“Yeah, here she is. Love you, too.” I hand the phone back to Olivia.
The girls chat for a few more minutes. When Olivia hangs up, I ask her, “What was that about Annie dating some IT guy?”
“Oh, a date she went on a few weeks back. She says they’re not going out again.”
“I still don’t know why she and Spencer had to break up. I liked Spencer.”
“You liked Spencer? Why?” She stares at me incredulously. “He was so boring.”
“Yeah, that’s why I liked him.”
Olivia scoffs. “No. Don’t do that caveman thing. It’s not attractive. Your sister can decide for herself who she dates.”
I raise my eyebrows. “So, I guess she doesn’t needyourhelp either?”
“That’s different. Best friends are supposed to give dating advice.”
I scoff. “Oh really? So, should I callmybest friend back and get her opinion on my romantic situation this summer?”
Olivia glares at me. “Stop. You know why we aren’t telling her.”
But I don’t really. I know the reasons Olivia told me why she doesn’t want to tell Annie. Those reasons don’t make sense to me.
AnniewantsOlivia and me to get along; whether that’s as friends or more, I don’t think she minds. Unless Olivia is anticipating some disastrous ending to our “fling” once the summer ends, I don’t really get the secrecy.
My goal is to prove to Olivia that we’re so much more than a summer fling so that when camp ends, our relationship doesn’t. Already, the way we are together and how she acts toward me suggest that this is much more of a boyfriend-girlfriend thing than only a physical situationship.
But I don’t want to pick a fight this morning. I push down my annoyance, and the fear behind it, and close my eyes. I rest my head on top of hers and snooze the rest of the way to the water park.
Schlitterbahn is busy, as is to be expected on a Saturday in the peak of the summer season. We bought our tickets online earlier in the week, but we still have to wait in line at the entrance to the park. Once we’re in, we head straight to the lockers and rent a large one to share.
We strip out of our cover-ups and pile everything in the locker. Olivia wears the same swimsuit she had on for our night swim last weekend. It’s a red two-piece with a top similar to a sports bra but cut low in the front. The bottoms are high-waisted, hitting right above her belly button. All along the edges of both pieces is a white trim that accentuates the golden glow of her skin.
Olivia pulls a tube of sunscreen from her bag and quickly applies it to her exposed skin, rubbing the lotion all along her arms, legs, stomach, and chest. The tips of my fingers tingle with the desire to touch her like that.
“I can get your back,” I offer.
She hands me the sunscreen. “Sure. Thanks.”
I squeeze lotion into my hand, then tuck the container under my arm to scrape my hands together, spreading sunscreen on each one. Slowly, I press my hands against Olivia’s back and gently coat her skin with the lotion. I get the stretch of skin between her swimsuit top and bottoms and work my way up to her shoulders, sliding my fingers under the straps of her swimsuit.
“Gage?” Olivia turns her head to look at me, still holding her ponytail out of my way.
“Yeah,” I respond, my voice rough.
“I think you got it.” She grins, and I drop my hands sheepishly.
“Don’t want you getting burned,” I defend.
“I appreciate that.” She smirks. “Let’s do you now.”
She takes the sunscreen from me and squirts a small amount onto her fingers. “Come here,” she instructs. “Crouch down.”
I stand in front of her and bend my knees so I’m closer to her height. She uses her fingertips to softly brush sunscreen across my cheeks and forehead, down around my chin, and even the shells of my ears.
She watches her fingers while she works, while I watch her eyes. The pretty green color, the depth, the concentration—I could get lost right here and wouldn’t want a map to find my way out.
With a final pat to my cheek, she meets my gaze. The air between us is heated, and not from the Texas humidity.
