“Ew, get off of me, Mason!” I gag. “You smell disgusting, and you’re all sweaty.”
He lets me go, laughing loudly. “What are you guys up to? Where’s Leo?”
I snicker. “I saw him trying to talk to Bethany earlier, but she ignored him mostly.”
Mase and Nate laugh. “She’s killing his oversized ego.”
Nate agrees. “She’s doing us a solid if you ask me.”
“Oh, Maddie, before I forget, call home when you get a chance. Apparently, it’s been a while.” His pointed stare doesn’t go unnoticed. It means Mama gave him hell that I haven’t called her.
I was only trying to keep some of my sanity until I knew I had no other choice.
“I’ll call tomorrow.” Mase pauses. I know he wants to fight me on it. “Tomorrow, Mason.”
“Fine.” He looks me up and down. “Have you been in the water? How are the swimming lessons going?”
From my peripheral vision I see Nate shaking his head quickly, motioning to stop talking. I turn toward him, giving him the death stare.
Mase chuckles. “That bad?”
“Shut up, Mason,” I snap.
Mase looks back at where he came from. “Shit, I should get going. I just wanted to say hi quickly. See y’all at dinner.” He waves as he sets off on a full sprint.
Nate glances at his watch, then grabs our bags, lacing his fingers through mine. Without a word, he pulls me toward the woods, away from the cabins.
“Where are we going?” I try to keep up.
“A hidden spot,” he replies simply.
“But we?—”
Nate interrupts me by stopping short and shutting me up with a quick, mind-melting kiss. “Trust me?”
“Of course.”
We walk for ten, maybe fifteen minutes, down a narrow path I’ve never noticed before until we reach a large clearing.
It’s a small but breathtaking meadow with long, whimsical grass and beautiful bursts of flowers, surrounded by tall oak trees.
The whole place looks untouched, like something out of a dream.
“Wow.” I turn around in awe of the beautiful nature surrounding us.
Nate wraps his arms around my shoulders from behind, pulling my back into his chest, resting his chin on my head.
“Worth sneaking off for?”
I nod. “How did you find this place?”
“My sailing instructor pointed it out the other day. It’s technically part of the state park, so it’s not on the campgrounds map,” he says, dropping our bags and then himself onto the grass. “I came to check it out yesterday when you were playing beach volleyball to make sure it was worth the risk of leaving the camp.”
My eyes snap to Nate, full of worry.
“Don’t worry, good girl.” He winks. “You won’t get into trouble.”
“You can’t possibly know that. What if they call Mama? What if?—”
