Page 43 of Within These County Lines

I swallow.

He leans sideways and nudges me with his shoulder. “Don’t worry,” he says. “I assume you did well on the SAT. You won’t hurt my feelings if you say you got a perfect score. Own your shit. Life is too short.”

A soft breeze chills the rainwater on my neck. “I did do well,” I admit.

“There you go.” He grins and drapes his arm over my shoulder. Heavy, dense warmth presses into me. “I bet I’d do better now. Guess how many books I read last year?”

A drop of water clings to the tip of his nose as he studies me.

“Twenty-four.”

“Two a month?” he scoffs. “Insulting.”

“Thirty?” I try. “I don’t know. I give up.”

“Sixty.” He nods, satisfied. “The vocabulary section wouldn’t stand a chance against me.”

“It’d be an ignominious defeat.”

He rolls his eyes with a smile. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll leave this mystery for you to solve, then, smart guy.”

Heat creeps up my neck.

“By the way,” he adds, tone flat. “Your nipples are hard.” Before I can react, he flicks my chest and stands.

I flinch, tugging at my soaked shirt, which has suctioned to my body. “So are yours,” I mutter, scrambling to my feet.

His shoulders shake with laughter. “I know. I didn’t say it was a bad thing.” He winks. “Just observing.”

I squirm for a response.

“Are you done yet?” he continues.

“Done what?” I ask, shifting my eyes upward from his chest.

His smirk deepens. “Observing me.”

My face burns. “Let’s focus on the tree, shall we?” I move toward the base of the trunk. The first carving I see is Kelsey and Phil / Class of ’97.

“Where did you say your heart is?” Xander asks.

“Was.” I correct him. “I smashed it off. Then the tree attacked me.” I lead him to the spot where my original heart was carved. The white, inner wood of the tree has darkened since I last visited.

His eyebrows shoot up. “Oh, you really smashed it. I thought you meant you, like, threw a rock at it or something. I didn’t know you went full Gimli on the poor thing and axed off a chunk. No wonder it fought back.”

I exhale. “It was an emotional day.”

“Screw that guy for making you so mad.”

I shift the conversation before Murray becomes the focus. “The tree didn’t attack you?” I ask.

Xander shakes his head. “Nope.”

“What were you doing here?”

He smirks. “Carving a heart.”

I raise an eyebrow. “With who?”