Page 25 of In Too Deep

Catelyn

Butterflies take flight in my stomach. I wish I could retreat from his stare. Caroline didn’t tell me anyone else was here because she knew I never would have agreed to swim. I hate for anyone to see me in a swimsuit, but especially strangers.

And this one is…beautiful.

I can’t seem to pull my eyes away from him. Not even when the heat from his stare intensifies, his forehead creasing in a way that causes his eyebrows to form a deep V, his full mauve lips curved into a frown. I never paid much attention to anyone’s mouth before, but I find myself studying his.

“Do you remember Lawrence?” Caroline’s question yanks me from my trance, and I shake my head as I look over at her. “I didn’t think so. Lawrence, Cat. Cat, Lawrence.” She gestures to the boy I was gaping at a moment ago, and I nod my head in understanding, but drop my gaze to avoid meeting his again. “Lawrence just moved back to the neighborhood, but he and Robbie have practically been friends since birth.”

Robbie.

Guilt fills my heart, and it drops into my stomach as I look up at him. His body is tense, his jaw taut as his stony eyes avoid me. Great. He saw me staring at Lawrence, and now he’s going to be upset with me for the rest of the day. I hate feeling like I’ve betrayed him when I haven’t. Even though we’re nothing more than friends, even though I’ve told him I don’t want to be anything more, it’s like he has this unspoken claim on me, a stamp on my forehead that reads, Property of Robert Brice Hayes.

And everyone caters to it—his family, my family, our friends. They all act as if Robbie and I are meant to be, talking about how we’ll be married with kids someday. I know I should put a stop to it, but I can’t stand the thought of hurting him. It’s never really been an issue before. I haven’t had much interest in boys or dating. But right now, I feel burdened and angry by that label. I don’t want Lawrence to think I belong to Robbie.

“I’m getting in.” Robbie’s words are clipped as he turns and stalks over to the pool.

I sneak another quick glance at Lawrence, finding his glare still on me. Only now it seems as if he’s annoyed with me, sneering as he slightly shakes his head. With a huff, he hurries off to join his friend in the pool, and I let out the breath I’d been holding.

“What the heck was that?” Caroline whispers, smirking as my gaze lands on her.

“What was what?”

“First, you and Lawrence were looking at each other all strange. Then neither one of you said a word. And just now, it was like he hates you or something. You sure you don’t know each other?”

Hates me?

My chest clenches, but I keep my features smooth as I shrug.

I’m sure our paths crossed once or twice when we were younger. And Robbie talks about him so much it kind of feels like I know him. But this is our first time officially meeting.

I nod. “I don’t know what his problem is.”

It isn’t a complete lie. Technically, I don’t know. But I can guess. Lawrence is mad at me for upsetting his friend. He belongs to Robbie just like me.

Leave it to me to crush on someone I can’t have.

16

Lawrence

Sweat pools on my back as I hammer the spike into the ground. Summer will officially be over in a couple days, but the heat isn’t showing any signs of relenting. At least not until the sun goes down.

“Watch, we’ll end up freezing out here,” I muse, wiping the sweat from my forehead as I look over at Robbie.

He stops, giving me an odd look before focusing on his task again. “You can’t stay here tonight.”

“What? Why not? And why the hell am I helping you set up this tent, if that’s the case?” I throw up my hands, the hammer falling to the ground with a thud.

“Cat is staying with Caroline tonight.” His tone is calm, matter of fact.

“Okay…What does that have to do with me?” I already have a good idea of the answer. I’ve tried to hide it, but there’s no way Robbie hasn’t noticed my attraction to Cat.

He tugs on the spike to make sure it’s secure, still not meeting my gaze. “I’m trying to convince her to go out with me. I don’t need you around distracting her.”

“How am I a distraction?” I demand.

He sighs and brushes the dirt from his hands as he stands, his hard glare landing on me. “I’ve seen the way she looks at you.”

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