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Ryan raises his eyebrows, then drops the subject. “Look, you have every reason to hate me. I was a stupid shit back in freshman year.”
“Freshman year? Don’t you mean freshman year, sophomore year, junior—”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it.” He smiles, then tilts his head. “People change, you know?”
“I don’t hate you, Ryan.”
“Great. Wanna go to prom with me?”
Damnit. Caleb was right. “I told you we were over. We’ve been over.”
“You just said you don’t hate me. So…there’s hope.”
He gives me a grin most girls would consider charming.
“No. If I hated you, then there would be hope.”
Twin lines appear between his eyes. “Uh, what?”
“Thank you for asking. But the answer is no. And it isn’t going to change, Ryan.”
“Because of Winters?”
“What? Your ego can’t handle I’m just not interested in dating you? There has to be another guy?”
“Nah, I just thought you were less of a cliché. The whole town is in love with Winters. And since you hate the whole town, I figured Winters would be on that same list.”
“Ryan, I’m sorry if—Actually, you know what? I’mnotsorry, about anything. I’ve made it very clear I don’t want to date you. And since you fell in line with everyone else after my dad died, I’m not really interested in being friends with you, either. Leave me alone, and leave Caleb out of it.”
Ryan shakes his head. “You’re awfully defensive, Lennon. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you. I’m friendly with the baseball guys. Winters goes through a lot of girls. At least I’ve been upfront with you. He’ll break your heart and then walk away. Dude doesn’t care about anything but pitching.”
There was a recent time when I would have believed every word coming out of Ryan’s mouth. Nodded along and agreed. But now? I’m not so sure. “I liked you better when you were ignoring me,” I tell Ryan, then head in the direction of my cabin.
Thankfully, he doesn’t follow me. And I’m grateful to discover all my cabin mates are still asleep, meaning I can avoid answering any questions about where I was or why I’m drenched.
After showering and changing into dry clothes, I head to the main lodge where we ate dinner last night. The broad spread of breakfast food—bacon, eggs, waffles, pancakes, quiche, omelets, and fruit parfait—is impressive. I normally wolf down a banana and sometimes a granola bar before heading out to the barn for chores.
I take a random assortment of food and head toward my cabin’s table. Seconds after I’ve sat down, Mr. Tanner stands up to announce the day’s itinerary. The two options are canoeing or hiking. With this morning’s misadventure fresh in my mind, the choice is an easy one for me.
By the time I leave for the hike, I’ve realized more stares and whispers than usual are following me around. I don’t know if they’re related to Caleb or Ryan or something else. Since Cassie isn’t here, I have no insight into what exactly is being muttered under my fellow seniors’ breaths.
By the time we return to the campground, it’s dinnertime. In what’s become a familiar ritual, I eat with my cabin mates. Following dinner, there’s a movie screening. It turns out to be the same spy thriller I saw in the theater with Caleb and his friends. I wonder if the memory is as bittersweet for him as it is for me.
As soon as we return to the cabin from the approved evening activities, things switch to the unapproved. Clothes are tossed around, makeup artfully applied, perfume sprayed.
“Aren’t you coming tonight, Lennon?” Shannon asks.
“Right, sure,” I respond, hiding my surprise. I read last night’s offer as more of an obligation than a serious invitation.
I trail after the rest of the girls, still in my jeans and sweatshirt. Once we’re off the porch, half the group splits to the left and darts toward the woods.
“Where are we going?” I ask Shannon.
“Lee found a clearing in the woods. We’re supposed to meet everyone there.”
I relax a little. Lee Joseph is friends with Will, along with a handful of other people I don’t mind. As far as cliques go, it’s one I can handle socializing with.
There’s not a chaperone in sight, but we stick to the periphery of the campground as we head toward the woods just in case. Eventually we reach a point where we have to dart across the middle of the campground to reach the direction in which we apparently need to head.
