She looks at me askance but then Brad explains.
“Mom and I were at Gerald’s this week and we bumped into her. Good to see you again, Sophie,” he says, his full lips spreading into a smile. I’m shocked he remembers my name.
“Heeey, Jamie,” Margot drawls, slinging an arm around the other boy’s shoulder.
He steps toward me, offers a hand. “Jamie. Jamie Smith.” His burnished-copper hair is molded with product, and his eyes are a stunning, sea-glass green. Even though he’s shorter than Brad, he’s a good foot taller than me, and I gaze up at him and grin.
“Sophie,” I say, shaking his hand.
Margot fills the glasses with more wine and passes them to the boys. They drink in eager gulps, then peel off their T-shirts. Jamie is lean yet ripped with small muscles, while Brad is all rock.
“I don’t know about y’all, but I’m going for a swim.” Brad dives into the lake and swims underwater for a few strokes before breaking the surface. “Oooh-heee!” he shouts. “Water’s still cold.”
“C’mon, Miss Banks!” he says, panting and treading the water. “I dare ya!”
Margot lowers herself down on the ladder, her face wincing, likely at the chill of the water.
“Race you to the cove?” Brad says, and they swim away from us, around the tree-lined bend where a long stand of cypress trees obscures the view.
—
I’M LEFT STANDINGon the dock with Jamie. He drains the rest of the wine into the glasses and we sit on the edge of the dock, our toes dipping into the icy water.
“Shouldn’t you be in school or something?” I ask, already slipping into some kind of flirty voice.
He grins and scratches the back of his neck. “We’re playing hooky. I was Brad’s ride to the doctor—he sprained an ankle but it’s all healed up—and he wanted to come out here.”
I nod. I see him studying my legs, feel his eyes tracing over me.
“Not sure Abby would be too happy about it, though,” he says, dragging a foot through the water in a circle.
“Abby?” I ask.
“Brad’s girlfriend. Prettiest girl in school. Sweetest, too,” he says, shaking his head.
I’m no longer tipsy, I realize; I’m plain drunk. I plant my hands next to my hips and heave myself up, walk over to my bag, and reach for my cell to check the time. It’s one o’clock already. I need to leave soon. Fishing a bottle of water from my bag, I take a few slugs to try and sober up, and when I’m finished, Jamie is standing right behind me.
“You’re getting all burned, you know?” he says. His voice is rich and deep.
I can tell; my skin is fever-hot, especially in the places I couldn’t reach with the sunblock.
“Your shoulders,” he says.
I pass him the sunblock, lift my hair off my neck. His hands are warm, his touch firm. He continues massaging long after the lotion is set in, his breath hot and rapid on my neck. My pulse is racing and the wine is making me swoon.
I feel him tug on the tie to my bikini top. To my surprise, I let it fall. He grabs my shoulders, spins me around.
“My god,” he says breathlessly. His bright green eyes roam all over me, and warmth spreads across my stomach as he steps closer, brushing his chest against mine.
He leans in to kiss me. A restrained, teasing kiss. My lips part but then I hear Margot’s raspy laughter bounce off the water. Far enough away that it sounds like an echo, but close enough for me to snap out of it, pull back, and tie my top.
I peer at the lake and see Margot’s face bobbing on top of the blue water as she swims toward us. She’s smiling and I have no idea how much she’s seen. Brad swims behind her, diving underwater and breaking the surface with loud gulps of air.
I stash my towel in my bag and turn to leave as they slither out of the lake.
“Gotta run get Jack, my son,” I say. My voice is shaky from adrenaline.
“We’re leaving, too,” Brad says, toweling off. “Have to get back to school.”
