“Because the only acceptable salad dressing in this state is ranch.”
I laugh, stabbing a forkful of spinach. “Sorry to disappoint.”
“You don’t like ranch?”
My nose wrinkles. “Nah. Not really.”
He gasps. “That’s blasphemy!”
I shake my head fondly. “I take it you like ranch?”
“I don’t like ranch. Iloveranch. I put ranch on everything. Chicken nuggets, fries, pizza, tacos—”
“That’s disgusting,” I interrupt, making a face.
“Ranch makeseverythingbetter,” he insists.
“I’ll take your word for it.”
“I’ll make you a changed man,” Mason says around a mouthful of sandwich. “By the end of the summer, you’ll be a ranch convert.”
I give him a tight smile. I don’t like thinking about the end of summer. It’s approaching quickly—tooquickly.
“So, how’s your research going?” he asks.
I shrug. “Fine. Just getting some initial species counts today, and I would’ve finished sooner ifsomeonehadn’t been distracting me.”
Mason grins, completely unapologetic. “Well, consider it payback.”
“Payback?”
“For all the timesyou’vedistractedme.”
My face must be beet red. “I… distract you?”
“All the time,” he says, eyes locked on mine. “Especially when you wear shorts likethat.”
I look down at my legs. I’m wearing a pair of green athletic shorts made of an airy mesh material. I normally hate wearing anything this revealing, but it’s so goddamn hot outside.
I don’t know what to say, so I take another bite of salad and chew in silence.
“You’re cute when you’re embarrassed,” he muses as he peels a clementine.
“Ugh, shut up,” I plead, burying my face in my hands.
He laughs. “Alright, alright. I’ll behave. Oh—I almost forgot. Check out what I got in the mail today.” He pulls something from his pocket and hands it to me.
It’s a folded piece of pink construction paper with a crayon drawing of a beach scene: blue waves, brown sand, a yellow sun smiling in the corner. I flip it open and read the messy handwriting inside.
To Mason:
Thank you for saving me! You are my hero!
-Hannah
I grin, handing it back to him. “That’s so sweet.”
He nods. “Yeah. I’m glad she’s okay,” he says, shaking his head. “People underestimate the lake. It can be dangerous, especially for little kids or inexperienced swimmers.”
