“Oh, he can hang,” Darcy assures me.“He was my best customer when I offered neighborhood manicures.”
I love that both of her parents are here.I know she thinks about her birth parents and why they gave her up for adoption, but I hope she recognizes how much she’s loved by the ones in front of her.Her mother is just like her too.She has Jaz’s mom cackling with laughter, and they’ve only been here five minutes.
“Do they have to sit so close to us?”Jaz says when her mother’s laughter cuts through the air again.I think she’s just as funny.Whenever I’m over, she tells stories that have us both laughing.It drives Jaz crazy.
“Well, I present my annoying brother,” I tell her when Gavin lays a blow-up raft in the middle of our towels to lie on.“You are welcome to shove him off the side of any cliff.”
“I’d like to see you try,” Gavin says, flicking my ear.
“Oh, I could do it,” Jaz promises.
He dips his glasses and gives her a once-over.“No doubt.”He slides his glasses on and folds his hands under his head.“Just not offKid Killer.”
Eyes naturally drift to the cliff that looms over us like a mountain peak, jutting over the rippling river.Warning signs prevent most from jumping.There’s always an adrenaline seeker or two who defy the postings.It has a reputation for a reason.
“Don’t call it that.”Jonathan’s words silence us all.
Gavin nods.“Right.Sorry.”
Tension settles over our group.
The squeal of electrical feedback makes us all jump—and then laugh.
Some parents, maybe even mine, sponsored a DJ for the day.The music, thankfully, is louder than the generator being used to play it.But it still sounds faintly like a lawn mower in the background.
The girls peel off their shorts and tops, and the boys shed their shirts.I stay in my dress, not sure what to do.Not until my mom hands me a tube of sunscreen.
“Want me to get your back?”Jonathan offers in my ear, creating an instant heat no amount of sunscreen can protect me from.
“Sure.”I turn my back to him, pulling the white cotton dress over my head.I brace for the cold cream and the firm touch of his hands.When nothing happens, I turn around.
Jonathan’s on his stomach, his hands covering his face, taking deep breaths.
“What’s wrong?”I lie next to him and look around.Not sure what I missed.
Jonathan laughs into his hands.“I can’t.”He laughs again.
I smile.“What?Tell me.”I nudge his shoulder with mine.
He turns his head, propping it on his fist.A glorious smile’s on his face that has me smiling back.“Since when do you wear bikinis?”
I start laughing.“Are you serious?”I laugh louder.He wraps an arm around me and pulls me closer.Laughing into my neck.
“Oh, I’m serious.”He kisses my shoulder.
“Want me to ask Danika?”I grab for the sunscreen.He holds it out of my reach.
“No.”His eyes smile with him.“Just give me a minute.”We break out into laughter again.
“What are you two doing over there?”Danika calls to us, a note of teasing in her voice.
“They’re impossible to be around,” Collin grumbles.“They have a silent language.It’s ridiculous.”
“Aw,” I coo.“Are you feeling left out?”I squirt some of the sunscreen in my hand and sit up, hiding it behind my back.“You’re still my favorite person—you know that.”I move to hug him and smear sunscreen down his face.
“Are you kidding me?”Collin yells out.Everyone is laughing, including the parents on their rock.“You have declared war, my friend.You wait.”
“That wasn’t smart,” Jonathan agrees behind me.
