Page 34 of The True-Blue Romance

Harper tilts his head back to glare at me. “I’m sunning myself first.”

“You’re just going to burn,” I point out. I’ve known him his entire life and he can’t tan for shit.

Harper blows a raspberry, then glances back out to the water, very obviously looking for Jackson, who is watching our exchange while wiping water away from his face. Jackson swims over, all grace and athleticism, then comes to a stop right in front of Harper with a besotted smile on his handsome face. Yuck. The entire spring seems to hush when Jackson rests his hands over Harper’s knees, his smile deepening.

“Ready to get in? I’ll carry you around.”

Harper sniffs as if offended at the idea. “I don’t want to get my hair wet.”

“Of course,” Jackson dutifully agrees. He shifts closer and wraps his arms around Harper’s waist, carefully tugging him into the water. Harper squeaks a little but lets Jackson carry him off toward the center of the spring. Honey, Harper’s service dog, stays out of the water, no vest on, so she must not be working. Her tail thumps happily as she watches Jackson carry Harper off, the two men grinning at each other like besotted school children.

I rub my chest at the sight, so deliriously happy that Harper found someone who loves him just for him, while also being far more jealous than I’d prefer to ever admit. I feel eyes on me and glance down to see Joey looking up at me with a curious tilt to his eyebrows. Smiling shyly at him, I remove my shirt—hoping I don’t appear as self-conscious as I feel—toss it and my beach blanket onto the ground behind me, and take a seat beside Joey on the bank of the spring. I swing my legs back and forth in the cool spring, enjoying the crispness of the water against the warmth of the air.

I watch as Harper ends up on Jackson’s shoulders, Nolan on Benji’s shoulders, and laughter erupts once again as they play chicken. It’s easy to see Nolan feigns weakness when he easily falls over after only a slight push from Harper. If Harper realizes it, he doesn’t let on, at least judging by the pleased tilt of his lips.

“They’re all so happy,” Joey points out, voice a low murmur.

“Yeah.” I don’t know what else to say. “I wasn’t sure you’d be here. You don’t always come to the springs.”

“Well, I wanted to see you.”

I turn my head sharply to look at him. His black curls are tighter today, his perpetual five-o’clock shadow a little deeper than normal, which means he probably didn’t shave this morning. I know if I lean closer, he’ll smell like vanilla and expensive cologne, a rich and heady scent that always threatens to undo me and bring me to my knees.

“Did you put sunscreen on?” I ask softly, ’cause he usually forgets.

Joey shrugs. “I’ll just tan.”

He’s right, he will. His skin turns into a gorgeous burnished brown by the end of the summer, deepening the mahogany shade of his eyes. He looks sun-kissed, whereas I look like a standard old farmer with my farmer’s tan because I rarely take my shirt off.

I haven’t seen Joey since the dinner at my house. No texts. No random appearances at my house. I hadn’t even gotten lunch from the food truck during the week in order to avoid him. Sitting so close to him now hurts more than I can say. I don’t care how much it hurts me, though, the more it hurts Savannah, the more I know the distance is needed. I can’t bear the thought of her being in pain or confused.

Joey’s finger brushes mine on the ground, and my body buzzes to life. I close my eyes, wishing for something, but I don’t know what. I stopped making wishes a long time ago. Wishes don’t come true for people like me.

“Savannah told me what she asked you,” Joey says softly, the words a stab to my heart.

I keep my eyes closed, head tipped toward the sky. “Then you know why we have to keep our distance.”

“What if… What if we could have what she wants?”

I choke on the air in my lungs. After hacking for a few minutes, I desperately attempt to ignore everyone’s concerned looks. Joey has obviously lost his fucking mind. Instead of encouraging his momentary insanity, I stand, take a deep breath, and jump headfirst into the spring. The water rushes over me, frigid, and it steals away all my thoughts. When I break the surface, the guys out in the middle of the spring are clapping for me. I swim out to join them with a shy grin on my face.

“Fucking cold,” I mutter while my teeth chatter painfully.

“Give it two minutes,” Beau says sagely.

Even as he speaks, the water is turning warm, my skin no longer tight from the cold. I dip down a little lower to let the water kiss my shoulders. I look over my shoulder toward Joey to see Trevor heading his way. My eyebrows furrow as I watch Trevor climb out, his long limbs graceful as he slumps down beside Joey.

Joey’s gaze doesn’t fall away from me though. I feel my cheeks warm at the intensity of his stare, and my heart does that very familiar deep dive that only Joey can inspire. Trevor whispers something to Joey out of the side of his mouth, making Joey cut his gaze away from me. Finally, some relief. The guys around me talk, but it’s hard to concentrate while Trevor lights up one of those fucking clove cigarettes before holding it out to Joey as they talk.

“He still smokes?” Benji asks, voice full of concern.

“Just those clove cigarettes now,” Eli pipes up just before Jackson tackles him under the water. They come up sputtering with twin grins on their faces. “Fucking asshole!”

“You love me,” Jackson teases.

“Sometimes,” Eli agrees through his clearly delighted laughter. I still feel out of place among them, but it’s starting to feel better as time goes on. Like maybe I can be a part of this troupe someday.

“Did you know that ducks are related to dinosaurs?” Nolan asks us all while floating on his back. He probably can’t even hear us as the water fills his ears.