Page 108 of Nerdplay
“I think I’ll sit this one out,” Ben says. “Mind if I wait at the picnic table, Liv?”
“You don’t have to stay,” Olivia tells him. “Stefan said they’re painting those figurines for the tabletop game in the craft cabin.”
I raise a finger. “Actually, you might want to steer clear of the craft cabin today. Text Gloria. She’ll tell you.”
I help Olivia into the kayak and settle behind her. My face grows hot as I remember last night. In the harsh glare of daylight, it seems surreal that Charlie and I were alone in the lake, naked and kissing in the moonlight. It felt like we’d teleported to a magical bubble where we were the only two people in the world.
But I wasn’t with Charlie now; I was with Olivia, whose enthusiasm for kayaking seems to fade after the first twenty minutes.
“It’s hot out here,” she moans.
“Did you put on sunscreen?”
“Yes, Mom,” she says in a tone that can only be accompanied by an eye roll. Her awkward paddling slows until she reaches a full stop.
“Everything okay?”
She twists to look at me. “I’m bored, and I feel sweaty and gross. Can I swim instead?”
“If you’d rather. Let’s get closer to shore first.” I paddle us to the dock, and she crawls out of the kayak and onto the wooden planks with movements that would outcreep the girl in The Ring.
“This is how I’d scare away a boy who’s bothering me,” she shares.
As I applaud her acting chops, I catch sight of someone loping toward the shoreline. Mid-thirties with a long, lean build. Light brown hair that’s a tad overgrown and swoops over his eye. The clapping comes to an abrupt halt. My heart lodges in my throat as I watch him flip it back in a familiar gesture. I thought I’d never see him again, yet here he is in the flesh.
Patrick.
There’s nowhere to hide on top of a kayak. I push the end of the paddle into the water and try to turn the kayak around so that I’m facing away from shore. In my haste, I jerk too fast and end up tipping to the side, hurling myself into the lake. At least the water is warm.
I stay behind the kayak and use it as a shield. The Prick has stopped to talk to Ben, joined by Olivia, who seems to have abandoned her plan to swim. If I can stay here long enough, maybe he won’t be there when I come ashore.
A head surfaces beside me, and I release a high-pitched scream.
“Hey, it’s me.” Charlie peels a wet strand of hair off my face. “Why are you hiding behind an overturned kayak?”
“Because Patrick is here. The Prick.” I hear the painful crack in my voice. I’d hoped if this day ever came that I would be A-okay, but I’m not. I’m truly not.
“Here as in the lake? Did you accidentally drown him?” He uses air quotes around ‘accidentally.’
“There’d be nothing accidental about it.” I peek around the side of the kayak. “He’s talking to Ben.”
Charlie squints in that direction. “He has a punchable face.”
“Agreed.”
I’m surprised to see the punchable face chatting so easily to Ben, the older man he once described as “less interesting than a doorknob.” That should’ve been my first clue that he wasn’t the man I believed he was. I saw him as Edward Ferrars when he was Willoughby all along.
Charlie’s head continues to bob beside mine. “He’s shorter than I am.”
That elicits a smile from me. “How can you tell from here?”
“He looks about two inches taller than Ben, and I’m three inches taller than Ben.” Charlie’s brow ripples with concern. “Why would he show up now? Camp is over in a few days.”
“I’m sure he has his reasons.” Self-serving ones, of course.
“Want to find out what they are?”
“Not really.”
