This man, I tell you. “Nate…thank you for everything.”
“Get your ass out here, you have some explaining to do. I fucking warned you.” Mason’s voice is getting closer.
I shoo Nate away. “Just go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He stills, leaning over to kiss my cheek. “And every day after.”
Two Weeks Later
“Hey.”
I glance up from the book, mildly irritated by the interruption. My pottery teacher gave it to me this morning, and I haven’t put it down since.
“Hello,” I answer wearily.
A tall blonde stands over me, hip cocked to the side, radiating attitude with nothing but posture.
“We need one more player for beach volleyball.”
“Okay?” I frown, unsure where this is going, until it clicks. “Oh. You want me to play?”
“Duh.” She snaps her gum, looking at me like I just asked the dumbest question on the planet.
Charming. Is everyone at camp this catty?
“I—”
“Can you or not?”
I lean to the side, peering around her to the waiting group of girls, all staring. My nerves spike instantly, a bead of sweat trailing down my spine.
I can do this, I tell myself.
Still, I glance around for backup in the form of Nate, Mase, Leo. Anyone.
There’s no one.
I take a breath. I don’t need a support system to play volleyball. I can handle this. “Fine. But I’m an outside hitter.”
“We already?—”
“If you want me to play, that’s my position.” If I’m going to do this, I’m doing it my way. And it just so happens I’m decent at volleyball.
The school coach has asked me to join the team more than once, and I’ve turned him down every time. I may be athletic, but I’ll let Mase keep the star athlete award in our family.
Thirty minutes later, we’ve won the first two sets, and the other team is crazy mad. Apparently, one of their school’s all-stars is on the other team, and we obliterated them.
I can dust off my shoulders a little, knowing I contributed big time.
“You’re welcome,” I call boldly, gaining a bit of confidence, when no one says a word to me after helping them kill it.
“Yeah, baby!” I turn to see Nate and Leo jumping up and down in excitement.
“Careful, you’ll choke.” I pull out Nate’s cherry lollipop and steal it for myself. “I didn’t even notice you guys watching.”
“We snuck in toward the end of the second match,” Nate grins, pulling me into a hug. “You’re a killer, Mads. Seriously impressive.”
I shrug, a little embarrassed by the attention.
