Page 11 of Puck Your Friend

All of us groan.

“Seriously?” Jace drags a hand down his face. “Every year with the cameras.”

Frankie grins. “It’s tradition.”

She enjoys taking candid shots. Says she’s collecting the real memories and not the curated ones. Every year before, she came with several of the old disposable cameras.

“I got an iPhone 5, so no more flip phone.” She lifts it. “Grandma got it for me and the plan last Christmas. I know there’s no service out here, but I can still take pics with it. Now I can delete the ugly photos and have space for the good ones. CVS will print them. Oh, and I can take videos with it, too. So now we can make videos, and selfies with you guys won’t look weird.”

A smile pulls at my lips. Despite not caring for her love of candid photography, it’s nice to see her so happy. And maybe one day we can look back on it all… if we still know each other.

I don’t want to think about that.

Logan chuckles. “Mine’s buried in my stuff, but remind me to trade numbers with you on the last day when we get service back.”

Frankie nods as she snaps one more photo. “You know I’m getting all your numbers and addresses this year. We can finally keep in touch outside of this place.”

She crouches to set it on her towel, thenpulls her tank top over her head in one motion. The tankini underneath is simple, black with a teal band, but my stomach does a somersault. Her tan midsection’s exposed. Just a few inches, nothing dramatic. But it’s Frankie, and she looks different this year.

I look away fast.

The girls at school never hit me like this. They flirt and smile, but I feel nothing and the thought of kissing or holding handswith them grosses me out. I thought I just wasn’t ready for girls. I don’t think that’s the case anymore. The problem is none of them are Frankie.

I chance a glance back. She pulls off the cap next, shaking her hair loose. It’s longer than I remember. Still curly, but tamed in a way that makes it look styled, not wild. She twists it up into a knot on her head, securing it with a hair tie.

She glances over her shoulder. “You guys coming?”

Then she sprints. Up the ridge that arcs above the water. Bare feet barely touch the rock before she launches.

The splash echoes.

I blink.

When I glance at the others, I see it. The same look on their faces that I feel.

They like her, too.

The others hurry up the ridge to jump in after her.

I’m going to ask her to the dance. Tell her how I feel. I’ve been thinking about it since last year, and this time I won’t wait.

And if the others feel the same way, if they like her like I do, I’ll deal. I care about them, too. It’s never been a competition between us. It’s just been us.

Maybe we’ll get lucky. Maybe she’ll be an Alpha like we are, and we can form a pack. Alphas rarely end up with other Alphas, but when one of them’s female, it’s more common.

Or maybe one of us will turn out to be an Omega. That wouldn’t surprise me much. If she ends up leading us, we’ll follow. I’d be fine with any of it.

As long as we all stay together.

Present Day…

Frankie stands frozen in front of me, her hands clutching the strap of her bag so tightly her knuckles turn white. For a second, she doesn’t move.

Her mouth parts to say something, but then she shuts it again. She schools her features into something controlled. It’s too late. I already saw it. The way her brown eyes widened for half a heartbeat and how her breath caught. She recognizes me as well.

The world could fall apart right now, and I wouldn’t notice. Not when she’s standing in front of me, real and solid, not one of my dreams.

Without thinking, I reach out and pull her into another hug. Not as wild as the first one, but firm enough to feel her warmth again. She stiffens against me at first, her muscles locked tight.

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