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Screw it, the girl was leaving. I could have my fun. And suddenly this wasverygood for my ego. So maybe she was avoiding talking about it not because I looked funny but because this was her type? I could work with that.

I took her chin between two fingers, and I turned her back to face me again. It was like a magic switch—she gave in and let me move her effortlessly, doing nothing to fight it, and her pupils were dilated in that very familiar way when I tilted her back to meet my gaze. “Tell me honestly,” I said, my voice low. She swallowed, hard.

“I… um…”

“You want to tell me the truth, right?”

She bit her lip, casting her gaze away.

“Ah,” I called. “Eyes back here, Harper.”

“P-Paisley.” She moved her eyes back to meet mine, her lips parted. I couldn’t get enough of seeing her melt like this—putty in my hands.

“Go ahead and say it.”

“You… you look really good… I’ve just been too shy to say it, but you look really… really good.”

Well, good thing I’d dressed up. My heart was racing, and I felt seriously gorgeous—like I was as irresistible as I always pretended I thought I was. I bit my lip. “You think I’m attractive like this?”

“Paisley…”

I brushed my thumb over her chin. “Say it.”

“I-I do.”

I smiled wider. “That’s not really saying it…”

She swallowed so hard I felt it against my hand. “I think you look gorgeous… and—and very attractive.”

“That’s what I wanted to hear.” I caressed my thumb along her jawline, and she let out a small, aching noise from her throat,eyes closing and lips parting. I wanted to kiss her so badly it burned like fire in my lungs, all-consuming, just wanting to lean in and press my lips to hers, touch her, feel her…

“Paisley, I…”

She was so cute like this. I really couldn’t be blamed for not being able to help myself. I moved like it was an inevitable natural force, closing the gap between us, and I kissed her. She let out a small, muffled noise, tensing up, and I held there waiting to see if she pulled away, but she met me—she sank into me, pressing her lips to mine with a little gasp of need, and it burned me up from head to toe.

I went in hard, pressing against her firmly, fiercely, kissing, my hand going to the back of her head, burying in her hair and holding her against me as I kissed, quick, hard, furious. Harper gasped, small moans against me as I moved my lips against hers, softening and letting me lead as I kissed her over and over, hard, fast—a burning hunger inside of me where nothing was enough, where I couldn’t get enough, and all I could think wasmore, harder,kissing like she was oxygen.

And it stopped when she pushed me away, face flushed, breathing hard. It felt like a blow to the chest—why we had to stop if it was that good. Had it been just me? Why?

“Paisley,” she whispered, turning away. “We can’t… do that.”

“It sure seemed to me like we could.”

“I’mleaving,Paisley. Leaving Bayview. You know that.”

“So? You’re here now. And I want to kiss you again…” I trailed a hand down her arm, but I pulled away when she shrank into herself, hugging her knees into her chest.

“What do youthink?”

“What do I think? I think that you’re cute and I like kissing you.”

“Oh my god, I can’t stand you,” she muttered, shifting towards the tent flap. “Let’s go back to the shore. I’m done here.”

My stomach sank. I couldn’t take the back-and-forth. I just wanted to know if I’d screwed up today or not, not… have my feelings yanked around like this. “We just got out here,” I protested weakly.

“And we got our picture. I experienced it. Cross it off the bucket list.”

I sank back against the far side, hugging my knees into my chest too. “Are you mad at me?”