her eyes closed and her hands by her side, she drank in the sunlight a mere three feet from where Grant sat atop his perch.
He glanced my way, his eyes hidden by a pair of aviator sunglasses. The smile on his face, full of excitement and deepening the single dimple in his right cheek, made my anxiety flare. He was so handsome. So charming. Out of my league in too many ways, but gorgeous just the same.
And he had no idea of the complications one simple statement could bring.
“Hey,” he said, climbing off the perch. “Didn’t expect to see you here, but I can’t say I’m mad about it. You swimming?”
I shook my head, glancing at the group of campers splashing their way through the afternoon. “No, I finished my shift at arts and crafts and thought I would visit with Kira for a little bit.”
“Gotcha,” he said. “I think she’s in the hut. She doesn’t come out here unless she has to. Most of the time Linc does it for her instead.”
“Except for today.”
“Except for today,” Grant said. “Since I stupidly agreed to cover his shift in exchange for our date. You were totally worth it, but I’m roasting out here. It’s like no matter how much sunblock I put on, the sun keeps getting hotter and hotter and—”
“It’s not the sun,” Brie mumbled. “It’s you. All you.”
“Oh, and I’m also dealing with that one,” Grant said, putting his hands on either side of his hips. “I think she enjoys making me uncomfortable.”
“You mean that’s possible?” I said, staring at him. “I thought you had a three-second rebound rate. You could throw anything out there and all it would do is bounce back with a vengeance.”
“That’s called wit,” he said. “Which I also have a ton of.”
“Humble.”
“The humblest,” he said. He shifted the weight on his feet. “I haven’t seen you much today. You been hiding?”
“Figured I would spare both of us the awkward morning-after conversation, where we either pretend like the date didn’t happen or beat around the bush until someone brings it up,” I said. “I’m never good with that kind of stuff.”
“Same,” he said. “I know I come across as someone who might know what they’re doing when it comes to this kind of thing, but I know nothing. I’m an awkward duck in an appealing package.”
His hand moved to the brim of his hat, adjusting it slightly. “But, since neither of us is hiding, and we’re already on the topic, I had a good time with you last night. Outside of you losing the 8 Ball from the Hobby Lobby geocache.”
“In my defense, it was tiny, and I didn’t realize I wasn’t supposed to take it,” I said. “I thought everyone got their own little trinket. That’s how you described it.”
“No, I said we could take one thing out of the geocache. I didn’t mean you and me individually.”
“You should’ve specified.”
“Or you should’ve read between the lines.”
“Or you should’ve known me well enough to know I need step-by-step directions if you want me to do anything remotely related to following the rules,” I said.
He pointed at me, his mouth ajar.
“And you know I’m right, which is why you have zero comeback lines,” I said, crossing my arms.
He shook his head, lowering his hand so it grazed mine. Warmth flooded my cheeks. The reason for me coming here in the first place was to end everything going on between us, but how could I when being around him was so easy?
“8 Ball aside, I had a good time with you,” he said. “Unless you’re about to serve me a shot of reality, I’m pretty sure you did too. But who knows? You aren’t known for your tact.”
“Tact? What’s that?”
“It’s a trait some people have, where they don’t spit out the first thing on their mind. Instead, they stop to consider the other person’s feelings. Or so I’ve heard. Never tried it.”
“You two done flirting over there?” Brie said behind us, her voice annoying as nails on a chalkboard.
“Nope,” I said.
She let out a long sigh and sat up, scowling as she opened both eyes. “Well, then do me a favor and at least consider your campers the next time you two go on an adventure. I mean, I was stuck in that boring cabin while you two were geocaching. What is life?”
“Tough,” Grant said, staring at her.
“Tougher when she gets assigned to scrub our toilets during tomorrow morning’s chore time,” I said.
“Ugh. Whatever,” Brie said, rolling