Playing Hooky with the Hottie - Maggie Dallen Page 0,22

suspicion she had no idea how to relax, which was why I wanted to get her out of her normal environment for just one day.

I wanted to see what it was like to hang out with the most driven girl I’d ever met when she was relaxed.

“Why would you call him a moron?” she said. “You don’t even know who he is.”

Oh, I knew all right. To her, I said, “If he couldn’t see how beautiful and fun you can be without me having to show him, I feel confident in calling him a pathetic loser.”

“You just upped him from a moron to a pathetic loser in two-point-five seconds,” she noted.

I shrugged. “I just call it like I see it.”

When I looked over again, I saw a bemused smile on her face. It was so distractingly pretty I almost drove off the road.

Instead I focused ahead of me and tightened my grip on the wheel. Maybe it was for the best if I held off on looking at Hazel until we’d parked.

We arrived a little while later and sat in reverent silence for a full minute as Hazel took in the sight before her. “I can’t believe I’ve never been here before.”

I watched her study the water. “Better late than never.”

She nodded and then leapt for the door handle. “Race you there!”

I was laughing as I caught up with her, but I hadn’t actually tried to race her to the water’s edge. I’d been too busy snapping away to care about winning.

And here was the thing...I’d never seen this side of Hazel before. She looked almost giddy as she raced to the edge, and her laugh was pure delight as she kicked off her sneakers and dipped her toes in.

“This is amazing. It’s so clear,” she said. It wasn’t until she turned to face me that she seemed to notice the camera, but she just kind of wrinkled her nose before turning her attention back to the water.

“I’m so glad I have my suit with me.”

I dropped the camera. “Your swimsuit?” I arched my brows in disbelief. “The water’s gotta be freezing.”

She grinned over at me, and I felt that smile like an electric jolt as she tore the elastic band out of her hair and shook it loose.

I forgot how to breathe as I watched her hair flying behind her in the wind, her face lit up with excitement and happiness, her smile transforming her features into something so perfect it couldn’t possibly be captured.

But I was still going to try.

“You don’t have to come in if you’re too chicken,” she said. Her eyes glinted with teasing laughter as she put her hair back, tying it even tighter, presumably for her swim.

“Too chicken?” I feigned outrage. “I’m not the one who was terrified of playing hooky.”

“Not terrified, just…” Her eyes darted left and right as she tried to come up with the word. “Okay, fine. Terrified. Are you happy?”

I watched her dig into her bag and pull out a swimsuit triumphantly.

Was I happy?

I’d never been happier.

9

Hazel

I honestly couldn't remember the last time I’d had more fun.

I floated on my back, the water wasn’t so cold now that I’d warmed up with a swim, Will keeping surprisingly good pace as he joined me on a lap to the other side of the water. Now we were lazily floating our way back the way we’d come, the sun beating down on us as the trees in the distance waved in the breeze.

I loved having my ears below the surface, the bright blue sky the only thing above me.

For a little while there it was all so...peaceful.

I even forgot to be anxious about the fact that I was skipping biology at this particular moment. When we made it back to the shore where he’d parked, we both got out and laid out on some towels he’d brought so we could dry in the sun.

“Were you always so in love with water?” he asked.

I nodded. “My parents will tell anyone who would listen that I could swim before I could walk.”

“They must be proud.”

I shrugged.

“What about you? Are your parents proud of your photography?”

He shrugged too. “Probably. But they’d be prouder if I took it seriously.” The grin he flashed me was unrepentant. “I am the lone slacker in a family full of overachievers.”

“The black sheep, huh?”

He turned his head to face me, shielding his eyes from the sun. “I prefer renegade.”

A laugh bubbled up and came tumbling out at his flat tone.