Sheila laughs next to me and pats my arm on the table. “Growing boys. They’d eat just about anything, I’m pretty sure. Like raccoons.”
Brett dumps the rest of the chips on his paper plate and nods. “Probably true.”
Tucker reaches over to snag a Dorito, and Brett growls, smacking his hand away. They’re all a bunch of animals. Stinky animals. We’ve beenrunning around all day, and they smell like a bag of onions. It’s so pungent I’m surprised my eyes aren’t watering.
“You all stink. Ever heard of deodorant? Maybe a shower?Soap?” I wrinkle my nose, and Brett wiggles his eyebrows, sliding off the bench seat.
“Oh yeah? You think I smell, Kat-boy?”
No.
I know that sparkly look in his eyes. I squeal, sliding out of my seat, and make a run for it. The grass is warm under my feet as I run as fast as I can away from the laughing boy behind me. I don’t make it very far before hands grab me from behind.
“Get off of me, you smelly monster,” I scream. But it's too late, he tucks my face under his arm, and I get an armpit straight to the nose.
So bad. So, so bad.
“Gross,” I screech, pushing against him as hard as I can. He’s laughing so loudly, then he burps and falls to the grass, pulling me down next to him.
Straight boys are so gross. Thathasto be the problem.
“You love me, even if I stink.” I roll my eyes but smile, because it's true. Brett is my best friend. Bowen, too, but Brett is my rock. He always chooses me to hang out with when Tucker and Bowen hang out. We’re on our annual camping trip, the cabins out in the middle of nowhere. It's one of my favorite things we do every year.
“Yeah, whatever.”
He turns his head to look at me, and I look over at him. I can’t believe there was a time I couldn’t tell him and Bowen apart. Their faces are very similar, but their differences are so obvious to me now. Brett has a slightly wider nose, and his brows aren’t quite as low as Bowen’s. His bottom lip isn’t quite as…plump as his brother’s. He doesn’t have the mole above his top lip that Bowen has, either. My cheeks warm again, and I look back up at the blue sky.
Stop thinking about Bowen’s lips, weirdo.
Speaking of the devil…
Bowen and Tucker make their way over to us. Bowen stands where his head perfectly blocks the sun, and I can see his pretty… I mean, see his eyes take us in. Brett’s head is so close to mine, our temples are practically touching. Brett jokes that he and I act more like twins than he and Bowen do.
“Wanna go swim?” Tucker asks, his question more directed at Brett than me. God forbid my older brother admit he doesn’t hate hanging with me anymore.
Brett sits up, a smile stretching across his face. “Chicken!” He screeches, tearing grass from the ground as he hops up. He stops long enough to rain the green blades over me before dashing towards the water, yelling the whole way.
I huff, smacking the grass off my face. Tucker follows Brett, but Bowen is still here, holding his hand out for me to grab.
I hope I hide the shiver I get from clasping onto it. I hope he doesn’t see too much in my eyes when he picks a blade of grass from my hair and looks at me.
“He’s going to make us play. You know that, right?” He smirks, that half smirk that does crazy things to my insides. It’s harder to breathe normally when Bowen is around anymore.
“You’re going down, Briggs,” I say, running backwards to flash a teasing smile back at him.
Sometimes, I miss the simplicity of life before crushes.
“Not a chance, Meyer.”
He chases me all the way to the lake. I was never able to run as fast as they did.
Bowen catches me by the waist just as my foot lifts off the end of the dock and launches us both into the cool water. I surface with a sputtering laugh,shoving wet hair out of my eyes as Bowen floats nearby, a triumphant grin on his face.
“Your legs are just longer,” I huff, swimming towards him.
“You just run in slow motion.”
Brett’s voice cuts through the air from the shallower edge of the lake. He’s already on Tucker’s shoulders; fists raised in the air like some kind of water wraith king.
