Page 25 of Meet Me in Aveline

A smirk formed across my face. “Want me to prove it?”

EIGHTEEN

2005

LETTIE

“And how doyou suppose you’re going to prove there is a monster in the lake?” I asked him, my hands on my hips. I knew there was no monster. I may have been naive, but I was not going to believe absolute nonsense. Next, he would try convincing me there was a boogeyman or that Bigfoot lived in the forests.

I watched his smirk grow wider, confident and tempting. He was so handsome, unlike any boy I had ever seen. I was used to the preppy boys, their hair perfectly styled and their clothes pressed. I was used to their boring ramblings about what kind of boring careers they would choose to go along with their boring lives.

Tuck was anything but boring.

Tuck had messy hair and a spirit about him that seemed like it might be even messier. There was something about him that made it seem like he didn’t care what other people thought. Like he didn’t live his life to prove anything to anyone. It was refreshing. I don’t think there’d ever been another person in my life who hadn’t been trying to be someone they weren’t just to impress someone else. But Tuck was different. He seemed authentic, and there was a sense of adventure about him and… Oh, my sweet Jesus, he was taking off his shirt.

I covered my eyes quickly with my hands. “Cheese and crackers, Tuck! What are you doing?”

“Don’t tell me you’ve never seen a bare chest before? Do you guys have to wear bloomers or something for swimming?”

My hands still over my eyes, I replied, “Bloomers are like pants for under dresses, they have nothing to do with swimming.” I peeked through my fingers to see he was still shirtless. “And yes, I have seen a chest before, I just don’t know why I’m seeingyours. Are you trying to seduce the lake monster with your chiseled abs?”

I lowered my hands slowly to see Tuck raise one eyebrow and set his face to a smolder. “You think I have chiseled abs?”

“Ugh,” I scoffed. “No. Well, yes, but that is not the point. The point is, how are you planning to prove there is a lake monster just because you took your shirt off?”

“I’m not,” he replied coolly, and then he cannonballed straight into the circular swimming hole, leaving only a splash as he disappeared beneath the water.

I gasped, not having expected him to jump in while he still had his shorts on, and stood for a moment, peering over into the lake, waiting for him to pop back up. When he didn’t, I started to get worried. It seemed like he had been underwater for too long, and there was no sign of him. No one could possibly hold their breath for that long. It seemed like an eternity, and he’d jumped too far out for me to see him within the water.

“Tuck?” I yelled to the water with no response. “Fudge nuggets!” I paced back and forth for only a moment before I jumped in after him. For all I knew, he didn’t know how to swim. He could be underwater like a ton of bricks heading toward the white light of death.

I came up for air, treading water, and turned to see Tuck, his lips in a line holding back a smile. “Hey Lettie, whatcha doin’?”

I sputtered water from my mouth and ran my hands through my wet hair. “Saving you, you nimrod!”

Tuck laughed. “Saving me? From what? Lettie, there’s not really a lake monster in here, you know. I was just kidding.”

“Iknowthat. I thought you were drowning.” I splashed water at him and watched him shake his head.

He laughed. “You think I’m dumb enough to jump into water without knowing how to swim?” He splashed me back.

I was out of breath, from adrenaline or treading water or maybe both. “I don’t know how dumb you are!”

Tuck gestured to me. “You jumped in, in your clothes.”

I stared him down. “Ya think?”

He chortled and moved his arms, scooping the water and pushing it behind him. He got closer to me, and I felt a slight pinch on my leg.

“Ahh!” I screeched. “What’d you do that for?”

“Wasn’t me. Must have been the lake monster.”

I rolled my eyes and swam over to him so I could attempt to dunk him under.

NINETEEN

2005

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