I watch the car from the office window as it gets closer and closer, finally pulling into one of the parking spaces in front of the building.
“Gage,” Linda calls. I pull my gaze away from the clunker outside and turn toward her. “Can you please grab that box in the back corner?”
“Sure thing,” I respond, stepping away from the window to retrieve the box.
The office door opens with squeaking hinges and a jingling bell.
“Hi!” That all-too-familiar voice threads through my body as I stand frozen in the corner. “I’m Delaney, the activities director for the summer.”
She’s talking to Linda, her face turned away from my unobtrusive hideout in the corner. She hasn’t seen me yet. I study her. Her blonde hair is lighter than I remember, almost silver in the harsh fluorescent lights of the office. She’s wearing it on top of her head in a long sleek ponytail. Her face, or what I can see from this angle, is bare: no makeup. Her green athletic tank accentuates the lean muscles and golden tan on her arms. My gaze continues down, taking in her silver-and-black-patterned leggings. I force my eyes back up to her face, so I don’t linger on the view of her backside like a creep.
The last time I saw Olivia was in October, nearly seven months ago. We all met up in New Orleans for the Halloween parade. I thought I’d be okay hanging out with Olivia—it had been almost five years since high school after all, and I had a girlfriend I really cared about—but I wasn’t okay, at all. She wore this sexy colorful peacock costume, complete with a Mardi Gras-style mask that made the green of her eyes glow. Fortunately for me, she ended up going back to her sister’s house early with food poisoning or something.
Linda’s voice cuts through my thoughts. “Welcome, Delaney! I’m Linda, the camp director. Let me go get your welcome packet.”
Linda steps into the other room, and Olivia takes the opportunity to scan this one.
She smiles at Brynn, and the two exchange introductions. Meanwhile, I consider ducking under the desk. But this forced reunion is going to happen sooner or later, so I might as well get it over with so I can get back to my summer.
Finally, Olivia’s gaze turns to me, blank for a split second before recognition makes her stumble back a step, and her eyes bulge.
“Gage,” she chokes, my name pulled from her throat like an involuntary tic. “What are you doing here?”
I spread my fingers in front of my chest in an awkward wave. “Hey, Olivia.”
Brynn’s head bobs between us with interest. “Do you two know each other?”
Dazed, Olivia murmurs, “He’s my best friend’s brother.”
“We’ve known each other since we were kids,” I add.
Brynn laughs. “Really? How funny that you’re both working here this summer.”
Olivia’s eyes snap to mine, sharp and stormy. “You’re working here?”
I chuckle nervously. “I’m a counselor all summer.”
She lifts her eyebrows nearly to her hairline. I shrug.
Yep, this is totally uncomfortable.
Chapter three
Olivia
Ten Years Ago
“Pulloverhere,”Iinstructed my sister Nicole. It was nice of her to offer me a ride to my best friend Annie’s house, but that didn’t mean I wanted everyone to see me getting dropped off by the goth queen over here. Her naturally blonde hair was dyed black, her clothes all black, and her fingernails? You guessed it, black.
I could have walked the two blocks from our house, but I had my overnight bag stuffed to the seams and didn’t want to carry it even that short distance, especially because I was running late.
Nicole parked at the curb three houses down from Annie’s. As I climbed out, dragging my duffel with me, I waved to my sister. “Thanks, Nicole!”
“No problem.” She waved back. “Have fun.”
I shut the door of the car—a light blue sedan that would be mine in three long years when I was finally old enough to drive. Grinning, I walked across the lawn to the Carters’ house.
Annie and her twin brother, Gage, were having a pool party for their fourteenth birthday. It felt weird that they had just turned fourteen considering I turned thirteen only two months ago. I had a summer birthday and theirs was in September, which put us all in the same grade at school even though I was nearly a year younger.
