Chapter 6
Maddie Grace
I huff, stomping my feet, kicking up sand as I put as much distance as possible between me and the stupid, cursed waters of Lake Horizon.
I. Am. Done.
“Get your cute ass back here, Madeline,” Nate calls after me, his voice laced with amusement.
I whip around, throwing him the filthiest glare I can conjure. “Never. You want me back on that death trap you call a boat. You better wrap me in fifteen life vests first.”
“Don’t be so dramatic,” he teases, trailing behind me. “It wasn’t that bad.”
Is he serious?
“It’s been a month, Nate. One whole month, and I still can’t swim.”
Frustration surges through me, my bottom lip wobbling against my will. I grit my teeth, forcing back the sting of tears.
What the hell is wrong with me? It’s like I’m made of bricks.
I can’t even float.
Before I can shake him off, Nate wraps his wet body around mine. “Don’t be upset. You’ll get it.”
“I don’t want to do it anymore, Nate.” My voice comes out smaller than I’d like. “Let’s pick something else to do together. Something that doesn’t involve drowning.”
“Sailing is my life, Mads. I’m going to have my boat with me in California, and I want you on it all the time when you come.”
“Stop saying California,” I spit, taking my anger out on him. “I’m not going to get into that college. You’re planning this whole life for nothing.”
“Whoa.” He pulls back, his brows drawing together as he studies my face. “What’s going on right now? Since when do you think you’re not going to get in?”
Since there’s more at stake.
Since I started picturing a future that might not exist.
And I hate that for me…for us.
I shrug, unwilling to voice the storm raging inside of me.
Nate’s a mind reader when it comes to the people he cares for. He’s always one step ahead, anticipating what people need before they even realize it themselves. It’s a quality I admire, one I adore, but sometimes…sometimes it makes it impossible to hide.
If I say anything, he’ll see right through me, dissecting every word.
“Mads, talk to me, babe. What’s going on through my goddess’s head?”
If I don’t get into USC, it won’t just mean choosing a backup plan…it’ll mean leaving him behind.
And that thought has been slowly breaking my heart, little by little.
I can barely believe we’ll make it until I graduate high school, though Nate is not only convinced, he’s determined to prove me wrong. But making it through college? That’s on a whole other level.
One, I don’t think we’d survive.
“Hey.” Nate’s voice is low, full of concern, when I still don’t answer, pulling me back into a fierce, unwavering embrace.
I bury my face in his chest. “I don’t want to go home in two weeks,” I whisper, my lips moving over his bare chest. The taste of the summer sun is strong on his tanned skin.
His grip tightens around me. “No more mention of Georgia.” He kisses the top of my head, lingering for a moment. “Let’s be in the here and now.”
He’s right.
Why am I torturing myself when we still have two weeks of unlimited, uninterrupted time together?
I exhale, releasing all my negative thoughts and the tension in my chest. “Let’s try swimming again.”
He shakes his head no.
“Why not?”
“If you really want to learn, we’ll keep working on it.
But not today. And not for me. I want you to do it for yourself, not for any other reason.
” My heart flutters as Nate cups my cheeks, gently brushing damp strands of hair off my forehead.
“This is your life, Maddie. You’re the only one who decides what you want.
You’re the boss of you. Don’t let anyone, including me, dictate your life. ”
I love him.
“You said sailing is your life,” I whisper. “I want to be a part of that.”
He kisses my head again. “I shouldn’t have used that to push you into something you’re not ready for. That’s why life vests exist.” His smirk tilts playfully. “Besides, some people really are just terrible swimmers.”
“Nate!” I playfully shove his chest. “That’s not nice.”
He chuckles and pulls out his favorite cherry lollipop from his backpack. I snatch it and quickly stick it in my mouth.
The tart burst of cherry instantly reminds me of Nate’s kisses.
He tugs the stick, smirking as I slowly let the candy slide from my lips. Deliberately teasing him, I tightened my lips around it before releasing it with a quiet pop.
Nate’s nostrils flare. “Fuck, you’re hot.”
He takes the lollipop from my fingers and slides it between his lips, swirling his tongue around the candy with excruciating slowness.
Watching him…his tongue…
Something snaps inside me, and I yank the lollipop from his mouth far less gently than he did and crash my lips to his.
He groans into the kiss, his hands finding my bare waist, gripping me tightly as he pulls me against him. My bikini-clad chest presses into his, my nipples turn to stiff peaks as they rub against him, and my skin ignites with excitement at the contact.
His lips part, his tongue teases against mine; there is no holding back my pleasure-filled moan that vibrates through us. We’re both too consumed and completely lost in the heat of our kiss when a loud, piercing whistle blows three times in succession from the lifeguard.
We jump apart, wide-eyed, chest heaving.
Something I find we’re doing more often than not.
When the lifeguards blow three times, it’s time to head back to the cabins to get ready for dinner.
“Madeline!” I look up, startled, and see Mase running with the other athletes.
I wave excitedly. I don’t often see Mase during the day because his practice facilities are on the opposite side of camp, nowhere near the pottery studio or any of the beach activities I love.
“I’ll meet up with you guys in a second,” Mase calls out.
“Like your fat ass can catch up to us,” Reade, one of the soccer players I recognize, calls out, laughing.
Mase flips him the bird as he jogs over to Nate and me.
He grabs me in a tight embrace, and I almost puke instantly.
“Ew, get off of me, Mason!” I gag. “You smell disgusting, and you’re all sweaty.”
He lets me go, laughing loudly. “What are you guys up to? Where’s Leo?”
I snicker. “I saw him trying to talk to Bethany earlier, but she ignored him mostly.”
Mase and Nate laugh. “She’s killing his oversized ego.”
Nate agrees. “She’s doing us a solid if you ask me.”
“Oh, Maddie, before I forget, call home when you get a chance. Apparently, it’s been a while.” His pointed stare doesn’t go unnoticed. It means Mama gave him hell that I haven’t called her.
I was only trying to keep some of my sanity until I knew I had no other choice.
“I’ll call tomorrow.” Mase pauses. I know he wants to fight me on it. “Tomorrow, Mason.”
“Fine.” He looks me up and down. “Have you been in the water? How are the swimming lessons going?”
From my peripheral vision I see Nate shaking his head quickly, motioning to stop talking. I turn toward him, giving him the death stare.
Mase chuckles. “That bad?”
“Shut up, Mason,” I snap.
Mase looks back at where he came from. “Shit, I should get going. I just wanted to say hi quickly. See y’all at dinner.” He waves as he sets off on a full sprint.
Nate glances at his watch, then grabs our bags, lacing his fingers through mine. Without a word, he pulls me toward the woods, away from the cabins.
“Where are we going?” I try to keep up.
“A hidden spot,” he replies simply.
“But we—”
Nate interrupts me by stopping short and shutting me up with a quick, mind-melting kiss. “Trust me?”
“Of course.”
We walk for ten, maybe fifteen minutes, down a narrow path I’ve never noticed before until we reach a large clearing.
It’s a small but breathtaking meadow with long, whimsical grass and beautiful bursts of flowers, surrounded by tall oak trees.
The whole place looks untouched, like something out of a dream.
“Wow.” I turn around in awe of the beautiful nature surrounding us.
Nate wraps his arms around my shoulders from behind, pulling my back into his chest, resting his chin on my head.
“Worth sneaking off for?”
I nod. “How did you find this place?”
“My sailing instructor pointed it out the other day. It’s technically part of the state park, so it’s not on the campgrounds map,” he says, dropping our bags and then himself onto the grass.
“I came to check it out yesterday when you were playing beach volleyball to make sure it was worth the risk of leaving the camp.”
My eyes snap to Nate, full of worry.
“Don’t worry, good girl.” He winks. “You won’t get into trouble.”
“You can’t possibly know that. What if they call Mama? What if—”
“I saw three of the counselors smoking weed when they were on night watch, so I may have blackmailed them.”
“No way.” I laugh. “So they won’t tattle?”
“Nope. We’re good for one hour until dinner.” He holds out his hand. “So? Are you gonna join me or stand there looking beautiful?”
I hesitate, biting my lip. Then, with a sigh, I drop beside him.
I glance at my bikini and Nate’s swim trunks. “We’ll need to leave enough time for us to go back to our cabins and change.”
“I got you, babe.”
He opens his backpack to show me it’s filled with all my things. Jean shorts, a camp tee, a brush, even the lotion I like to use after a day in the sun.
“How…Addie?”
He smiles and nods, slipping his arm around me.
“Mads.”
“Yeah?” I lean my head on his shoulder.
His voice softens. “I don’t want you to worry about USC, okay? Your portfolio is shaping up to be better than mine ever was. Even Leo’s, and he’s a perfectionist.”
I sigh, not wanting to talk about this right now.
“But there are only so many scholarships, Nate, and what if I don’t get the loans I need?”
He turns us so we are facing one another, and I’m hit with déjà vu from the first day we sat by the lake.
How in the world has it already been a month?
But also…how has it only been one month?