Page 39 of Our Darkest Summer

SAGE

Second down. Two words. Both have four letters. S and A. Definition: A polite request to maintain academic peace and my hard-earned teacher’s pet badge.

ME

You don’t really want that. I know you missed me last week.

SAGE

Keep on dreaming, Rhodes.

ME

I plan to.

Three letters. First letter Y. Sure to make an appearance in that dream.

SAGE

Seven letters. First letter P. I might not be wearing any…

ME

Six letters. First letter S. I’m taking one again.

I didn’t scroll again, instead I slid the phone back into my pocket. Less than two days later everything changed anyway.

I sighed. It was past noon and I still had errands to run. I turned on the engine and headed to my next stop, a small grocery store at the edge of town.

???

An hour later, I parked down next to a blue Jeep. The music was blasting so loudly on the shore that I could hear the lyrics clearly from the driver’s seat. From here, I had the perfect view of the lake and the pine woods around it. I tilted my head and leaned out the window as my eyes landed on Kinsley.

She was wearing a tiny bikini, jumping in and out of the water, playing water polo with three other girls. Her hair was pinned back with a claw clip and my eyes lingered on her bare neck. My mouth watered and I leaned back in the seat, my eyes clouding. All I wanted to do was taste her soft skin. Feel herwarmth against me. I was so focused on the vision that I didn’t even hear Kevin approach me.

“Will you get out, or do you want to jerk off first?” He laughed, and I stiffened, before getting out of the car.

“Original,” I replied, handing him three of the bags, and he grinned.

“Someone has to humble you once in a while.”

I wasn’t so sure about that.

I grabbed the rest of the bags when a loud engine’s whirring cut through the still air, followed by an excited scream. I looked over my shoulder just when a red dirt bike emerged out of the woods and flew past us, stopping in the middle of the green grass. My brother jumped off from behind Braxton’s back, laughing.

“Holy crap,” he said, catching his breath. “We flew! We literally flew!”

“I told you, you would scream.” Kinsley laughed in reply, and a smile tugged at my lips.

Chapter Eighteen

Kinsley

When the sunheaded down behind the large trees, the eight of us retreated onto the porch. I was sitting in a comfortable wooden chair with a cocktail in my hand, wearing the still damp bikini I changed into after Connor’s nasty attack. I took a bite from the cupcake Cora baked, trying to keep my eyes from shifting in Thomas’ direction.

He arrived home a few hours ago and now he was standing in front of the grill with Kevin. His delta-shaped body irresistibly drew my attention like a moth to flame.

You guys are matching,Aaliyah’s earlier comment echoed in my ears, as my eyes dropped to Thomas’ dark blue swim trunks. It really was the perfect match to my bikini.