‘Sack-a-juh,’” she said. “But I kind of like your way better.” Autumn smiled then, and she became one of Louisa’s best friends, second only to Cody Boggs.
Louisa had gone home that afternoon with a sunburn, feeling a little less like a social outcast thanks to Autumn and Cody.
Now, standing near the water, she wanted to turn and run, but her desire to leave had less to do with the water and more to do with the fact that Cody had her insides all tangled up. She stole a glimpse of his profile, highlighted by the shadows of the late-afternoon sun.
“What are we doing here?” she asked. “Where’s the boat?”
“No boat,” he said.
She looked at him full-on, doing nothing to hide her confusion. “What do you mean ‘no boat’?”
“You trust me, right?” He held his hand out in her direction, and she stared at it for several seconds like she didn’t know what it was.
When she didn’t move, he dropped his hand. “Oh. So you don’t trust me.”
“No,” she said. “I do.”
“Then let me help you.”
When he said it, he sounded so earnest, so intentional, she had no choice but to obey. It didn’t matter that she was certain she was beyond help or that her dreams haunted her even when she was awake—in that moment, the only thing she needed was what he wanted to give: a small piece of himself.
His hand was back, an offering of hope, and she took it because it had been a long time since she’d felt hopeful, and she missed that feeling.
“We’re going to go slow,” he said.
“I bet you say that to all the girls,” she said with a thoughtless laugh.
He looked at her, but she kept her eyes down, away—anywhere but locked on to his. She had no filter. Where was the nearest hole to fall into?
She willed herself to stop being so ridiculous and tried to act casual, like they were just two buddies hanging out on the beach and not two people who’d been more than friends once upon a time but who were not friends at all right now. She forced herself not to think about the way his hand wrapped around hers made her feel—like she could do anything.
Her foot slipped and splashed in the shallow water. His arm was around her waist in a flash, steadying her and keeping her from falling.
“You okay?”
“Sure,” she squeaked.
“I don’t, you know.”
She righted herself and looked at him. “Don’t what?”
“Say that to all the girls.” He still had a hold of her hand.
“You don’t go slow?” Her heart dropped. Why would he tell her that?
He laughed. “That’s not what I meant. I meant there haven’t been a lot of girls.”
Oh. Well, that she hadn’t expected. Was he telling the truth?
He pulled his shirt off and tossed it onto the dry sand a few feet away, then gave her a once-over. She still had shorts and a tank top over her swimsuit, and frankly that was just fine with her. Except then she’d be in wet clothes the rest of the day.
Why couldn’t they be holding a dogsled race? Then her body could remain covered in layers and layers of clothes.
She removed her tank top and chucked it onto the shore. Her suit was hardly revealing—she’d gotten it for actual swimming, after all. Looking good on the beach had never been her concern.
She stepped out of the water, took her shorts off, and threw them on the pile. When she turned, she found him looking at her, and all at once her entire body blushed. “What?”
He looked away. “Nothing.”
Was he . . . smiling?
She made her way back out to where he stood. “What now, skipper?”
“Now we swim.”
A wave of panic rolled through her.
“Slowly.” He stood in front of her and took both of her hands, then started walking backward. Each time the water rose enough to notice, he stopped and talked to her, usually about something unrelated to the water.
He asked what had happened to Muffin (her hamster), and she told him about Teddy and how one day she planned to dog-nap him simply on principle. After all, she was the one who’d wanted the dog in the first place.
Another step. “So you and that guy from the auction . . .”
Her eyes darted to his, then back down to the water. “Eric.”
“Was it serious?”
“I guess. Kind of.”
“Why aren’t you together?” Another step.
“He didn’t believe in me,” she said matter-of-factly. There were many reasons she and Eric weren’t together, but at