Page 23 of Hot Summer

Femi seemed to hit every pile of foam Charlie missed on his trip down the slide, so he was covered from head to toe by the time he reached the end. Despite his rapid blinking and the rushed way he was trying to wipe the soap off his face, he was grinning from ear to ear as he popped to his feet.

“We need one of these in the garden,” Femi said, coming to stand in front of Cas. He’d worked out she was one of the names, then.

“You guys would smash your heads in.”

“It’d be worth it,” Femi said, grinning at her. “Ready for this kiss?”

Cas rolled her eyes, smiled. “Sure.”

Femi’s touch was tentative, his eyes on hers all the time as though he was gauging her reaction. She decided to make it easier for him and leaned forward, closing the distance between them.

His lips were soft and the scratch of his stubble against her skin wasn’t unpleasant. His lips parted slightly and the taste of him, warm mint, was nice. She’d had a thousand kisses like it in her life—a good time, something she could lose herself in if she really tried, but lacking that spark, that thing that made her feel like she was crumbling in their hands.

There was enough there that Cas knew she could lean in to it if Femi was interested, but judging by the few quick, largely closed-mouth passes of his lips over hers before he pulled back, she would bargain that they were on the same page.

Femi smiled gently, awkwardly at her as he stepped back, his hand falling away, and Cas couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks.”

Femi laughed and wrapped his arm around Cas’s shoulders. It was an easy gesture, a warm one, and it settled the anxiety in Cas’s stomach. “ ‘Thanks.’ Careful with those compliments, they’ll start to go to my head.”

And then he peeled the sticker off the card, and sure enough, there it was.

Cas. Alongside Maddison, Charlie, and Brad.

Which was fucking great. Of course she somehow had something in common with Brad.

“Okay,” Charlie said, raising his hand. “Who’s done more than two? I’m just two.”

And Cas knew exactly how this moment would be played out on TV: Brad, leaning back against the railing, arm around Ada, smug smile that would paint him immediately as a lad about town, a scoundrel who you couldn’t quite help love (or undress for) anyway. He’d be their Tom from Season 6, the one everyone loved to hate so much that he made it to the finals, especially once he appeared to “reform” in his final couple with Crystal.

It was a stark contrast to the way Maddison was presenting herself—pink in the cheeks, downturned eyes. She was shy, playing at ashamed. A reformed party girl here to find love.

And then there was Cas. Unapologetic. She could almost hear the slut-shaming posts.

“In my defense,” Cas said, “mine was a speed-dating event my friends dragged me to. You had to kiss everyone when your time was up to check for chemistry.”

“I’ve got no defense but tequila,” Maddison said with a little self-conscious laugh. The rest of the group joined her laughter and Cas could kick herself. Yet another moment she’d let herself get outshined.

Brad was actually jumping up and down when it was his turn. He was stretching out his arms like he was getting ready to fight a bear rather than rush down a water slide and then kiss someone.

“ ‘Who went viral on TikTok after a breakup with their ex?’ ”

Brad flung himself down the slide and, without even stopping to check that she was ready, pressed Ada back into the railing and smashed his mouth against hers. Ada let out a squeak, whether in surprise or in protest, Cas wasn’t sure, but her arms remained by her sides rather than wrapping around Brad’s waist in an attempt to pull him closer.

Brad still had Ada’s head in a vise grip, his mouth moving very aggressively over hers, when Sienna grabbed the card from Brad’s waistband and peeled off the paper.

“That’s correct!” Sienna said.

Brad’s mouth popped off Ada’s like a suction cup yanked off tile.

“Holy shit, really?”

Ada’s cheeks were blood red. “Yeah.” She tucked a piece of stray hair behind her ears and very discreetly wiped her mouth. “I made a video about some when-you-break-up-with-your-partner stationery I carry and apparently it struck a chord.”

Brad nodded absently, clearly only half listening, and Cas knocked her elbow lightly against Ada’s.

“That’s cool. You’ll have to tell me more about it later.”

Though the challenge had felt like little more than a chore for the first few rounds—especially when it came to setting up the “ice towers” again and again—things rapidly devolved as more and more of them were covered in foam and slip-sliding across the platform.

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