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Thank God. A question I could answer.
I wiped a crumb from my lap. “’Til Labor Day weekend. My parents are coming from New York.”
“Right. New York. I’ve never been, but it’s on the list.”
“The list?”
“Yep. The list of places I want to go. LA is at the top and New York is running a close second.”
Huh.
“Trust me, it’s overrated,” I answered. I wished I didn’t have to go back. It if wasn’t for Kate and my parents, I’m not sure that I would.
“So do you go to a fancy school there in the Big Apple?”
I knew his eyes were focused on me, so I kept mine on the water, watching the swans slowly float in circles across the way.
“Yes,” I said finally. Glen Hill Academy.
I hate it there.
“Why do you hate it there?”
Startled, I turned to Nate—which was the wrong thing to do, because he was staring at me with an expression that felt as if he could see right inside me. I swallowed hard and croaked, “Excuse me?”
His eyes never left mine. They held me trapped as surely as if he had some freaky kind of tracking device like on those old Star Trek movies I used to watch with my dad. The ones that pulled in objects and never let go.
“You said you hated it there. I just wondered why.”
Shit. Had I said that out loud? What was wrong with me?
“It reminds me too much of someone,” I blurted, my heart picking up steam and banging inside my chest wall like a demented drummer. What the hell kind of power did this guy have?
Some weird expression crossed his face, and then he spoke softly. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, well don’t be.” I shrugged. “It’s not a big deal.”
Except it was. It was a very big deal. And it was a big deal that wasn’t going to go away, no matter how much I pretended it would.
It was the big deal that had broken me.
“Let’s go in,” Nate said abruptly, jumping to his feet and holding out his hand for me.
I glanced at the water again and then back up to him.
“You’re not afraid of the swans, are you?” he challenged.
“No,” I answered, ignoring his hand as I got up. A shiver rolled over me, which was odd considering it was so darn hot. “Is the water clean?”
He’d chucked his sandals and had his hands on the waistband of his shorts. My mouth went dry, and some stupid lump decided to clog my throat as I watched him begin to tug them down over his hips.
“What are you doing?” I squealed. I thought of his teasing earlier, and my alarm ramped up to about one million. There was no way I was gonna skinny-dip with Nathan Everets. No effing way.
His grin was as annoying as ever. “I don’t have a bathing suit with me, so I’m gonna go in with my boxers.” He paused, his hands tucked inside his boxers. “Unless you want me to—”
“No, boxers are fine.” I tried not to stare when he stepped out of his shorts, but it was hard. The guy was ripped. He was ripped and hot and sexy and he was standing a foot away in a pair of black athletic boxers that didn’t hide anything. And holy hell but Nathan Everets had a lot to hide.
I swallowed hard and turned away, easing out a long breath, when I heard a splash and knew he was in the water.
