Page 20 of Caden & Theo

He grins. “You say the sweetest things.”

“I mean it,” I say, more seriously this time. “You’ve been working your ass off. They’d be stupid not to notice.”

He nudges my knee again, gentler this time. “Thanks.”

I glance down at my drink. “We’re still keeping it quiet, right?” My chest tightens. Gomillion’s not the place to come out at seventeen—not if you want peace. But I get why it’s different for Caden. Why it’llkeepbeing different, maybe for a long time. He’s got scouts, coaches, a whole future riding on how the world sees him. I love him enough to be okay with that. Still, part of me hopes college will be different. Bigger. Safer. Maybe even open.

At least for me and my secret boyfriend.

He nods. “Yeah. For now. Couple of close friends, maybe. But I don’t want this—us—to get tied up in anything else. Not with scouts watching. Not with a thousand eyes in the locker room.”

I nod, swallowing the lump in my throat. “I get it.”

And I do. I really, really do.

“I’ve been thinking about telling Cam,” he adds quietly. “He’s solid. I trust him.”

“I think he’d be cool,” I say. “He’s not one of the gossip types.”

Caden hums in agreement. “Yeah. And he’s chill around, y’know, stuff. He doesn’t feed into Soren’s ‘pause’ jokes.”

I wince. “God, Soren’s such a prick.”

Caden snorts. “You think we can do this?”

“What, the long-distance thing?”

He nods.

I glance at him. At the strong lines of his cheekbones, the rich, coppery glow of his skin in the sun, the way his lashes catch the light. I think about how I know every dip and drawl of his voice—even when he whispers.

“Yeah,” I say. “I think we can.”

He leans in slightly, his shoulder pressed to mine. Not much, but enough. And for now, that’s all we can afford.

The next round of water volleyball starts with a war cry from Dale, who jumps into the pool holding a beach ball over his head like it’s a sacred relic. “Let’s go, losers!” he bellows.

“We literally beat you last time,” Cameron mutters, grabbing one of the pool noodles and using it as a lance to jab at Dale’s knees.

Caden’s already sliding into the shallow end with that stupid grin of his—the one that makes my brain short-circuit and forget how to human. “You in, T?” he calls over, splashing water in my direction.

I shove my sunglasses into my stubborn curls—the ones that still spiral instead of fanning out like I want—and toss my towel aside. “You’re going down, North.”

“I’m already in the pool,” he deadpans. “Technically, I’vebeendown.”

“Wow,” someone mutters. “Was that flirting or dad humor?”

“Can’t it be both?” I say, wading in.

Caden’s eyes flick to mine just for a beat—quick, quiet, enough to make my heart hiccup—and then he’s tossing the ball to Cameron and arranging people into teams.

The teams sort out fast. Me, Shane, Jess, and Kurtis on one side. Caden, Cam, Dale, and Kiara on the other. The pool’s wide enough to split lengthwise with a rope and two empty floaties rigged like goalposts.

“House rules!” Kurtis calls out. “If the ball hits a noodle, it’s a redo. If you hit someone in the face, you owe them a soda. If you catch someone cheating, you’re legally allowed to dunk them.”

“Wait, what ifIget hit in the face?” Dale asks, rubbing his temple from the last round.

“Then we all owe you an apology and a better aim,” Kiara says sweetly.