“At least it wasn’t my mom giving directives. If so, she probably would’ve told me to pick up a box of condoms or something crazy like that,” he said.
As if realizing what he’d just said, his eyes widened.
“Really?”
“Um, that kind of came out wrong. You know, why don’t we just forget this whole tampon-condom conversation?”
“Sure, now you want to forget.”
His cheeks turned pink and he quickly started the car. We drove the rest of the way into town in silence. When we got to the grocery store, we decided to split up the list to make it go faster. I got stuck down the feminine hygiene and bathroom products aisles, while he got the fruit and veggies. The plan was for us to meet up in the cereal aisle.
When I got the box of tampons, I decided it’d be funny to pick up a pack of condoms as a joke. If nothing else, we could blow them up like balloons and let the younger kids play with them. On second thought, that sounded way grosser than I’d meant it.
I hurried toward the cereal section, where Sage stood with his back to me. “Hey, Sage, I got you something,” I hollered.
When he turned to face me, I tossed him the box of condoms. He caught them, glanced down, and his face went beet red. It was then that I noticed Lila and Logan standing there talking to him. He quickly shoved them onto the shelf next to a box of Fruity O’s cereal. I was sure some kid would pick them up and ask their parents what they were.
Oh. Shit. This so wasn’t happening.
“Hey,” I said as I approached. In hindsight, I should’ve just spun around and ran. Trying not to make eye contact with anyone, I threw the tampons in the cart.
Right now, I wouldn’t mind a random black hole forming and swallowing me up. Logan saw the box Sage put on the shelf and he quirked an eyebrow at me.
“Sorry, I was totally playing a joke on Sage. We can probably just go now,” I said.
Logan chuckled. “When Sage said you were picking a few things up for your parents, I didn’t think I’d see that sailing through the air.”
“Your parents really asked you to pick those up?” Lila wrinkled her nose.
“No,” Sage and I blurted at the same time.
The brother and sister stared between us. At last, Sage grabbed two boxes of cereal and tossed them in the cart. “I think we’re done in this aisle now. Grace?”
“Yeah, let’s get some ice cream.” Yeah. Ice cream. Something far away from this area.
“So, I wondered if you guys want to go swimming with us later,” Lila said. “We’ve got lots of rafts and inner-tubes we can use. The waves are supposed to pick up so it’ll be fun.”
“Sure,” Sage said.
“Sounds fun.” I smiled.
“Great, we’ll see you guys around six.” Logan waved.
When they left, I let out a sigh of relief.
“Next time, before you throw a box of condoms at me, can you make sure I’m not talking with someone first?” He grinned.
“Don’t tell me you were embarrassed?” I elbowed him in the side.
“I don’t get embarrassed.”
“Right. So why was your face so red?”
“I was warm.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Let’s just say, I don’t think they thought those were for our parents,” Sage said.
“What do you mean?”
He stared down at me. “Do I have to explain everything to you?”
Then it dawned on me. “Oh. They thought we, I mean, me and you … ”
“Yeah.”
“Sorry. But at least they didn’t seem to notice the tampons.”
He shook his head as we headed to the checkout line. “God, I’ve missed you. I almost forgot what it was like to be the butt of your jokes.”
He’d missed me. Those words jumbled up my insides, while warmth circulated beneath my skin. “Welcome back, Sage.”
Chapter Sixteen
It was hard to believe we were already into our second week at the summerhouse. What was even harder to believe was the fact Sage and I were talking. Not in a million years did I think it’d happen. The only hitch: Lila. She seemed to butt into everything or showed up out of the blue, right when Sage and I were about to do something. At times, it was as if she had a tracker on him. Like it alerted her to any interactions he had with me.
The hammock swung back and forth as I dialed Lyncee’s number.
“Hey, I haven’t heard from you for a couple of days,” I said when she answered, out of breath.
“That’s because the demon spawn are flipping taking up all my time. I forgot what my bedroom and friends look like. Wait, hold on a second,” she said. In the background I heard her yell, “Put the plunger back, it is not a sword. Don’t make me come down there.” There was a shuffling noise, then Lyncee came back. “Sorry about that. The shit-burgers think everything in the damn house is a toy. Did you know that if someone slaps you with a dildo, it will leave a mark?”
I choked on my ice tea. “What?”
“Yeah, so it turns out Mrs. Cooper keeps that wonderful thing in her dresser drawer, and Billy, one of the kids, found it and started beating on his brother with it.”
“Ew, that’s gross.”
“Not as gross as the part where I had to touch it and put it back in her dresser, then explain why Billy’s brother had red marks on him,” she groaned. “You know how damn embarrassing that was? Seriously, if you want to invite me up there for the rest of the summer, I’d love to come. Between flooded bathrooms, sex toy wars, and them pissing in the plants, I think I’m done.”
“Now I feel kind of bad for calling you with my drama.”
“Please, tell me everything. I want to hear about Sage. It’s way better than babysitting stuff.”
“The good news is, Sage and I have been talking. The bad news, Lila is constantly barging in. Like the other day, me and Sage were kicking around the soccer ball. Here comes Lila prancing across the sand, with her ass hanging out of her shorts. And if I see her “drop” something one more time in front of him, I might send a soccer ball into her face.”
“Ugh, she sounds like someone I’d hate. Kind of like Rori. But here’s the thing, you and Sage had a moment at the falls. Maybe you should plan a trip somewhere for just the two of you.”
I set my cup back on the outdoor table. “It’s on my list.”
My gaze shifted to where Allie and Benji splashed in the waves. Even from here, I heard their banter and flirting. What was up with them? They seemed to be hanging out a lot more. Did Allie have a thing for my brother? Not that there was anything wrong with that, she was only a couple months older than him.
Just then, Sage sauntered out of the house in his swim trunks. I was really beginning to like his wardrobe choices this summer. No shirt. No shoes. Big smile. A girl could get used to this.
“Hello? Are you even listening to me?” Lyncee said.
“Yeah, sorry—Sage distracted me.”
“Oh, what’s he doing? Playing soccer? Washing a car? Lifting weights?”
“Um, walking out of the house.”
“What he’s wearing?”
“A thong with matching lace bra.” I laughed.
“Ha-ha.”
“He’s trotting around in his board shorts, as usual. Do you know how hard it is to have that hotness around me all the time?”
“Well, I know what I’d do in your situation,” Lyncee said.
“What’s that?”
“Invite him for a late night swim, under the stars. It’d be romantic.”
“And we’d probably get eaten by a large fish.”
“There aren’t sharks in the Great Lakes.”
“But there are other things.”
“Why don’t I let you go, that way you can get back to working your magic on Sage.”
“Miss you,” I said.
“Miss you more. Talk to you soon.” Lyncee hung up.
I set my phone on the table and watched Sage grab one
of the two person kayaks.
He glanced in my direction. “Hey, you want to take this out with me?”
“Sure.” Holy crap. He actually asked me to do something with him. Not that I thought this was a date or whatever. Okay, stay calm. Be cool. I attempted to climb from the hammock, when my foot got tangled in the netting and I flipped out instead.
“You all right?” Sage bounded over to me. His hands caught hold of my leg, untwisting me from the evil clutches of the makeshift bed.
His fingers brushed against my calf sending scorching hot bolts of excitement through my blood. Am I all right? A part of me wanted to fall on the ground and pretend I needed mouth-to-mouth, but my acting wasn’t that great and I’d likely end up having my leg sawed off by the hammock ropes.
“Yep. But damn, that first step is hell.” I laughed as he helped me to my feet.
We both took one end of the kayak and carried it toward the water.
“Hey, if you two are taking that out, grab some lifejackets,” Mr. Castle hollered from the deck.
“I’ll get them.” I set my end down and raced up to the house. With a sigh, I jerked open the garage door and went to where we had all our swimming and boating stuff. Once I had them, I went back outside, where I found Mr. Castle chatting with Sage about being careful out on the big lake.
“You both need to watch for the bigger boats and the wake they’ll kick up,” he said.
“Dad, we’ll be fine. We’ve both kayaked before.” Sage took one of the preservers from me.
“Just don’t go too far. Maybe up around the cove and back.”
I smirked as he walked away. “Perhaps we should’ve invited him along with us.”
“Well, I’m not gonna tell you what the conversation started with.” He adjusted the lifejacket belt, then fastened it around his shoulders and chest.
“Oh, come on. It couldn’t have been that bad.” My shoulder bumped against his arm as I got my own preserver on.
Once again, we both took hold of one end of the kayak and moved it into the water. I climbed into the front, while Sage crawled in behind me.
“Basically he told me to be keep my hands to myself, if you catch my drift.” He handed me one of the two sets of paddles.
The waves suddenly became very interesting. I cleared my throat. “Oh, is that all?”
He chuckled. “Nothing fazes you does it?”
It did, but I wasn’t about to admit it. Or let him see the blush that I knew covered my face. “Nope. It takes a lot to embarrass me.”
“Not the way I remember it.” Water dripped from his paddle onto my arm.
“Hey, you did that on purpose,” I said as we rowed further out.
“That was an accident,” he said. “But this one is on purpose.” He splashed me with his oar.
“You are so gonna get it.” I turned to face him. We bobbed up and down on the waves. It was hard to paddle against the current.
“What are you going to do?” He reached forward and tickled my side. “You have nowhere to go, Gracey.”
“I’ll tell you what I’m gonna do.” My gaze held his. “I’m gonna flip us over when you least expect it, then we’ll see who’s all wet.”
“You know, you sure do talk a lot of shit.”
“Keep running your mouth, Sage.”
We soon rowed out of sight of the house and around the small bend. Sun beat down on us, sweat beaded on my forehead. My arms burned with each stroke. But it felt good to be out here on the lake. A breeze kicked up, making my hair whip into my face. For about an hour we continued to make our way up the shoreline. Boats sped by further out sending up wake, while Jet Skis bounced over it.
“Hey, I think there’s a sand bar out there.” I pointed to the lighter shades ahead of us.
“You want to take a break there?” Sage squinted against the sunshine.
“Sure. I think my arms are about to fall off. I forgot how much work this is.”
When we got to the sand bar, I stumbled out first then held onto the kayak while Sage got out. When he got to his feet, I gave him a gentle shove. He stumbled back into the water, landing on his butt.
“And that’s for splashing me.”
He dove forward, tackling me around the waist. “Plug your nose, you’re going under.”
We sunk back, the current washing over us. A second later we popped back up.
“You’re such a cheater.” I laughed, wiping my eyes so I could see.
“Me? Really? Says the girl who just knocked me over.” He smiled.
Our kayak floated away. “Um, we might want to get that, unless you plan on swimming home.”
He waded out, caught hold of it, and dragged it back next to us. We both sat on the sandbar, laughing.
My fingers closed around a rock and I picked it up to examine it. “Look, I found a Petoskey Stone.”
I held up the gray rock with black and white swirls on it. It was pretty.
“Here, let me see?” His hand brushed mine as he took it. He lifted his eyes until they met mine. For long seconds, we stared at one another. The lapping of waves the only sound around us.
My breath hitched as I watched him. Okay, now would be a great time to ask him about the day trip. “So, I wondered if you might want to go somewhere with me in the next couple of days. You know, take a short trip, just the two of us?”
Silence. His thumb ran over the top of the stone. Crap. He wasn’t answering. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked. This whole thing was a horrible idea.
At last he nodded. “Yeah, what did you have in mind?”
“Castle Rock.”
He reached over and took my hand, placing the Petoskey Stone back in it. “We haven’t been there since fourth grade, I think. That was the year you gave me a black eye when you tossed the bug spray can at me, remember?”
My fingers tingled where his hand covered mine. “You have a photographic memory, you know that? Except the only things you seem to recall are the ones where I make a fool of myself or you’re on the receiving end of one of my butt whippings.”
He released my wrist and laughed. “And you have a poor memory because you’ve never whipped my butt at anything.”
“Oh, my gosh, you’re such a liar. I thought we already discussed your losing the lightsaber battle, the soccer game, and your dignity when you got shoved into the water,” I said.
“You didn’t win the soccer game, you kicked it over the goal and almost killed us.”
“Sore loser?” I raised my brows.
“Now it’s on.” He splashed me.
With a giggle, I leapt to my feet. We ran around in the waves for a few more minutes, before deciding we should head back to the house before it got too late.
When we got back to our place, I smiled. “So Castle Rock on Friday, right?”
“Definitely. Who knows, maybe you’ll actually get to the top of the stairs before me this time.”
I snorted. “You’re on.”
“Is that a dare?’ he teased.
“Nope. It’s a promise.”
With a wink over my shoulder, I raced up to the house. This week couldn’t get over with quick enough. I was ready for Friday.
Chapter Seventeen
Step #5: Give him compliments
My lungs burned as I ran down the last dune and headed for home. My arms pumped, while music blared from my headphones. One last turn and you’re there. Keep focused. Breathe. One foot in front of the other. Sweat stung my eyes as it dripped down from my forehead. At last, I saw the house and slowed my pace.
Out of breath, I lifted my arms above my head and walked around for a moment then stretched. With a satisfied sigh, I turned off my music and took my earbuds out. When I made my way toward the deck, I noticed something coiled up on the stairs. A snake. Shit. I hated those things. Chico meowed at me from his perch on the railing. As I looked closer, it didn’t move. Great. Another casualty to my cat. My nose wrinkled. Dead or not, I hated creepy, crawly, slithering type things.
I screamed. Holy frick! It was alive. Chico hissed and launched himself on top of it. He was like a dog with a chew toy, the way he tossed it around. The cat threw the snake closer to me.
“No. What are you doing?” Fear iced over my veins. Dropping my iPod, I leapt on top of one of the lawn chairs, like I was playing a childhood game of hot lava.
Chico got it between his massive paws and pinned it down.
“Chico, quit playing with it.” Damn it, I was gonna be stuck here until the snake died or got free.
My kitty dragged the snake across the sand, right toward me. I shrieked. My legs trembled as I inched further back. Shit. I’m not high enough off the ground. What if it bites me? I thought it was a pine snake—but I wasn’t for sure. For God’s sake, I wasn’t a zookeeper.
Whether it was divine intervention or the hollering, I don’t know, but Sage burst out of the house.
“Grace? What’s wrong?” His eyes were wide.
“Chico has a snake.”
“Just a second, don’t move.”
Right. Because I so wanted to be eaten by a serpent.
He went back into the house.
“Wait, where are you going? Don’t leave me.”
“Stay still.”
When Sage returned he carried a shovel with him.
“I sure hope that isn’t a sign that you’re gonna bury me after the snake kills me.”
He chuckled. “Pine snakes aren’t venomous.”
“Well it looks venomous.”
“I’ll come get you.” He propped the shovel against the deck, then bounded down the stairs across the yard.
At that moment, Chico tossed the snake up in the air and it swung over the arm of the chair I was in. All I could do was scream. Sobs raked through me as I stumbled, trying to get away from it. In one swift movement, Sage grabbed me and cradled me in his arms.
“Shh … I got you.”
Tears streaked my face. My body quaked. I buried my head into his shoulder. The familiar scent of his cologne calmed me.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
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