Chapter 33
“I’m not pouting.” My words are quiet and grumpy. While neither Kinsley nor Liza have said a damn word about the faces I know I’m making, I can feel their eyes and their judgment on me.
And I’m really not here for it right now. I shift in my plastic chair, eyes on Kayde as he lounges in the seat next to Daniel. He’s smiling, Lassie persona in place, but now that I half know what I’m looking for, I can see that not everything is right on his face.
Plus, I don’t think he’s exactly paying attention to his friend. The two of them have been thick as thieves since Kayde showed up two weeks ago, though I can’t be sure if it’s a true friendship on Kayde’s part, or merely a cover up to make him not look so suspicious.
Frankly, it could be either.
“You’re pouting,” Kinsley sighs, shoving half of her brownie in my direction before settling against Liza’s arm that rests on the back of her chair. “I wasn’t going to say anything, but since you’ve brought it up now…” She shrugs. “Why are you pouting?”
I take the brownie with a groan of thanks, shoving it into my mouth and making my cheeks puff up like a chipmunk’s.
Which, of course, is the moment Kayde’s eyes find mine across Otter Hall. He pauses, brows rising just a touch, and he almost appears incredulous, if not incredibly amused. His lips move, and seconds later his eyes flick back to Daniel as he replies to something the other counselor said.
“I’d like to know too,” Liza admits, reaching up to dig her fingers lightly into Kinsley’s hair. My best friend sighs and leans back into the scalp massage, eyes going half lidded. For a moment, as I look at them, I wonder if there’s anyone, kid or adult, in Camp Crestview who doesn’t know they’re dating.
Surely not. It would take someone blind, deaf, and in a coma not to see it with how obvious the two of them are in their absolute adoration of each other.
It’s adorable.
It’s enviable.
And no, it’s not something I’ll get from Kayde.
But after watching them, I can’t help but look back at him, who’s watching me again, this time with something like curiosity on his face. God, I hate when he’s curious, or interested. It usually means I’m going to regret it later.
No, you won’t, that treacherous little voice in my brain whispers. You’ll love it later, you just don’t want to admit it. But I shut her down, drowning out the voice and reminding myself that there is no later because this is not the same as two weeks ago. There’s no game, no deal, no nothing.
Except my trepidation and anticipation of Kayde that continually wars in my chest to see which is in the lead at any given moment. I suck in a breath and look away, eyes going to Liza and Kinsley.
Of course they’re staring at me. They know where I’ve been looking, I’m sure, but at least they’re decent enough not to say anything about that.
“I’m pouting over Kayde,” I mumble, glancing down at my mostly empty plate. “Okay?”
“What did he say to you?” Kinsley sounds unsure of the question, and quickly adds, “I don’t want you to think you have to tell me. If It’s personal, or if you’d rather not?—”
“He explained why he left,” I admit, shrugging my shoulders as thunder rumbles overhead. I glance up at the gasps of some of the kids, though Melody just looks thrilled at the prospect of a storm hitting tonight.
Admittedly, a lot of the kids look forward to them. Even if they are terrifying for the campers sometimes, there’s something about a thunderstorm at summer camp that hits different.
Somehow, it feels special. Like an event, instead of just weather patterns in the mountains. It isn’t raining yet, as far as I know, but a second rumble of thunder follows the first. I doubt we’ll be having a campfire tonight, at this rate. It’ll likely end up being game night here, then an early night with a softer bed time than usual, since the kids will probably be up with the storms for a while.
“He said…” I can feel the flush staining my cheeks, and I fight the urge to reach up and press my cooler palms against the heated skin of my face. “Well, he wants to make it up to me. He wants me to feel the same for him as he does for me.” That’s as close as I can come to the actual conversation, and I’m still squirming in my seat at just this much of the truth.
The two trade a look, and I can see the silent conversation that passes between them. Finally, Liza reaches out to clasp one hand over mine, and pulls my attention up to her with a tap on the back of my hand before she speaks. “Do you want to give him another chance?” she asks, no trace of judgment or condescension in her voice or her face.
“Yes.” I don’t mean to say it so quickly. Kayde is…well, he’s Kayde. “But I’m so mad at him. I hate him a little. But I also… Umm. Well, I don’t hate him all the way.” God, I must look so embarrassed. I feel the urge to kick a chair into Darcy’s path, just for fun, just to do something unkind and get the attention off of me.
Plus, I’m still upset with her. I despise her, and I’m dying to hear about her reaction to Kayde coming back.
If she has one, anyway. I’d expected her to join him at Daniel”s table, Shawn in tow, like always. Yet she and Shawn are sitting in the far corner of the dining hall, neither of them even looking at anyone else other than their kids occasionally.
“So do you want me to punch him in his pretty face?” Kinsley definitely sounds a little too eager at the idea, and she shifts in her seat, eyes on mine as I pull my hand back from Liza to sit back in my chair.
“No,” I assure her, holding a hand up for mercy. “No, I like his face as it is. And I’d love to complete this week without any bruises.”
Both of them fix me with a look, and when it dawns on me what they’re referring to, I feel a new rush of heat in my face all over again.
“Okay, okay,” I hiss, closing my eyes hard. “You know what I mean. Violent bruises. From getting hit with kayak paddles and nearly drowning or, like, getting punched in the face. I don’t mean other bruises.”
Because if Kayde does anything, it’ll probably result in bruises littering my throat and shoulders. I’m certainly not na?ve enough to think I hate him enough that I don’t want him. At the very least, on a physical level.
And, well, more than that, if I’m completely honest in my own thoughts.
I glance toward him and Daniel again, only to do a double take when I realize Daniel’s now the only one there. When he sees me staring at him, he tilts his head to the side, eyes following as if pointing me in the direction that Kayde’s gone. And sure enough, when I follow his look, I see Kayde prowling toward Darcy, though the latter doesn’t realize it until Kayde has crowded her casually against the window where the dishes go.
“Gotta go,” I mumble, jumping to my feet and scooping my plate and glass up in my hands. “I’ll, umm… I’ll talk to you guys later.” I can feel Liza’s and Kinsley’s confused looks on me as I rush toward the open window into the kitchen, my eyes glued on Kayde.
But I’m not fast enough. He whispers something in Darcy’s ear moments before I reach them, and she whirls around, her face pale as she looks up at him with wide eyes. I open my mouth, prepared to say something to diffuse the situation, just as Shawn grabs my wrist, yanking me to a stop.
“What the fuck?” I hiss in his face, eyes wide. “Get off of me.”
“Tell your boyfriend to fuck off, Summer,” he murmurs under his breath, his narrowed eyes unfriendly, to say the least. “She didn’t do shit to you, no matter what you told him. And if this is about your feelings?—”
“I can’t stop him from being an ass if you don’t stop fucking talking, asswipe,” I hiss softly, making sure none of the kids can hear. But I refuse to look afraid or upset. I refuse to give the kids something to look at. Well, at least more than we already are.
Shawn hesitates, his eyes going from me to Darcy, before his grip on my wrist relaxes and I jerk free, turning again toward the other two.
Only to run right into Kayde. Darcy shoves past me, and Kayde’s hands come out to steady me as he watches over my head at either Shawn or Darcy. I don’t know which. But judging by the cold, shrewd way his eyes narrow, I can assume he’s not really fond of whoever it is.
Then again, maybe he doesn’t like either of them.
“Kayde,” I hiss, glaring up at him and dragging his attention back to me. “What did you say to her? What were you doing?”
He looks surprised for half a second before an unfriendly, arrogant smile crawls over his lips. “I was telling her what I think of what she said to you,” Kayde purrs, pulling the plate and glass from my hands and setting them in the bins behind him. “We were just having a conversation, babe. Nothing to get upset about.” Without another word, he moves past me, walking toward the doors at the end of Otter Hall.
I barely hesitate before I’m rushing after him, blood pulsing and heart thrumming against my ribs. It’s not his call on what I get upset about. It’s not his call to confront Darcy for what she said to me. “I don’t get you,” I hiss, hot on his heels as he pushes open the door. It’s started to drizzle, but Kayde slips around the back of the building to remain under the overhang to prevent himself, and me, from getting wet. “Can you stop?” I can’t help the way my voice raises, the way I’m nearly shouting at him. “I’m trying to talk to you! Kayde, I’m serious?—”
He whirls around suddenly, slamming me back into the wall of Otter Hall. “Yeah, baby girl, I hear you,” he murmurs, face impossibly close to mine and lips brushing my jaw. “Had to get you away from where anyone could hear your shouting first. Now, you want to tell me what’s wrong? Why you’re looking like you want to rip out my throat?” He reaches up to stroke his thumb over my bottom lip, and my breath stutters in my throat.
“You—” My words sound strangled and unsure. “Because you were saying shit to Darcy. Don’t lie to me. You weren’t being nice.”
“I’d never lie to you, gorgeous girl,” Kayde cuts me off swiftly, eyes narrowing. “Don’t insult me like that. Told you, didn’t I? That I’m in love with you?” His grip seems to tighten on me as he says it. “Why would I lie to you if I want to make you feel the same way, hmm?”
There are a lot of answers to that question, and I don’t feel like offering up any of them, so I stay quiet.
“You’re right. I wasn’t being nice to her. Why in the world would I be nice to her, Summer?” he scoffs. Thunder sounds behind him, making me jump, and that gives him pause.
“I’m not afraid of storms,” I’m quick to tell him, my fingers curled in his shirt. Belatedly, I notice his thigh slotting between mine, and it feels like this is becoming his favorite position when he’s pushing me into things. “I’m just jumpy sometimes.”
“I know you are, baby,” Kayde agrees. “Now, is there something else you want to chastise me for? Something you’re mad about? Or are you really, truly, just that worried for Darcy’s wellbeing?” he spits the word like it tastes bad in his mouth, and I can’t help but snort.
“Yeah, okay? I don’t want you to rip her to shreds.”
“Why?” He trails a thumb over my lip again. “She’d throw you in the river and leave you for dead if she thought it might impress me, Summer. Surely you know that.”
“Well…” I grin at him, the crooked smile probably forced. “I like to think I’m a better person than Darcy, okay?”
Kayde’s grin turns wicked, and he leans in close like he’s going to kiss me. “Well…” His lips brush mine, and he lets out a soft huff of a chuckle against my lips. “It’s a damn good thing I’m not, huh?” Before I can answer, his lips slant against mine, causing whatever reply I might come up with to vanish before it can really form.
After all, I really can’t focus on anything else when it’s Kayde’s mouth on mine, and Kayde pinning me to the wall while lightning flashes over his shoulders to paint him in an eerie, promising light.