The corner of Valeria’s mouth curves, not quite a smirk, but close enough that it sends a dangerous warmth through Camila. “Are you okay?”
Camila nods rapidly, pulse skittering under her skin. Thankfully, her brain clicks back online. “Yeah,” she says a little too quickly. “It’s just hot. You were saying?”
“Isabella brought her boat; she wants to take it to the middle of the lake before the tide gets stronger, and have a few drinks. So we’re heading out in five.”
“Oh, yeah, I just need to change.”
Valeriamoves her eyes down to Camila. One of her brows lifts, amused. “Didn’t you already?”
Heat rushes to Camila’s face as she looks down. “I, yeah. I did.” She clears her throat. “I meant to grab my sunblock.”
Valeria narrows her eyes. “Okay,” she says before standing. Her faint floral perfume drifts into Camila’s tent, and her head throbs. Camila swiftly turns, struggling to resist the urge to watch her walk away.
She zips up her tent and plops back onto the mattress on her cot with a sigh.Valeria is a friend, and she’s still healing from her last relationship, she reminds herself. She needs to get herself under control.
Camila rises, the mattress sighing under her, as she grabs her bag from where she left it earlier—digging everywhere for her sunblock. When she finds it, she slips her feet into her closed-toe Birkenstocks and shrugs into a button-up, leaving it open over the tank.
She steps out but immediately stops. Lily, Ella, Clara, and Alejandra are in a tight knot around Valeria, all laughing about something Camila can’t quite hear, but she doesn’t have to. Camila can see all over Valeria’s face how happy she is, how happy her friends make her, and she can’t for a second understand why Brooke felt so threatened by something so beautiful.
Lily’s head lifts, her eyes glancing toward Camila’s tent, and she spots her immediately. Her expression softens, and she gives Camila a tiny nod, as if to say, “Come closer.”
The others follow her gaze as Camila takes a step toward them. Alejandra shifts her arm to make room for Camila between herself and Valeria.
“Ready to go?” Ella asks.
They all nod. By the boat, a small pile of bags waits:towels, snacks, someone’s oversized beach tote decorated with fading sunflowers.
Ella’s boat is cute, a deep green Bowrider with cream seats. They all hop on board, knees knocking. Valeria reaches for Camila for balance. Once they’re all seated, Clara throws on some music, and Ella twists the key. The engine growls before settling into a steady purr that vibrates through the soles of their feet.
Wind rushes in, tugging Alejandra’s hair free from its ponytail and completely messing up everyone else’s hair. The smell of lake water rises. Valeria leans back, eyes closed, one hand lifted as if feeling for the rhythm in the air.
They cut toward the middle of the lake, where the water darkens and smooths out. Ella cuts the engine, and the sudden quiet makes the music feel louder, thumping through open air. The lake stretches wide and blue around them, their camp barely visible.
Once Ella anchors the boat, Clara pops open a can.
“Drinks, anyone?”
Everyone nods, hands reaching over until they all have a drink in hand.
They cheer, they laugh, and Camila hears all about how Lily and Ella got together after a decade of miscommunications, along with Clara and Alejandra’s failed attempt at fake dating. Both stories sound like they came straight out of one of Camila’s romance books, and she can’t decide which she likes most.
“Your guys’ stories are going to make my standard impossible now,” Camila jokes, and they all laugh. “I hope a romance like yours finds me someday.”
“Me too,” Valeria adds softly, and the mood shifts slightly.
“How are you doing?” Lily asks Valeria.
For a second, Camila thinks Valeria won’t say anything. She wants to reach for her, offer her some comfort, but then the words come.
“I’m okay ... just feeling a little lost, that’s all.”
“Lost how?” Clara asks, and everyone leans in closer.
Valeria shrugs, looking around at all of their worried faces. “I was expecting this to destroy me, but I feel fine.”
“You’re fine?” Ella asks, almost with disbelief.
“I’m just as surprised as you are,” Valeria answers. “It’s been months since it all happened, and I keep waiting for something to set me off, but I just keep waiting.”
