I felt a small pulse of guilt for lying to my grandmother, but I was just going to hang out for a little while. Hopefully, Kate and I had something in common besides our age, and at the very least, I’d make a new friend.
It’s the least I could ask for, given the past few months.
Kate led the way to a dirt trail behind our trailer park. It led to an opening that followed along the Gaines River. Kate talked non-stop on the fifteen-minute trek. Thankfully, the shade of the trees protected us from the sun.
She talked about everything from fashion to what electives she was looking forward to taking as a junior and what teachers to be on the lookout for.
Her non-stop chatter suited me just fine since it took me more than a few sentences to open up to others.
“There they are.” She pointed a ways down the trail once we’d walked about a mile or so. There was a clearing. A perfect grassy knoll by the river right beneath a giant oak tree.
I peered down to see about four other teens hanging out at the side of the river. There were three girls and one boy who had his shirt off as if he’d just come out of the water. They were spread out a blanket under the tree.
One of the girls leaned out, stretching her legs in front of her and shaking her long blond locks. She looked over at us as we approached.
“That’s Carol Anne,” Kate whispered as we got closer. “She’s a total bitch. She thinks she’s better than everyone. Her dad’s like, some famous heart doctor or something. Heather’s next to her. That’s her best friend, but Heather’s not too bad when Kate isn’t around.”
One by one, Kate pointed out all of the other kids, naming them along with some interesting piece of information about each one.
“That’s Stephen and Clarke.” She pointed at the two boys swimming on the other side of the river.
We were at a spot where the river narrowed, so they were only about twenty-five feet away.
I watched the two boys splash and yelp while they play-fought in the water.
“Hey, Carol Anne, why don’t you get in?” one of them taunted.
“No way,” she answered, shaking her head for emphasis.
I looked past her, over to the river again and beyond the two boys. On the far side of the river, I spotted a rope swing hanging from the branch of a tree. A beat later, a large figure stepped from behind the tree and grabbed the rope swing.
I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. Whoever he was stood there in a pair of red swimming trunks and nothing else. His stomach muscles clenched as he reached up to take hold of the rope.
“Who’s that?” The question came out of my lips without my brain fully registering.
Kate glanced over.
“Oh,” she giggled. “That’s Ace.”
“Ace,” I repeated in a whisper.
“He’s hot, right?”
Hot didn’t describe Ace at all. He had to be at least six-foot, with bronzed skin and well-formed muscles, though he wasn’t bulky.
“Ace Townsend. Every girl in our junior class wants him. Hell, every girl in our high school wants him. Those grey eyes are dreamy.” Kate swooned beside me.
I felt her get closer, but I kept my eyes pinned on the boy stepping back from the river with the swing in his hands.
“He’s the reason Carol Anne shows up here every day. Even though she hates swimming.”
“Cannonball!” Ace yelled as he swung high in the air and released the rope before tucking himself in a ball and crashing into the water below.
The splash his body made was loud and stole my breath. I gasped, surprised at first and then searching the water with my eyes, waiting for him to emerge.
“Is it safe to do that?” I asked Kate, eyes still glued to the river. Ace hadn’t come up yet.
She laughed, but that didn’t ease my fright.
