Dean’s suspicion morphs into plain confusion at my drawn-out silence, so I swallow the sudden thickness in my throat and blurt, “Well, you said you’re president of the book club, right? People love a man in politics.”
To my total surprise, Dean laughs. It bubbles out of him, and he looks just as caught off guard by it as I am. I snort and, luckily, that clears some of the air between us.
“Fine, let’s give it a try then,” he says. He jerks his chin at me, and a curl bounces on his forehead. “Come here.”
My pulse thuds hard in my ears.
“No, you come here.”
“Are you seriously doing this right now?” he asks.
“It’s my idea,Ishould take the lead.”
“I’m not letting that happen.”
“Afraid you’ll like it?”
“You are the worst—”
I interrupt him by snaking my hand around his neck and pulling him toward me. Dean’s eyes widen, but I stop tugging when he’s centimeters away, his nose bumping against mine. I put my other hand on the side of his face so it looks like I’m cupping his cheek, but it’s really to conceal the fact that our lips aren’t actually touching. They’re close, though.
So close I can feel it on my mouth when he lets out a single, stuttered exhale.
There’s a wolf whistle and a few excited hoots from where the others are, and I grin.
“Listen, it’s working,” I whisper, even though there’s no need. They can’t hear us from over here. But something about being so close to Dean right now makes me want to lower my voice. Or maybe it’s because I don’t have enough breath to speak any louder. His skin is soft and hot under my touch. My face burns where his nose brushes. “Let’s make it more convincing.”
“Um,” Dean croaks, his voice husky and low. “Uh.”
His raspy syllables are the only thing separating our mouths. Then I feel a touch—his—tentatively grab my bare hip, right below the fabric of my swimsuit bottom.
On reflex, my fingers curl in the hairs at the nape of his neck, lightly scratching the skin there and tugging on a blond ringlet. Dean’s eyes pop open. His gaze flickers down to my lips, then back up. My own eyes trail down to his mouth, then lower—
Then he pushes me away, and the paddleboard capsizes, sending us both flailing into the lake.
The water is an icy shock to my system. I float back up and gasp for air, more breathless than I should be. Dean pops up a moment later, his face still fiery red.
“What the hell was that for?” I ask. My lips tingle from where they almost touched his.
Dean grabs onto the paddleboard and begins swimming back to shore in a hurry.
“Nothing!” he squeaks, panic lacing his voice. “I’m just going for a swim. Over there. Okay, see you, buddy,” he gets out all in one breath.
I tread water, staring after him with a mixture of disbelief and shock. Dean paddles faster than he’s ever gone before. Whatever his deal is, it doesn’t matter. Because my plan worked.
Everyone thinks we’re together now.
Huh.
CONFESSION TAPE—Carter Moxley, Contestant
They both have awful taste in companions.
CONFESSION TAPE—Siddharth Patel, Contestant
I guess that allianceissolid.
20
