m sorry. She’s not usually that rude.”
“I believe you.” Anaya shrugs good-naturedly. “If you like her, I’m sure she’s nice.”
I nod, but my mind wanders. Is Brooklyn nice? She used to be, back when we started dating. She was all smiles and positivity and friendly to everyone she met. She’s done some… questionable things over the years, but I’ve never seen her act downright rude to anyone. Except Anaya.
I give my head a shake. Of course Brooklyn’s nice. She was my girlfriend for three years. This is just a blip, an anomaly.
“Come on, we’re going to be late.” I scoop my whistle off the grass.
Anaya grins wickedly. “You mean you’re going to be late. I don’t actually have to work. No afternoon lessons on Thursdays and Fridays, remember?”
“Slacker,” I joke, putting my baseball cap back on.
On Thursday and Friday afternoons, a tiny man called George comes to the Inn to teach Aquarobics in the shallows of the lake. He’s incredibly peppy and animated, flailing his arms and legs about without care. It’s endlessly entertaining to watch his lessons.
Anaya returns to her hammock and wraps the material around her face like a cocoon. “I’m going to spend all afternoon napping in this hammock—”
“No you’re not,” I interrupt her. “This is perfect!”
She peeks out of her cocoon and frowns. “What is?”
I thrust a hand out and hoist her to a sitting position. “You need to come to the beach this afternoon. Brooklyn will be there — it’s the perfect opportunity to make her jealous. You saw how she behaved just now. It’s working!”
“I don’t know.” Anaya sits on the edge of the hammock, swinging back and forth. She chews her bottom lip. “Don’t you want to spend time with her without having me around?”
The Complete Legacy Inn Collection: Four Sweet YA Romances Page 23