Nervous butterflies swarm in my stomach. “Maybe.”
He gives me a slow-burning smile and turns to leave. Just as he’s walking down the street, Linus rounds the corner in his truck. I can tell the moment they notice each other because Zeke practically stops on the street, and Linus slows.
Groaning, I hurry inside with my grocery bags. He’s early. A minute later, a knock sounds from the front. I swing the door open, and, much to my surprise, Harper launches at me, pulling me into a hug. “Riley!”
Lauren, Harrison, and Brandon stand behind her, eying Linus with unveiled curiosity. The poor guy must have arrived just seconds before them. I had hoped to give him a little warning first.
“You made amazing time,” I say as I pull away.
Brandon loops his arm around Harper’s waist, pulling her close. “Well, your sister was driving…”
Harper jabs him in the side, and he jumps away, laughing. I narrow my eyes at the pair, wondering if they’ve finally started dating.
The clouds shift over the sun, and it begins drizzling again.
“Come on in,” I say. “Don’t stand in the rain.”
Everyone filters inside, with Linus bringing up the rear. He looks a little uncomfortable, standing there with a large hiking backpack. I step outside before he crosses the threshold, closing the door behind me to give us a little privacy as we stand under the eve.
“I’m glad you came,” I say.
He smiles and adjusts his backpack. “Thanks for inviting me.”
“I just wanted to warn you, my friends are…well, they’re going to assume we’re—”
“I can handle it.” He gives me an easy smile and then motions down the street. “I saw Zeke.”
“Yeah.” I shift, uncomfortable. “He, uh, came by to ask me out tonight.”
Sort of. That is what he was doing, wasn’t it?
Linus’s eyebrows shoot up. “What did you tell him?”
“Just that we are going camping.” I watch as the water streams from the gutter into my aunt’s flower bed. “I think I’m meeting him on Saturday instead.”
Linus looks like he wants to say something, but he changes the subject. Lowering his voice, he asks, “Was that Harrison?
I glance at the closed door separating us from my friends. “Yeah.”
“Is this going to be weird for you?”
“Maybe a little,” I admit.
He wraps his arm around my shoulder, all brother-like. “You know, if you need a boyfriend for the trip, I can play that part.”
“How noble of you.” And even though he’s definitely teasing, there those butterflies go again, getting all fluttery in my stomach.
Still joking, Linus shifts so he’s in front of me and takes a step forward, pinning me against the siding, under the safety of the roof’s overhang. Rain streams down around us, but we’re safe under our tiny ledge. He places a hand next to my head and leans close in an exaggerated move. “For you, fair lady? Anything.”
Those butterflies full-out riot, which is ridiculous because he’s only messing with me. Playing like my stomach isn’t doing funny things, I roll my eyes. “You really are a dweeb.”
Toying with me or not, his lips can’t be more than five inches from mine.
“Just letting you know I’m here if you need me.” He flashes me a crooked smile. “But don’t wear your goggles. You know how those drive me crazy.”
I’m about to laugh and push him away when the door opens, and Lauren sticks her head out. “What are you two—” Her jaw drops, but she snaps it shut. I can tell from the look in her eyes that she approves, but she still flushes, embarrassed. Biting her lip, trying not to giggle, she murmurs, “Sorry.”
And then she darts back inside.
Linus raises an eyebrow at me. “So, how about you introduce me to your friends?”
Laughing, I slip away from him.
He opens the door and gallantly motions me on. “After you.”
I hold eye contact with him as I pass by, still off-kilter from the way he’s looking at me. He gives me a smile that could rival Zeke’s best.
As I hurry past, I try to suppress the flutters.
CHAPTER NINE
“Friends,” I’ve told them all a hundred times. Linus and I are just friends. Not a one of them believes me.
“You burnt it,” Harper whines to Brandon after he hands her a skewer containing a well-charcoaled marshmallow. My sister raises an eyebrow. “I thought you were a ‘marshmallow master.’”
Brandon tosses the marshmallow into the coals, digs into the bag for another, and holds it over the fire that we were barely able to start.
The rain stopped about an hour ago, but everything is wet. Linus already proved himself useful. He was the only one who could get the wood to light. Needless to say, everyone is enamored with him, and Lauren keeps shooting me these covert looks, like she’s just so darn happy I’ve finally found someone…someone who’s not her boyfriend.
Pushing the thoughts away, I stretch my feet closer to the fire. Harper remembered everything I’d hoped she would: my sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and camp chair. She even remembered to borrow all the cooking stuff from Dad.
With the soggy weather, it took us a while to set up the tents. Us girls are in my father’s hunting tent, and the guys are in a brand new one Brandon bought just for this trip. (He tried to let us use it, but Harper, being stubborn, refused).
I was a little nervous the arrangement would make Linus uncomfortable seeing as how he brought his own stuff, but he went along with it like it was no problem. He’s just so easy going. I think if we’d told him we like to build temporary structures in the trees and sleep from hammocks dangling from them, he’d have gone with it.
Next to me, Linus watches with detached interest as my sister and Brandon continue to argue about marshmallows, and I try to pretend that I can’t feel every single inch between us.
Lauren, who’s freezing even though it’s just under sixty degrees, is snuggled up next to Harrison, shaking her head at her brother. “You’re supposed to put it over the coals, not in the flame.”
Brandon looks at his sister and holds out the skewer, grinning. “How about you come out of your blanket cocoon and show me how it’s done?”
Lauren shivers at the thought and burrows down deeper.
I sit back, taking in our group. This is my first parent-free camping trip. Technically, we’re all adults now. Which is weird. Awesome, but weird.
My parents never worry about me too much if Harper is around since she has this bad habit of ratting me out if I do something stupid, but this is a first for Lauren. Her parents are crazy protective. Since she’s living with them still, I’m surprised they let her out the door, to be honest. It just shows you how much they trust Harrison.
I glance again at Linus. He has that parent-schmoozing vibe about him too. Zeke doesn’t. I’m pretty sure my father would have a panic attack if he ever saw me with the artist.
“What are you thinking so hard about over there?” Linus quietly asks.
My cheeks get warm, and I shrug, not wanting to admit where my mind wandered. “I’m thinking I need to show them all how to roast a marshmallow.”
“Any chance we’re going to get some real food tonight?” Harrison asks.
Out of all of us, Harrison seems the most adult-like, even though he isn’t any older than Harper or Brandon. He has a full-time job at a prestigious architectural firm, which he got by creating the award-winning design for a local ritzy hotel. He’s about as scrumptious as a guy can get, too. His eyes are the color of Caribbean seas, and he’s perfected the short, messy hair look. He’s one of those guys who looks just as good in the jeans and boots he’s wearing right now as he does with his usual suit and tie.
Despite how I appreciate him, I am over him. But he’s still nice to look at. And he and Lauren are just so stinkin’ cute together. She shivers again, and he laughs and pulls her onto his lap. She melts into him like a conte
nted house cat, and that familiar pinprick of envy stabs at me again.
I hate feeling like this about my best friend. What’s wrong with me?
“If you’re offering to cook, dude, go for it,” Brandon says, pointing a flaming marshmallow at Harrison.
Harrison grins and raises his eyebrows at Brandon, looking particularly mischievous. “My hands are a little full.”
Brandon groans, mock-disgusted, and the rest of us laugh. As he looks away from his best friend and sister, I catch him flash Harper a wistful look.
He’s got it bad for her, has for years. I don’t know what’s wrong with her. Brandon’s almost as delectable as Harrison, but in a dark-haired, not as metro kind of way. He’s a guy’s guy, the kind who’s always ready for a pickup basketball game. Exactly Harper’s type.
Harper’s too busy digging through the marshmallow bag to notice the way Brandon’s looking at her, and I want to scream at her to pay attention—shake her until she sees that this gorgeous guy is head over heels. Because how often does that happen really? And how long will it be before he gives up altogether?
I hadn’t noticed that Lauren stood up and moved to my side until she leans over my shoulder and whispers, “You have that look again.”
She teases me all the time. She might be prissier, but I’m the one who’s a sucker for a love story. I glance back at her and answer quietly, “Do you think she’ll ever figure it out?”
Lauren shrugs, still wrapped in her umpteen layers of blankets and jackets. “Maybe if Brandon grows a backbone and tells her.”
It would be helpful if they weren’t going to different colleges. Brandon’s still in Montana, but Harper’s all the way in Texas. The long-distance thing would be an issue. I don’t think I could handle it.
I sneak a peek at Linus. When he catches me, I say all subtle-like, “Are you taking any college classes?”
He smiles, probably remembering my summer school mistake. “Yeah.”
“Where?”
That easy smile shadows a little bit. “Denver.”
Disappointment washes over me, starting in my chest and working its way down to my toes. Linus doesn’t have that summer fling vibe. He has that forever look. And forever is pretty impossible when he’s going to school over seven hundred miles away.
As if reading my mind, Linus leans forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. “But I’m still here for a few more months.”
I smile, nodding like it’s not a big deal.
Lauren, though, can see right through me. We haven’t had a chance to talk about Linus, and I know she’ll pounce on me as soon as we have a moment. I’m not sure if she remembers him from the street or not, but I have a feeling she does.
“Where are you going next year?” Linus asks.
“Just the local university.”
“Do you know your major yet?”
“I’m leaning toward elementary education.”
The hot water that Lauren set to boil when we first started the fire is hot enough for tea, and Lauren finally ditches her layers to make herself a cup. “Riley’s awesome with kids. She and Harper have seven-year-old twin brothers.”
“Really?” Linus asks. “What’s that like?”
“They’re demons,” Harper interrupts.
“They are not,” I argue. “They’re just…no. Yeah, that pretty much sums them up.”
Lauren looks for the misplaced hot mitt. Linus beats her to it, jumping up and pouring the water for her. As he does, she shoots me an impressed look over her shoulder.
Yeah, he’s nice. We’ve been over that.
I give her an exaggerated tight look, the kind that tells her to back off a bit. She returns it with a mystified one of her own, like she can’t figure out what my problem is. She quickly schools the expression when Linus hands her the cup. After she thanks him, she wanders to Harrison’s side.
“It doesn’t look like they need us,” Linus says. “Up for a walk?”
I glance at the rest of the group, but they’re all preoccupied, debating what we should eat tonight. Apparently, Brandon remembered the hot dogs, but he forgot the buns. Lauren’s complaining that hot dogs are gross, and Harper’s holding her sixth marshmallow over the fire, so she’s not going to be hungry to eat dinner anyway.
For some reason, feeling a little weird and emotional, it hits me how much I love our group. When Lauren and I graduated, my biggest fear was that we’d all drift apart. But look at us.
“Sure,” I finally say.
We’re in a dispersed campground in National Forest, so we’re pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Still, it’s a popular area, and there are a lot of other campers around. Through the trees, other fires flicker, and laughter drifts through the early evening air. It’s pretty much perfect.
Linus and I walk side-by-side. His hands are shoved into the pockets of his coat, and mine are in my hoodie. I sneak a peek at him from the corner of my eye. His coat is flannel-lined and made of duck fabric, just like Brandon’s. He’s wearing jeans and cowboy boots, and he looks so naturally outdoorsy, I can’t picture him anywhere else.
“What?” he asks, his voice a little wary when he notices me studying him.
I nudge his boot with my shoe. “Where’s your cowboy hat?”
He laughs. “I’ll have you know, these boots are not only very comfortable but waterproof.”
“I can’t figure you out,” I say before I can stop myself.
A half-smirk graces his lips. “What’s throwing you off?”
I point my hand at him and wave it up and then down. “You keep telling me you’re some kind of geeky nerd, but when you’re looking like this, I just don’t buy it.”
The mountain air is growing cooler now that the sun has sunk behind the mountains. The smell of wood smoke, rain, and pine needles is heavy in the air, and it’s doing funny things to me. Basically, if you wanted to plop me down in the middle of my own personal paradise, this would be it.
“I swear, I am.” He stops in the middle of the path and angles toward me. “But let’s focus on the ‘looking like this’ part.” He shifts a little closer, his mouth serious but his eyes bright. “Looking like what exactly?”
“You know.” My face starts to flush, and my heart does this funny skitter thing. “You’re kind of…”
He steps closer. “Yeah?”
I look at the trees over his shoulder. “You’re cute, okay? Especially when you’re all”—I motion to his clothes again— “this.”
A quick smile flashes over his face, making the conversation even more awkward. “You think I’m cute? Like a bunny or a puppy or one those big-eyed stuffed animals?”
I’m glad he’s enjoying himself, because, right now, I wish I’d kept my mouth shut. “I just can’t see you working in a video game store.”
Linus tilts his head back and laughs, genuinely amused. “That really rankles you, doesn’t it?”
I start walking again and give him a look that says, What? No, when, of course, it totally does. “I just can’t see it—that’s all.”
“And you know what I can’t see?” he says, matching my pace.
I glance at him, silently telling him to go on.
He continues, “I can’t see how a girl who’s as gorgeous as you are—who’s smart and funny and so sure of herself, is bending over backwards, lying about herself, to impress some fake, artsy poseur who might as well have a sign over his head that reads ‘player’ in giant capital letters.”
I gape at him. Sadly, all I can focus on is the fact that he said I was gorgeous and smart and funny.
He softens the words with a smile and a shrug. “Just saying.” We’re quiet for a few minutes, and then he quietly adds, “You know what else I think?”
Still a little surprised that he said all that, I glance at him. “I have a feeling you’re going to tell me anyway.”
“I think you’re trying to find someone who is the opposite of Harrison.”
My cheeks flush again, this time
because my temper is starting to flare. “I most certainly am not.”
Linus turns so we’re directly facing each other. “You don’t have to date a jerk just to prove that you’re not still into him.”
“I’m not still into him!”
He tilts his head, challenging me.
“I’m not!” I hiss again. I turn from him, not liking that this conversation has wandered a little too close to the ache in my core. “I just want someone who’s going to help me forget, okay? I want to forget that he chose Lauren. That he didn’t want me. I want to find someone reckless, someone who’s not going to think things to death like I am.”
I turn away, but then I whip back and pin him with my eyes. “And you’re right—I don’t want nice. I want sparks and fire. I want a romance novel. A Jane Austen movie. A fairy tale.”
Linus stares at me, almost expressionless. I can’t read him, and I realize I got a little carried away. I turn away, ready to head back to camp, but he catches my arm and pulls me back, flush against his chest.
I blink up at him, startled. Slowly, with maddening control, he slides his hands up my arms until they’re gently cupping my face, and his fingers are in my hair. His eyes are intense, almost gray in the dimming light, and they’re focused on mine.
No one has ever looked at me the way Linus is looking right now, not ever. My heart hiccups, and a wave of confusion and longing washes over me.
Linus’s thumb brushes over my bottom lip, making me gasp, and he leans in until our noses brush. “Just for the record, nice doesn’t necessarily mean boring.”
Just as I’m weak-kneed and utterly defenseless, he drops his hands and steps past me, heading back the way we came. I turn, bringing a trembling finger to my lips, and watch him go.
CHAPTER TEN
I always wake up before anyone at camp. I don’t know if it’s the tent lightening in the early hours or the birds chirping in the trees, but I’m always awake by five in the morning.
Harper and Lauren are still crashed out. Lauren has so many blankets over her sleeping bag, all I can see of her is the ends of her curly, tawny hair poking out the top. At least she slept. I was a little worried she’d be awake all night.
Shine and Shimmer (Glitter and Sparkle #2) Page 7