he gets situated in his seat.
Looking off to the right, I see Rory with the rest of the swim team a few booths down from ours. Talk about not leaving anything to the imagination. The whole team is standing there in nothing but swim caps and Speedos. Serious swoon alert. Naturally, the booth is surrounded by girls, but I do notice a couple of guys posted up, talking to Rory. I recognize one of them as a guy Rory’s been crushing on for a while now. He goes to our rival high school and also happens to be a swimmer. The giant smile on Rory’s face tells me everything I need to know about how he’s feeling right now.
“Hey you two.” Phoebe’s voice sounds from in front of me.
“What’s up, sis,” Parker calls out, but he’s muffled by the wall of plastic he’s perched behind.
I clam up for some reason. I’m still not completely comfortable being around both of them at the same time, especially since she’d destroy me if she found out about our recent intimacies. The video of Parker and me begins playing in my head, making the situation even more awkward.
“Hey, Phoebe.”
“So, what have you guys been up to? Making out or something?” she asks with a laugh.
“Phoebe, seriously?” I can’t believe she just went there.
“I was only kidding. Lighten up. Besides, Parker’s girlfriend would kill him if he even as much looked at another girl. She’s a little too possessive for my taste. Wouldn’t you agree, brother?” Phoebe asks.
I turn to see Parker looking at me wide-eyed, like a deer caught in headlights. I’m having the hardest time trying to keep it together and not erupt in a fit of rage toward him.
Swallowing down the betrayal and boiling anger rushing through me, I reply, “She must be really nice though, right?”
I turn to look back at Parker. He seems mortified, but he stays put—probably since that wall of thick plastic is the only thing separating us right now. He looks like he wants to say something, but with Phoebe there, I know why he hasn’t yet.
“Yeah, she’s nice. A little young, though. She’s a freshman,” Phoebe answers with a wave of her hand.
“Really? Oh that Parker. He definitely has a thing for younger women, huh?” I say, sending another death glare his way.
“I guess so,” she laughs, clearly oblivious to the tension that’s occurring right in front of her face. Phoebe wasn’t always the most observant one in the bunch. I mean, it took her physically seeing Parker and me making out to realize we were together back in the day.
“Hey, Phoebe, will you excuse me for one second? I see someone I desperately need to talk,” I say, pointing down the row of booths in front of us.
Turning, I see Parker making an attempt to move from his seat, probably to come talk to me. I rear back and wind up one of the softballs in my hand, hurling it right at the target. A bell chimes as it crashes into the bullseye. The seat under Parker releases, dropping him into the freezing cold water below. A sly smirk appears on my face as I revel in what I just did. He pops up from the water, completely drenched. The miserable look in his big baby blues, almost makes me feel like complete shit. Almost.
Phoebe erupts into a fit of laughter. “Nice arm, Dani.”
“Yeah, nice throw,” Parker comments, not taking his eyes off me.
Handing the other ball to Phoebe, I walk off, not even taking a moment to look back at Parker. I’m so heated right now, I can’t stand it. All I want to do is scream, “You’re so stupid, Dani,” but I can’t. I don’t want to draw any attention to myself.
Feeling someone grab my hand, I turn to see it’s Kevin. Perfect. Just what I need.
“Hey, where are you off to in such a hurry?”
“Bathroom,” I reply, trying to move away.
“Liar. You’re upset. I can tell,” he argues, clearly seeing through my bullshit. That’s one thing Kevin has always been able to do.
“Fine, you caught me. I just need to get out of here for a sec, okay? There’s a lot going on, and I just need to clear my head,” I reply, ripping my hand from his grip.
“Dani, I can explain,” I hear Parker say as he comes up behind me. I turn to see him standing there dripping wet. For a split second, I feel sorry for him because he