Page 60 of Always You

She lets go of me, putting her feet back on the ground while I look into her cheerful face. Part of me expected her to be a daredevil wearing a bikini, but it’s still hidden by shorts and a thin knitted white top.

“I didn’t.” I chuckle, briefly locking my eyes with Hunter’s.

She frowns, looking over my shoulder.

“Of course.” She gives me a wink, wiggling her eyebrows in a playful way. “He’s hard to resist, isn’t he?”

“Shut up, Julie. He’s my friend.”God, I’m starting to hate that word.

“Ugh, for crying out loud, when are the two of you going to take the plunge, anyway? You’re not getting any younger.” She rolls her eyes, linking her arm in mine, dragging me to the edge of the water. Flicking my head over my shoulder, I give Hunter an apologetic look while I mouth to him that I’ll be right back.

Julie forces us both on our asses, and I take my Converse off to dip my toes in the water. The water is cold as fuck, no surprise there, and I let out a small screech.

“How are people swimming now? It’s fucking cold.” I glance at the boys, who launch themselves into the water by the rope hanging from a tree.

“They say it’s not as bad when you get in.” She pulls a face. “I say they’re crazy.”

I let out a chuckle, and we fall silent, an invisible tension forming between us.

“How are you, girl? Homeboy over there won’t let you out of his sight.” She playfully bumps her shoulder against mine, as she nods her head toward the boys behind us, and I let out a half chuckle. My fingers play with the grass between my legs while my eyes peer into the water in front of me.

We haven’t been hanging out in a while because I’m always taking care of my mother, and Hunter claims every other free minute of my time. I know she doesn’t hold any grudge about the fact that I’m spending most of my time with Hunter, but I still have this guilty feeling inside of me that nags me now and then.

“I know,” I confess. “He’s hard to shake.”

“Do you want to shake him?” She eyes me, her lips pursed in a smug grin.

“No. No, I don’t.” I shake my head, throwing snippets of grass into the water, turning my head to glance behind me. Quickly, my eyes lock with Hunter, who’s giving me a boyish grin and a wink that makes my heart purr in delight before I turn back around. Heat is flushing my neck, and I let out a sigh, torn about the fact that I’m happy when he’s around.Safe.

“How are things with Jacob?”

She volleys me a stink eye, seeing right through my path of deviation.

“Never date a college guy, girl.” A bitter smile crosses her face. “They are fickle as fuck.”

“Not so good then?”

Her entire posture slumps as she fixates on the ground with a vacant stare.

“It’s good. In fact, it’s great.” Bambi brown eyes move back up to me. “When he’s actually with me.”

“What do you mean?”

A deep, weighted sigh puffs up her chest, the gravity audible enough to pinch my heart a bit. “Jacob and I are great together when he’s with me. But when he’s not? I have no clue what we are.”

“That sucks, Jules.”

Unshed tears glimmer in her eyes, but she pushes them away with a tight smile. “I know. I’m gonna talk to him.”

Within the blink of an eye, her defeated stance evaporates, and she sits up.

Here we go.

“So...” Julie starts, a judging tone etching through her voice while she throws a pebble into the water. “When are the two of you getting your heads out of your asses?” she asks, repeating the question from earlier.

My eyes widen as I turn toward her, throwing my head back with rolling eyes. “I wish everyone would stop asking that. We are just friends,Jules.” A scowl that’s answered with a look that says I’m full of shit.

“You guys are really persistent with your‘friendship.’” She brings her hands up, making quotation marks in the air as she emphasizes the word. “Yet, the longing looks say it all.”

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