“Um, what are you doing?” He was even closer, and her heart felt like it was beating as fast as it had inside the cave. He was definitely in her personal space. She felt herself tense like a rabbit.
“Explaining,” he said.
“Oh?”
Reyva and Mariana were almost to the bag, but Mariana had stopped to stare at them. Claire wanted to pull back. She didn’t want to be flirting with the boy who Mariana so obviously liked. The whole idea behind apologizing was to eliminate any drama between them. But then he said, “I came here thinking it was because of Mariana, but I didn’t realize it wasyou.”
What?
Mariana’s mouth dropped open.
Reyva rolled her eyes but didn’t let it slow her. She pulled the bag toward her, and leaves crunched. Jack began to turn at the sound.
Quickly, Claire reached up and cupped his cheek in her hand. “Me?”
“So you see,” Jack said, “I wasn’t talking to anyone. I was talking to myself, telling myself that you were the one I came to see and that I shouldn’t doubt what I felt. I should act.” He leaned closer, and Claire’s eyes widened.
He was not going to kiss—
He pressed his lips against hers. With one hand, he pulled her waist up against him, and with the other, he tangled his fingers in her hair.
It felt a bit like eating the fish. Soft. Squishy. A lot of flavor.
His eyes were closed.
Hers weren’t.
And so she saw the moment that Reyva found the satellite phone in Jack’s bag.
Fifteen
Claire stepped back.
Slowly, with a lazy smile on his face, Jack opened his eyes. Behind him, a few yards away, Mariana said cheerfully, “If you were just talking to yourself, then you won’t mind if we borrowyour phonefor a while.”
His smile dropped off so fast that it was impossible to imagine it had ever been there. He pivoted to see Mariana and Reyva standing over his backpack. With a sparkling smile, Mariana wiggled the phone in the air.
Reyva crossed her arms. “You want to explain this?”
“Don’t bother asking,” Mariana said sweetly. “He’ll only lie.”
Jack took a step toward them. “Give my phone back.” He’d gone pale, and a vein in his neck was popping up. “You don’t know—”
“I think I can guess,” Mariana said, sounding harder than Claire had ever heard her. “This was a game to you. You were playing hero. You thought you’d show us how to survive in the Great Outdoors and make us think you were saving us, all thewhile knowing you could call for help at any time. Only question is: Were you going to make a move on all three of us, or just pick and choose depending on your mood?”
Reyva plucked the phone out of Mariana’s hands. “Doesn’t matter. Call for help, and then we never have to see his lying face again.”
“Wait—” Jack said.
As she punched the first number, the phone began to ring. Reyva looked up at him. “Who’s calling, Jack?” she asked. Her fingers hovered over the buttons.
“Give me the phone,” he begged. “Please.”
Mariana grabbed it out of Reyva’s hands and answered, “Hello? Please help us! We’re stranded at the Lake House. The summer camp burned down. The program director is dead. Please, send help! Save us!” She then gave it back to Reyva.
Reyva held the phone to her ear and said, “What she said. Send rescue. We need help.”
Claire wanted to cheer for them. They were both—
