Sun Kissed (Camp Boyfriend) (2 page)

Alex leaned close and stared out the window. “Look at the way Kayla is ignoring Nick. Sucks to be him.”

I nodded, my heart going out to the thin boy standing on the edge of the circle of squealing girls. His expression alternated between lost and confused.

“Now that she’s in Divas’ Den, I doubt they’ll want her hanging out with him.” I wished it wasn’t true, but knew it was. Hannah’s group cared about appearances, one of the reasons they’d hadn’t spoken more than ten words to me… ever. But they seemed to be welcoming pretty, blonde Kayla now that she’d joined their cabin, just not her gawky best friend. Poor Nick, I thought as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and shuffled away.

“I choose Lauren,” Siobhan spoke behind me.

The sound of my name brought me around in a hurry, and I turned to find the rest of my cabin mates staring at Alex and me. Siobhan tapped her blunt nails on her book.

“Looks like you just got Truth or Dared,” Alex stage-whispered.

God, I hated this game.

“Doesn’t Piper choose who goes next?” I turned in the cramped space, already littered with books, clothes, towels, and our favorite snack—econo-sized bags of kettle corn. We
were
named Munchies’ Manor for a reason. My shoulders slumped as I imagined its salty-sweetness. Popcorn was on my post-braces “Don’t Eat” list. At least in public.

Maybe Piper would choose Trinity. Anyone but me.

“No. You all made it my turn when you asked about my kiss.” There was no arguing with Siobhan. She’d scored a spot on her high school debate team before her freshman year. “Truth or Dare?”

I swallowed hard. Alex puckered up and blew kisses at a giggling Trinity. Piper leaped on Jackie, pressed a pillow over her face, and pretended to French it. Yuck. They were the ones acting like children—so why did I feel like everyone had grown up this year except me? How to escape the question I knew they were about to ask?

Who gave you
your
first kiss, Lauren?

If I told them the truth—that I still hadn’t kissed anyone—they’d pester me all summer about it. No one dared bother Jackie. She was too good-looking for it to matter if she’d kissed anyone since she could
have
anyone she wanted. Even Siobhan had kissed someone. And Alex had gotten her first kiss out of the way two—count ’em,
two
—years ago. I wasn’t just a KV now. I was practically Boy Plague. One with a robo deathtrap mouth. Awesome.

“Dare,” I said with more bite than I’d intended. These were my closest friends. They were teasing and didn’t mean to hurt.

A hush followed my pronouncement. “Okay.” She nodded slowly, as if she’d already guessed my answer and had come up with a scary alternative. I tapped the blue-and-navy lanyard bracelet that matched the one I’d made her six years ago, the first year she’d come to camp. It was our silent signal for mercy, but she didn’t seem to notice.

My stomach cramped.
Susannah—please show. Puh-lease.

“Then I dare you to kiss a boy. At camp.” Siobhan smiled, her glasses lifting from the rise in her high cheekbones. “Get a boy alone during the bonfire tonight and kiss him.”

“No way.” I shook my head, unable to believe my ears. I could picture Alex giving me that kind of crazy dare. But Siobhan? “I’ll get caught and end up with mess hall cleanup for a week.”

Siobhan bit back a smile and Trinity cleared her throat. “Maybe. Maybe not. Besides, you set the standard for embarrassing dares, Lauren. Remember when you made me put a pair of my underwear on the cabin flagpole?”

“I was nine years old when I thought that up!” I protested. And it hadn’t been a real flagpole.

The girls crossed their arms and stared me down until my shoulders drooped in defeat. Fair was fair. But it also sucked.

Fan-freaking-tastic. If I kissed a boy other than Seth, my chance at a summer romance with him would be ruined. And if I kissed Seth … My stomach turned a quick, skittering flip, my brain refusing to compute that option.

While I prayed for some way to get out of the dare, the screen door banged open.

“Ready, ladies?” Our counselor, Susannah, glided into the room. She was a competitive Irish step dancer in her non-camp life and you could see it in the way she moved. She flipped her long, auburn ponytail, the color similar to the natural highlights in my dark-brown hair, and motioned us forward. “Let’s go to the bonfire!”

There was a general scuffle as my cabin mates found flashlights for the walk back in the dark. Two had to use the bathroom and Alex had to reapply her hairspray. As for me, a quick glance in the mirror confirmed what I already knew. The sun multiplied my freckles and the humidity turned my curls to frizz. Makeup was out of the question since I’d used precious luggage space packing a portable telescope for astronomy experiments. I needed to perform them to make my dream of joining NASA’s Aerospace Scholars group come true.

Now I wished I’d listened to my older sister, Kellianne, and brought some mascara, giving my brown eyes that smoky look she gushed about, even if my square frames hid them a bit. At least it would have delayed my walk of lame. And eye shadow might distract attention from my disco ball mouth. Was it too late to ask for a “Truth”?

I hung back as we walked to the bonfire, hoping to reason with Siobhan.

“What if I did a double truth or something? Two questions for the price of one?” I’d learned about the art of negotiation from Siobhan. Maybe she would appreciate the effort?

“No deals.” She snapped off a tall daisy along the path and plucked its petals one by one.

I sighed.

“Besides.” Piper showed up on my other side. “We all know you secretly like Seth. So kiss him.”

“What?” I stopped and did a double-take. How the hell did they figure that out?

“Oh get over it.” Siobhan whacked my arm with the flower as we headed down toward the beach. “We all watched you two drool over each other last year. Besides, Seth’s been your friend for like… ever. How hard will it be to get him alone and give him a kiss?”

An owl called in the half-light. Seth, as passionate about studying plants and animals as I was about the stars, would know what kind it was. And yeah, I couldn’t wait to see him. He loved nights like this as much as I did. I named the constellations for him and he pointed out the wildlife lurking at the edge of the woods. Seth was strong from hiking and canoeing instead of lifting weights. What would he do if I kissed him? The thought made my cheeks warm. My braces tighten.

“You guys are nuts.” My denial made the girls laugh.

“Hello? Munchies’ Manor Rule Number One: never lie to each other—ever. Remember?” Piper scooped up a gum wrapper from the path and pocketed it. I knew she’d throw it on the bonfire.

“Yep. Own it, Lauren.” Jackie tossed an acorn in the air and smacked it with a twig, sending it pinging into the gloom.

I hung my head. They were right. Why had I thought I could—or should—hold out on my oldest, closest friends? Since I was a loner back home, these summers with the girls meant so much.

“Fine. I do like him. Why did I think I’d even try to hide it? Totally pointless. But you can’t say anything. And how am I going to get him away from the bonfire?” This was happening way too fast.

“A smoke allergy?” Trinity offered from behind us.

“I’ve gone to tons of bonfires.” I inhaled the burning, wood-scented air. My eyes closed and I breathed it in again. I’d missed that aroma all year. Nothing signaled the start of camp better than the smell of crackling birch logs.

“Or you could say you saw some litter in the woods,” Piper suggested. “And you want to clean it up.”

“Pick up trash rather than sit by a fire? Yeah, he’d probably buy that,” Siobhan drawled, her sarcasm making Trinity’s wide mouth quirk. “Just ask him to go for a walk. You’re friends, remember?”

Which was exactly why I shouldn’t be kissing him. What if I puckered up, only to have him take a sudden interest in some rare plant? Or worse, he kissed me and his lips snagged on my braces? Imagine explaining that to the nurse. The humiliation would be a gift that kept on giving the whole summer through.

“Susannah? Can we sit near the front?” Alex’s sharp nudge to my ribs made me gasp.

 “Sure,” Susannah called before rounding a bend ahead of us. “Fill in behind the Wander Inn, okay?”

Seth’s cabin. I froze and took in the smirking faces surrounding me. I knew they meant well, maybe even thought they were doing my shy self a favor, but this was a full-out conspiracy. And ohmigod. There he was.

Taller than all his friends, he sat in the middle of the Wander Inn guys. Where other boys couldn’t sit still—wrestling and shoving, perpetually in motion—Seth was laid-back. Calm and relaxed, his shoulders broad compared to the squirrely kid next to him, Seth was like the calm in the center of the storm for his cabin. He was a year older than the rest of us and it showed.

And he was oh-so-good-looking.

If he'd walked into camp without his nerd herd around him, he would have turned even Hannah’s head. Seth’s nearly six-foot height dwarfed most of the guys. Plus his sandy hair with blond tips made him look more like a West Coast surfer than the son of an Indiana University wrestling coach. He loved the outdoors and he looked like he could have walked out of a J. Crew catalog, with his long khaki shorts and worn cotton tees. The one he had on tonight looked like it was navy blue a few hundred washings ago. I’d bet if I touched his shoulder, the combination of fabric over muscle would feel both hard and soft….

“Come on.” Alex jerked her chin in the direction I should have been walking.

Somehow I’d stopped to just … stare.

Awkward girl genes—you never let me down.

Forcing my eyes to the ground, I hurried after Trinity into the back row. Susannah had already left us, chatting up one of the other counselors.

“Earth to Lauren. Come in Lauren,” Alex whispered as we wound our way through some noisy younger kids tearing through the circle with their counselor. The mini-campers wore paper crowns with pictures they’d colored of fish and birds.

“What?” I snapped, on edge and self-conscious now, especially about how my braces looked. I sensed Seth’s warm amber eyes on me. Was he thinking I was a metal-mouth freak?

“He’s looking at you,” Alex sing-songed, completely oblivious to the fact that we were close enough for him to hear.

I was going to kill her. Seriously.

“Hey, Lauren. Cool shirt… and did you get braces?”

My heart stopped at the sound of Seth’s voice. My gaze flew right to his, hand clamped over my automatic smile. “Hi, Seth. Got them in December.” My words were paper thin. Barely there.

“They look cute.” He chucked me gently under the chin—big brother-like. Great. I must be practically oozing sex-appeal. Not exactly the impression I’d imagined.

My body felt hot and cold. But at least my heart started beating again. Only now, at his touch, it operated at warp-speed. My friends reorganized and shuffled themselves to ensure I sat close to him. Could they be any more obvious?

“Hey, Lauren?” Alex suddenly intervened, her dark hair swinging between Seth and me.“Didn’t you say that meteor shower was tonight? I’ll totally cover for you if you want to go to the dock and check it out. I’m sure Seth will go with you.”

“And miss the bonfire with us?” complained one of Seth’s cabin mates. They squished against us or leaned over for maximum eavesdropping potential. “There’s no waaaaaa—”

Alex’s elbow connected with his ribcage, the daggers her eyes threw silencing him.

Brilliant. Totally freaking brilliant.

Could this be any more embarrassing? But I had to hand it to Alex, she’d manipulated things perfectly. I would have fist bumped her, but I couldn’t let Seth know I was doing this on a dare. There was a chance this could turn into something real.

“My dad mentioned it,” I added to Alex’s white lie, looking around to see where the counselors were standing. Dusk had fallen and it was dark enough they might not notice us leave.

Could I really do this?

“I’ll walk down with you.” Seth didn’t even hesitate. He moved to block me from adult view and helped me to my feet.

I nodded fast, bobble-head doll style.

“Sure.” My heart pummeled me from the inside, my senses on overload at Seth’s touch.

His hands were warm and strong. “Ready?” He glanced at the counselors who were suddenly distracted by Alex. She’d leaped on Jackie’s back and hollered for a chicken fight. I smiled. Leave it to Alex to figure out our exit plan.

“Yes,” I said, while my mind screamed
NOOOOOOO
. Maybe I just wanted to get out of here and get the dare over with.

Then again, maybe I just really, really wanted that kiss.

Chapter Two

“What time’s the meteor shower?” Seth’s husky voice vibrated through me in the gloom. He pushed aside a low branch and I ducked beneath it, continuing down the path to the beach.

“Ummmmm. Soon,” I stalled. “Thanks for coming, by the way. Alex kind of pushed you into it. But if you’d rather go back to the fire—”

Seth grabbed my hand, silencing my nervous blather. His calloused palm rubbed against my skin and warmth flushed through me despite the cooling dark. My pulse drummed in my ear, drowning out the sound of whining mosquitoes. “I’ve missed you, Lauren. I don’t care about the bonfire.”

“Oh,” I breathed then looked down at my flip-flops. A flock of butterflies took flight in my stomach. Did he mean he missed me like a friend, or more …? God I hoped he meant more. So much more.

“Let’s go check out the stars.” He tugged me the rest of the way down the worn path, through the tree line, and onto the gravelly beach. Since Seth’s grandparents owned the camp, he could navigate these woods blindfolded.

When I stumbled over an exposed root, he steadied me with an arm around my waist that sent a shiver of awareness along my spine. “Cold?” he asked as we strolled down to the weathered dock that jutted into Lake Juniper. “You’re trembling.”

I clenched my chattering teeth. The warm feel of Seth’s palm against mine made it hard for me to think. Breathe. God. This was confusing. Why couldn’t I see him the way I used to—as the guy who challenged me on
Star Wars
trivia, who could identify as many plant and animal species as I could constellations, who did science experiments during his free activity periods too? We were friends. Good friends. Should I risk losing our relationship because of a dare?