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I hold up my book. It’s one of his, of course.
He narrows his eyes, seemingly on the precipice of saying something before he shakes his head and turns away.
I smile and go right back to reading—at least that’s what I appear to do. In reality, I watch that volleyball game with the careful attention of someone who’s going to have to write a dissertation about it afterward. I have every serve and point memorized. Ethan plays with all the finesse of an Olympic athlete, and Camille is pretty good too. Worse, she’s taken off her sarong and is hopping around the makeshift court in a bikini. Any man would be drooling at the sight of her.
Tanner and Isla are laughably terrible. Tanner isn’t the most athletic and Isla apparently isn’t either because between the two of them, they’ve only scored one point, and that one was swiftly ruled out of bounds by Brody, who’s serving as the volunteer referee.
Ethan serves and scores another point, sending Camille rushing over for another round of high fives, and my breakfast sours in my stomach. There can only be one explanation: they fed us expired bacon.
Then it occurs me that there could be another reason for the pit in my stomach, a seven-letter word I’d rather not name. I’ve never seen Ethan around other women. For the last few weeks, we’ve been living on a site where the male-to-female ratio is hilariously uneven. I’ve had it easy, and I never even realized.
Startled by the disturbing revelation, I turn back to my book and start reading with gusto.
In twenty minutes, I manage one page.
I can hear Camille’s laughter and flirty comments, Ethan’s taunting barbs to Isla and Tanner. The sun hovers high overhead, and I grow uncomfortably warm.
When the game ends, I glance up as Ethan walks over to grab some water from a nearby cooler. A bead of sweat rolls down his abs and I follow its descent with unwavering concentration.
I’m practically salivating.
Then my gaze shifts higher and, with a start, I realize he’s caught me watching him.
My cheeks flush with heat just as Tanner walks over, yanking his shirt off and throwing it on the towel beside me.
“C’mon, let’s swim.”
He doesn’t have to ask me twice.
I’ve been sunbathing all morning and my skin is hot and covered in a sheen of sweat. I strip off my shorts and toss them on top of my stuff, and together, we wade in slowly. The cold water shocks my system, but I don’t give it the chance to overpower me. I dive in and start swimming toward the center of the lake with Tanner hot on my heels. We laugh as we race, stopping only because we’re out of breath.
We tread water and he grins. “My plan is working.”
“Oh yeah?”
“I’ve never seen Isla so grouchy.”
I laugh. “You’re playing with fire, you know. There’s an equal chance she’ll hate you for this.”
“Maybe,” he says with a cocky grin before he swims closer and our legs brush underwater. His hand touches my chin and he lifts it gently. My breath catches. He’s going to kiss me! My body tries to get me to flee. I don’t want Tanner to kiss me and yet I’d feel so bad if I ruined his plan. I squash my panic and brace myself, but then he grins, glances over my shoulder, and backs away quickly.
“She turned away.”
“What?”
His smile spreads from ear to ear. “She turned away. She didn’t want to see us kiss. C’mon, let’s go dry off.”
I feel exhausted by the time we make it back to shore.
I can’t keep up with all the games. Even without them, my head is a swirling mess of restrained desire and confusing feelings. I don’t want Ethan. And yet I do. I should flirt with Tanner, but I’d rather not. Camille shouldn’t inspire jealousy, and yet when I look at her it feels like fire blazing through my veins.
The afternoon drags on and I go through the motions, swimming and sunbathing and sitting with the group while they all laugh and talk and I sit perfectly quiet. Tanner dotes on me with drinks and snacks, but the food goes untouched and the drinks get downed too quickly.
The day takes on a dreamlike state. My skin is so warm and flushed, especially around Ethan. We don’t say a word to each other, and yet I know where he is at all times. I’m aware of his every movement. We brush shoulders accidentally on the shore of the lake. His hand catches my waist when we’re at the drink table and we step back to walk away at the same time. His eyes catch mine when Tanner is leaning close, whispering something in my ear. I force a smile, but it’s tight across my cheeks as Ethan’s gaze smolders.
