Chapter 5 #3
“You think I don’t know about two-faced bitches? My brother is Mason Cunningham, an all-American quarterback. I never know who wants to be my friend, for me or for him. I’d rather ignore them. I’ll never see them after camp.”
My speech does nothing to ease Leo’s anger.
“You may be a Cunningham, but you’re with Nate now.” I’ve never seen fun-loving Leo so serious. “And no one fucks with the Morales-Davenport family.”
Nate nods, agreeing, his gaze locked on the girls. “They forget our families run theirs. One call to their fathers could ruin them.”
“Holy hell,” Addie chimes in. “I’m not usually into all this macho bullshit, but damn, the three of you are hot as hell right now, all concerned, protecting our girl.”
“Okay. Enough, everyone. Do not make this worse for me.” Still, the warmth in my chest is undeniable. These are my people, and I love them for it. “Okay?”
“Yeah. Yeah,” Mase responds. “Just agree, guys. You haven’t seen Maddie mad yet, and it’s not pretty.”
Nate’s whole body vibrates next to me, his thoughts running wild.
“You’re not going to drop this, are you?”
“Nope.” He kisses my forehead. “I know it doesn’t bother you, but it bothers me.”
“Is everything all right over here?” Ms. Meyers interrupts us.
Instantly, I’m a nervous wreck. The last thing I want is for Addie to get in trouble.
Luckily, we have Leo, Mr. Charming, to smooth things over.
His dimples pop as he flashes her a disarming smile and says, “We never cause any trouble, Ms. Meyers. You know us.”
She raises an unimpressed brow toward Addie; thankfully, Leo jumps in again.
“Adelaide was simply upholding Camp Horizon’s strict no-bullying policy. She may have used some choice words,”—he pauses for effect—“but it was out of passion for protecting the innocence of our dear, sweet Madeline. For the well-being of our fragile mental health, and the—”
“All right, Mr. Morales. You can cut the act.” It’s not hard to miss the smile Ms. Meyers suppresses. “I’m giving you a warning, Ms. Sinclair. No more making a scene at my camp.”
Her eyes lock with mine. “If any of you have a problem, you come to me. Understood?”
We all agree.
Crisis averted.
I take a sip of my hot chocolate, then wrap the blanket around me while leaning toward the guys. Now that the sun is down, I’m freezing. Leo mumbles something to Nate, and I catch the tail end of it. “Ask me what? And yes, I’m eavesdropping.”
“Way to ruin it, jackass.” Nate turns his back on Leo, all attention on me.
The wary look in his blue eyes has me nervous. “What’s going on?”
He twirls the ends of my hair around his pointer finger, avoiding eye contact. “So…you know how my parents couldn’t make it to family weekend last week?”
I nod. My parents couldn’t either, but that was expected.
Rosa, Javier, and their siblings were meant to be here. Unfortunately, Rosa got terrible food poisoning.
“Well, the camp has arranged for them to visit in a few days.” Nate finally looks at me. “I was wondering if you’d come to lunch with us.”
“Really?” The sentiment unleashes a flood of warmth inside of me. “Are you sure?”
Nate frowns. “Of course, I’m sure, Mads. I-I…I really like you, Maddie.”
Paging cloud nine. I’m on my way.
My smile reaches the width of my face, and my insides dance happily. “I really like you, too, Nate.”
He intertwines our fingers, running the pad of his thumb along my fingertips. “Like a lot.” His voice dips. “Like, I want to transfer schools to Georgia until we go to USC together, a lot.”
My breath hitches.
I haven’t told him. There is no way I’m telling him first, but I love Nate.
So. So much.
It’s only been a little over a month, so maybe I’m na?ve or crazy since I’ve never had a boyfriend, but there is no way this isn’t love.
Absolutely no way.
He is on my mind every second of the day.
My smile never fades when he’s around, and the butterflies never stop.
I wake up counting the minutes until I can see him again, and I hate ever leaving his side.
His touch sets my body ablaze, and his laugh makes everything feel light.
And when he looks at me, it’s as if the whole world slows down.
I swear, just being near him makes my heart feel like it’s about to jump out of my chest.
Nate’s the kind of person who makes you feel safe, like no matter how bad your day is, it’s okay because he exists.
I’m addicted.
Or maybe I’m obsessed.
Or maybe that’s just love.
Honestly? Being obsessed with the person you love doesn’t sound so bad to me.
Nate tilts his head. “So what do you say, Mads?”
I lean in and peck his cheek. “I say you’re going to USC no matter what. And yes, I’d love to go to lunch.”
“Good. Now let’s get the hell out of here so we can make out for an hour before curfew.”
I burst out laughing, letting him pull me to my feet.
Addie is deep in conversation with Leo, so I hug her quickly. In return, she dramatically blows me a kiss goodbye, and Leo copies her.
My brother is God knows where, and I couldn’t care about anyone else.
Nothing else matters.
There will always be time for dancing on the beach and bonfires with s’mores.
Time for ghost stories and hot chocolate.
But there are only two more weeks with Nate Davenport, and I refuse to waste one second of our precious time together.