Page 94 of Tides That Bind

“I’ve got to run. I’ve got a class.”

Words I read well if I really listen. I think she’s telling me this was too much.

But when Harper straightens, I find out I’m wrong. “You think we can do that again? On asurfboard? In a competition?”

“Crazier things have happened”—I pause, thinking to myself,I mean, look at us—"it’s open to amateurs.”

Folding her lips together, she looks down at the ground and nods. “Tomorrow again? After I drop Lucas at school?”

I swallow. “Tomorrow, yeah. But you also have to get some time in at the beach. I need you to be able to handle that too.”

Harper nods, sliding the strap of her tote bag that has slipped off her shoulder, a delicate slope that if we hadn’t been interrupted I might have tasted with my tongue, peppered a trail of kisses up it to her ear.

She lifts a hand, giving me a small wave and heads toward the gate before stopping. “Riley,” Harper says. “I’ll see you at home, yeah?”

If it’s reassurance Harper needs, it’s reassurance I’ll give her.

I’ll bury these feelings, even if I have to drown in them.

“See you at home.”

Pulling out the phone,I curse. “Shit. We have to book it home. I have a meeting at school before Lucas gets out.” I push the cart faster toward my car.

“Parent teacher conference?” Caroline takes the cart form me so I can unzip my bag and dig out my key.

“Yeah,” I lie.

It’s another meeting with Margot.Just a follow up, she had said on her voicemail. Secretly, I’m hoping she’s going to tell meLucas is great. He’s cured. He’s handling his grief.

They call that wishful thinking.

“Do we need this many patties? How many people are coming tomorrow?” Caroline huffs, tossing the bag of burgers into my trunk.

I pull the door closed. “We won’t use all of them tomorrow. I want to start doing the cookouts weekly again like we do every summer.”

After returning the cart to the stand, I follow Caroline and get into my car, lowering the windows while the air conditioning gets going.

“Hot as hell today.”

I mumble in agreement, making sure the ventsare fully open before I check my mirrors and reverse. By the time I make it to the exit, Caroline’s stare beams into me.

“What?”

Caroline adjusts her seatbelt. “Did you cool off at my pool again this morning?”

“No.”

Riley and I were at the beach today so it’s an honest answer. I was thankful for the break from the pool because the beach allowed for less privacy, which meant I was more mindful of not doing something stupid.

Like kissing Riley.

“No. Not at the pool.”

Caroline is an attorney. Something tells me she could make me say something incriminating even though I didn’t do anything wrong.

I didn’t do anything wrong because nothing happened at Caroline’s pool that day between me and her brother. But if I’m setting the bar fornothingequaling kissing, I’m lying to myself. Because all of the things—my legs around Riley’s waist, the way he touched my back and looked into my eyes—were a lot of something leading up to nothing.

“According to Mrs. Conrad, you did yesterday. And the day before.Withmy brother.”

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