Page 6 of Unspoken Words
Connor smiled for the first time and the sight of it made my heart dance in my chest. He had dimples—two large dips of cuteness on his cheeks. I loved dimples nearly as much as sand. His eyes were also sparkling, and they made me gulp.Maybe he is a paranormal creature?
I gulped again.No, he’s not.He was just super cute. And maybe, just maybe, notallboys were dumb and boring.
Snapping my wide-open mouth shut, I tried to act normal but fumbled and dropped my stick into the water when I climbed onto another dead tree. “Crap!” I stomped my foot as I watched it float out of reach. “I liked that stick.”
“Then go after it!”
“What? Are you nuts? That water is disgusting. I’m not going in there.”
“Why’s it disgusting?”
I placed my hands on my hips. “It’s brown.”
“So you’re saying all brown things are disgusting?”
“No, because then I’d be saying chocolate is disgusting, and it’s not.”
He chuckled and, unlike last time, he didn’t stop himself from doing it. “So why is this brown river disgusting?”
“Look at it.” I gestured to the liquid yuckiness. “It’s dirty and gross. It’s not blue like the ocean.”
Connor shook his head and playfully rolled his eyes. “Well, last chance. Your stick has nearly reached the current.”
I sighed and watched it gradually bob away. “I’m not going in there.”
“Typical girl,” he muttered.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I glared at him.Typical know-it-all boy.
He took in my defensive stance, and I could tell he was trying not to laugh because his face slowly started to scrunch up.
“What’s so funny?”
“You.”
“What about me?”
“You get snooty real easy. It’s funny.”
“I do not!” I stepped off the tree trunk, bent down, and picked up a rock. Then, shifting my weight onto my back foot, I launched it while stepping forward, watching eagerly as it soared away from me and landed in the water with a thud.
Connor snorted at my pathetic skimming attempt, which annoyed me even more.
“Why’d you move away from the beach anyway?” I snapped, turning to face him with my shoulders squared.
He immediately stopped snorting. “No reason.”
“There’salwaysa reason.”
“No, there’s not.”
This time I was the one who snorted. “Did you get kicked out of your last school? It’s okay, you can tell me.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Were you bullied?”
“No!” He turned around and walked away.
