a battered baseball cap and a t-shirt that showed his athletic frame. Like all the Bodine boys, he was nice to look at. He paused at a small table near the window and said something to his brother, Jameson.
Jameson was my age, but I didn’t know him very well. He was quiet and mostly spent time with Leah Mae Larkin. They weren’t dating as far as I knew. They acted more like friends—friends who’d known each other since they were little. She spent summers here now, kind of like I did, except it was because her parents had divorced and she’d gone to live with her mom in Florida. I liked Leah Mae, but we didn’t hang out much. She was always off somewhere with Jameson.
“Bowie’s eighteen,” Lacey hissed. “That means he’s like a grown-up.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Tanya asked. “He’s only two years older.”
“Are y’all talking about my brother again?” Scarlett Bodine squished into the booth with Lacey and Tanya, and her best friend Cassidy Tucker slid in next to me. Scarlett and Cassidy were a couple of years younger, but they were nice girls. I’d always liked Scarlett’s sass.
“No,” Tanya said, but Lacey gave her the side-eye. “Okay, yeah. But I can’t help it. He’s so cute.”
Scarlett rolled her eyes. “I guess. He’s a pain in the ass, though. All my brothers are.”
“Shh, he’s coming,” Tanya said.
Bowie paused by our table. He grabbed Cassidy’s ponytail and gave it a little tug. “Hey, trouble.” Then he playfully punched Scarlett’s shoulder.
Scarlett rubbed her arm while Cassidy grinned up at him.
“Don’t punch me, you big fart face.” Scarlett socked him in the arm.
“Ow,” Bowie said, grabbing his arm. “What gives, Scar? I barely touched you.”
Scarlett gave him a smug smile. He grumbled something and walked away, heading for a table near the back. I noticed Cassidy didn’t take her eyes off him.
“You’re so gonna marry him,” Scarlett said.
“Shut up, I am not,” Cassidy said, but her smile said otherwise.
Amos turned and leaned over into our booth. “Y’all done? We’re heading back to the lake.”
“Sure,” Lacey said with a giggle.
“We’ll see you down there,” Scarlett said, standing to let Tanya and Lacey out. “Cass and I wanna get some lunch.”
Cassidy stood so I could get out. We said goodbye, then I followed Tanya and Lacey out the door. The knot of boys came out right after us.
I pulled on my sleeves, even though it was hot out today. Maybe I’d dip my feet in the lake to cool off. The water was bathwater warm, but it still felt refreshing. And wearing short sleeves wasn’t an option.
An engine rumbled behind me. I glanced over my shoulder and my heart did a little flip. Gibson Bodine drove by slow in his beat-up old pickup truck. He had his windows rolled down, music turned up. He wore a black muscle shirt that showed off his muscular arms and a pair of dark sunglasses.
The other girls stared, open-mouthed. Gibson Bodine was equal parts fascinating and intimidating. The type of guy the girls my age were both afraid of, and drawn to like flies to honey. The big, bad older guy, with stubble on his square jaw and a heart-stopping smile. A little scary. A little dangerous. A lot sexy.
And these girls had no idea he was my friend.
I held that secret like a treasure. I had a lot of secrets—far too many for a sixteen-year-old girl—but this was the one I cherished. A happy secret, instead of a terrible one. But still something I had to keep to myself.
So I didn’t wave when he drove by. He didn’t acknowledge me, either. He didn’t need to. We both knew.
“Last one in the lake is a bug-eyed catfish,” Amos yelled, then took off running down the street.
The rest of the boys followed, yelling insults at each other as they went.
Tanya and Lacey started to follow. “You coming, Callie?”
I made sure not to glance in the direction Gibson had gone. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
“Okay, see ya.”
I turned in the opposite direction, walking up Lake Drive while the girls headed toward the lake. Sneaking away was easy. The kids and teens of Bootleg Springs roamed the town until dusk all summer long, everyone coming and going. Forming small groups, then breaking off to form new ones. No one seemed to miss me when I wandered off.
Technically I wasn’t violating any of my parents’ rules. Although there was no way they’d approve of me hanging