“Fashionably late as always, Cross,” Cameron says, bumping his fist.
“Clark!” Leah and Aubrey come over.
“Hi.” I smile. Leah grabs my hand, pulling me away from Ford. He glances back at me, lets me go, and winks. We sit with our feet up on a couple of loungers under an umbrella. “Sorry I didn’t get much of a chance to talk to you last night. Things got a little crazy.”
“Oh, we know.” Aubrey nods.
“Have you seen the paper?” Leah asks.
I roll my eyes. “Yes.”
Aubrey looks at me wide-eyed. “You’re not upset?”
“I mean, not really. Everyone in the stadium witnessed it live.”
“That’s true.” Aubrey picks up her soda and takes a drink. “Have you seen the website?”
I nod. “It’s getting out of hand.”
“Are Jack and Alison back together?” Leah asks. She’s playing with the zipper of a pillow.
“He said he had a weak moment, and no they’re not back together.”
“Oh, huh.”
I grab the pillow out of her hands. She looks up at me with wide eyes. “Oh? Huh?” I mock and then laugh. “It’s okay if you think he’s cute. I mean, I find him hideous, but he’s told me countless times how girls find him ruggedly handsome.”
“He gets the cutest dimple on his left cheek when he smiles.” Leah swoons.
“He does? I’ve never noticed,” I say.
“And OMG! Have you ever seen him with his shirt off?” Leah fans herself.
I scrunch my nose up. “Unfortunately.”
Aubrey laughs, and Leah grabs another pillow, throwing it at me. “That’s because he’s your brother.”
“Or because he’s disgusting.” I laugh.
“Hannah, you’re here.” June comes over, sitting down next to me. “When did you get here?”
“About ten minutes ago.” I give my friend a side hug.
“I was waiting out by the dock for you.” June points out at the lake.
“Oh, I came with Ford on his jet ski.”
“That’s okay. I’ve been talking to Chanel.” She points to Chanel, who’s been standing off to the side. “She’s new at Lake City this year.”
Both Aubrey and Leah look anywhere but at her. They saw what happened last night, and they’ve seen the website.
“It’s nice to meet you. Ford said you moved from Ponderosa Valley and went to University High. How do you like Lake City?”
Chanel sits down in a chair, joining the conversation. “It’s good. Lake City is bigger than U high, and everyone here has been nice.”
“Hey.” Melissa Ellis comes bouncing over, sitting on the ground next to Chanel. “What’s everybody talking about?”
“I was just telling the girls what I thought of Lake City,” Chanel tells her.
