Page 15 of Run to Me
Humming happily, he kicks his legs and drags me further out into the lake, then lets me go. Panic rises in me when he backs away, but I relax the moment I realize my feet can touch the bottom. “You told me it was too deep for us to stand in.”
Looking smug, he swims closer to me again. “No, you assumed, and I just suggested that you hold on to something if it made you feel better.”
“Uh-huh.” Smiling, I rest my hands on his waist, spinning him around. “Ever danced with someone in the water before?”
“Not until now. It would be a lot better if we had some music, though.” Lifting one of my hands in the air, he sways us side to side, humming a song I recognize. I join in, singing the words, and we keep going in circles until we’re both falling back in the water laughing.
Loud voices get closer and other people jump into the water, invading our perfect moment. I climb out after Nate and we walk back to camp, dripping wet and shivering. Only one person is left sitting by the fire, wrapped in a blanket and dozing off in the chair. We quietly sneak by him and crawl into our tent. Using one hand to turn on a small night light, Nate hands me a towel and strips out of his trunks with no warning.
He’s so beautiful and I don’t need much light at all to see that. Unable to tear my eyes away, I watch him until he has on apair of dry pajamas. “You going to get changed, or what? You’re getting our sleeping area wet.”
Hiking a shoulder up, I smirk. “I was waiting to make sure you didn’t need help first.”
Snorting, he turns away as I change into a clean pair of joggers, not bothering with a shirt. I crawl into my sleeping bag and Nate scoots closer to me, turning around so our eyes meet. “How about we tell our own stories before bed?”
“I suck at storytelling,” I admit, and he laughs, undoing his sleeping bag enough to grab my hand.
“I’ll start then.”
“You’ll finish too,” I say pointedly, and that earns me an eye roll.
He goes on about some ghost in a haunted mansion, but before he can start another story he yawns, his eyes partially closing.
“I think someone’s all storied out for the night.”
“Yeah.” He unzips his sleeping bag all the way down and then mine to snuggle closer to me. His warmth calls to me and I wrap my arms around his waist, burying my nose in his hair. We’ve never cuddled like this before, but we’ve also never kissed either. I don’t mind any of it. I’ll just sit back and let him take the wheel, move at his pace, and hope we always go forward instead of back.
Six
Jace
“You awake?” Soft fingers stroke my cheek, and when I open my eyes, they’re met with a pair of sparkling blue ones.
“I am now.” Yawning, I stretch my arms behind my head, my hands crashing against the back of the tent.
“Do you think Gage will tell anyone?”
“What do you mean?”
He puffs out a long breath, dead-eyeing me. “You know what I mean. You probably sprained the guy’s wrist. You’re not supposed to get in trouble for me anymore, remember?”
“I told you I wouldn’t for the remainder of the school year. Never said anything about after.” Besides, I’d rather get in trouble defending what’s right than for doing something for the wrong reasons. All those assholes deserved more than they got, especially Gage. I regret none of it. Hopefully he learns to keep his hands to himself from here on out. The rude awakening he got last night could possibly prevent him from hurting someone else. Too bad my father never got that. If only he was stopped before going too far during his first offense.
“I knew you’d somehow loophole your way around things.”
“It’s going to be fine. I doubt he’ll say shit, otherwise everyone will know what he did to cause it.”
“I hope you’re right.” He rolls onto his back, looking up at the shadow of branches showing up on the tent’s plastic, light from the sun shining around it.
Resting my hand on his, I squeeze his fingers, giving him a hard smile. “I am. Ready to get out of here?”
“Yeah. Breakfast tacos on the way home?”
“I’ll never say no to tacos or breakfast, especially if you’re paying.”
Huffing out a laugh, he lets go of my hand and sits up, reaching for his bag. “Only because you paid for all the camping gear.” It was my surprise to him when he was stressed over finals. I didn’t want him worrying about more than he already was and knew the sudden gifts would distract him.
“I’m kidding. I don’t expect you to pay me back for that.” Tossing the top of my sleeping bag to the side, I crawl toward my clothes and grab a shirt.
