Page 32 of Make Out With A Merman

And I think, yeah.

We will.

CHAPTER 12

RYDER

Iavoid her for two days.

Not on purpose at first.

I tell myself I’m busy. That the lake demands more of me now. That Penny’s close call and the signs in the deep mean I need to stay focused. Stay ahead.

And that’s not a lie.

But it’s not the whole truth either.

Because every time I close my eyes, I see her.

The curve of her grin, salt-touched and breathless.

The way her wet curls stuck to her cheek.

The way her mouth moved toward mine like gravity was in on the joke.

She didn’t kiss me.

We didn’t touch.

But I felt it.

And now it’s everywhere.

I can’t concentrate. My drills run slow. My patrols get looped. I nearly miss a knot in the southern anchor rigging, and Torack gives me a look likepull it together, soldier.

Julie notices. Of course she does.

“You sick?” she asks while handing me a roster with two new transfer campers.

“Fine.”

“You’re acting like you stepped on a sea urchin and it crawled up your spine.”

“I said I’mfine.”

She eyes me, unconvinced. “This about Callie?”

I stiffen.

“I avoid complications,” I say flatly.

“Yeah, well, some complications glitter and bite back.”

I don’t answer. Just take the roster and head for the waterline.

Because she’s right.

And that’s the problem.

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