“Some people might say night swims are a lake rite of passage,” he pointed out.
“I guess.” I crossed my arms. “But maybe my mom did it enough for both of us.”
He bit his lip, ducking his head as he turned to look at the water, dark except for the moon and thrown light from the motels and houses along the shore. “Right,” he said finally. “I wasn’t even thinking about that. Didn’t mean to make it awkward.”
“You couldn’t,” I said, and smiled, to prove I meant it.
Behind us, Bailey shifted, talking in her sleep, but I couldn’t make out what she was saying.
“You know,” Roo said, once it was quiet again, “I’m really glad you came this summer.”
“Yeah?”
He nodded. “I always wondered, you know? What happened to you. Because I remembered that time you came when we were kids.”
“I wishIremembered,” I said. “I lost a lot. Like, everything from this place.”
“Wasn’t lost,” he said. “You just left it here. You knowwhat Mimi says: the lake keeps us.”
“I’ve never heard that before.”
“Sure you have,” he replied. “Just now.”
He smiled at me then, and as I felt myself smile back, I wondered if our parents, the best of friends, had ever stood in this same spot. There were so many stories here, like every moment had already been lived once before.
But then, Roo did something different. He reached forward with one hand, sliding my fallen strap back up on my shoulder. It was a simple gesture, but like earlier, with the corsage, I felt my heart catch in my chest. Once the strap was fixed, he left his hand there, fingers spread cool over my skin. Like a take two, second chance. The kind you don’t get often.
Maybe this was why I stepped a little closer, lifting my chin as I looked up at him. His eyes widened a bit, but he stayed where he was.
“Hey!” someone yelled from the water. “What are you guys doing up there?”
We both jumped, him turning his head at the noise while I took a full step back, putting space between us again.
“One sec,” he called back. Turning back to me, he said, “Look, I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s fine,” I said quickly. I could feel my heart beating in my chest, as well as the weight of his hand on my shoulder, even though it was now gone.
“Roo! Get in here!” Jack yelled.
He reached up, tugging his own shirt off and tossing itonto the grass with the others. Then, with a final look back at me, he jogged down the dock as everyone else whooped and clapped, and dove off.
“Shoulda done it.”
Again startled, I looked over to the couch, where Bailey was now curled up on one side. “What?”
“Kissed him,” she said, her voice muffled by her hair. Her eyes remained closed. “Had the perfect chance. Shoulda taken it.”
“I panicked,” I said, looking out at the water. Familiar story. “Why do I always do that?”
She didn’t answer, as her breathing had steadied: she was asleep again.
Back inside, the room was still hot, one of the light strands had fallen down, and a leftover corsage lay flattened on the floor. No one had touched the punch. When I realized the speaker was buzzing steadily, not connected to anything, I went over and turned it off. That was when I heard my phone.
It was in my bag, which I’d left in the kitchen on the counter. By the time I went over and pulled it out, it had gone silent as well, although a message remained on the screen. My dad.
Just got off the boat. Great time but EXHAUSTED. See you Friday! Can’t wait.
No way, I thought, rereading this a second time. But when I flipped over to my calendar, scanning the month of June into July, I saw it was true: my trip was almost over.Before long, I’d be going back to Lakeview to move into our new house and begin another life. But what about this one?
