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I shivered. Wild thoughts about sneaking off to meet him in the woods flew through my mind. That’s what we would have done as teenagers.
Instead, I swam sideways away from him, his hand moving down my side as I brushed past. I dove into the water for a few strokes, swimming to the other end of the pool.
Amber gave me a wide-eyed look as I climbed out of the water next to her. She was chatting with the other women, waving her hand at a bug flying next to her face.
“Okay,” I said. “You’re not going in the water again, are you?”
“No, ma’am.” Amber’s eyes narrowed.
I gave her a big beauty pageant smile, wet hair drippingon either side of my face. “No prob, shug. Let’s head back to my place and get ready for a night on the town.”
Amber’s eyes flickered closed and open and she gave a big sigh. “Thank you. Insects really like me. The feeling isn’t mutual.”
I dried myself off then slipped my dress back on. “See you later, Layla. I loved this by the way!”
“Bye,” she called back. “I’ll text you later.”
Clint had stayed out in the water then gone over to the jumping cliff. I glanced at him but he was climbing up the rope, so I didn’t wave. Amber and I left, picking our way through a narrow bramble-choked trail up to the parking lot.
“You don’t waste any time,” Amber said behind me as I turned sideways to avoid touching big heart-shaped leaves covered in spikes.
“No rest for the wicked.”
She snorted. “I had to do some tricky sidestepping to avoid answering questions about you. You and Clint are shocking that clique of women into all kinds of gossipy speculation.”
“Do they all seem real young to you too? Maybe I’m an old soul.”
“They do.” Amber swatted at a bug. “But watch out, girl. Feathers are flying.”
I chewed on my lip. She was right of course, and I was supposed to be hiding after all. “He’s leaving next week. Transferring to Nebraska for football.”
“Really? Wow. Are you sad?”
“Yeah.” I was and I wasn’t. Clint short-circuited my brain. If he had stayed in Oregon, we would be screwing all the time before I knew it. Except we weren’t easy breezy teenagers anymore. And there was Hank…
The timing was all off for me. Javier had left me mellow,ready to refocus on my life and figure out what I was doing. I could resist Clint. He’d leave, perhaps a little frustrated, but ready to move on and settle into a new place. Besides, stirring up a bunch of gossipy speculation was seriously dangerous for me.
Amber and I made it out to the parking lot.
“Civilization,” she said. “Thank God.”
I laughed and shook my head. “I guess you won’t be my river buddy.”
“Sally,” Clint called behind us. “Hold up.”
Amber kept going and walked around to the passenger side of the car. Clint jogged up to me, his swimming trunks dripping.
“You’re leaving already?”
“Yeah,” I said. “We’re going to head back.”
He ran his hands through his hair, slicking it off his face. “You’re coming out tonight, right?”
I glanced away from him, taking a breath. “I don’t know.”
“I really want to see you.”
“I’m not sure—everything’s happening too fast.”
