"Oh, please, let there be thorns in those bushes," I mumbled to myself as I trekked away.
Seth was part of the purple group of kids—the ones assigned to Sebastian, as established. But until Mr. Special Treatment deigned to grace us with his presence, the purple group would be working with Lacey's green group of kids. And that was just too many kids for Lacey to keep up with.
Hell, Seth was a handful all on his own.
Seth Darling—oh, how I'd grown to hate his ironic last name—was making me question why I had ever signed up for such misery. I was a quiet person, an introvert in many ways.
But that's all supposed to change, a little voice whispered. Otherwise, how will you ever lose your kissing virginity?
That's right, don't laugh. I, Brooks Happ, had never been kissed.
See, high school for me was about studying hard to get into college. I had no time for boys. I had crushes, sure, but I never had the nerve to pursue any of them. And it seemed the couple of guys who had been brave enough to ask me out just weren't my type. They were shy, like me, and I knew it'd taken all their courage to ask me out on a date. I foresaw awkwardness galore ahead of my nerdy suitors if I ever accepted. For both of us. So I always politely declined.
Truth was, I needed a more aggressive guy. This no-kissing drought had to end. I'd been secretly hoping there'd be a cute boy at this camp to remedy my untouched-lips status, but my options seemed severely limited.
Tim, the skater kid, was off-limits. I discovered yesterday that Lacey liked him as much as he liked her. So, yeah, no. And then there was Mike. Off-limits, as well. He was with Ginny, and they were so serious about each other that they'd invested in matching shirts. Remember? I sure did.
Ugh!
Aggravated by… well, just about everything, I walked my half-soaked ass the rest of the way to the main cabin, where I promptly marched up the creaky front steps. I was intent on finding Lacey. If I didn't talk to her soon, I'd cave and run home to Daddy.
I hadn't seen Lacey down by the lake earlier in the day, where Mike and Ginny were on lifeguard duty. She loved to swim, but she also loved to nap, so the most likely spot to find her was in the main cabin. She was probably chilling on one of the many comfy sofas spread out around the spacious open-front room.
Before stepping into the cabin, I tried to dry off. Reaching around to my back, I squeezed the excess water from my shirt. Then I readjusted my chestnut-brown ponytail and, finally, pushed the screen door open.
When I walked in the front room, though, I froze.
"Oh, my," I mouthed.
There was no sign of Lacey, but who cared? Standing next to an Adirondack chair in the corner was the hottest guy I'd ever seen. He was such a lovely creature that I felt the need to peruse him slowly … and carefully.
Starting at his bare feet, my eyes traveled up to his ripped-and-faded-jean-clad legs, and then continued onward and upward to find a perfectly chiseled set of tanned abs.
Finally, I reached his face.
A quick inventory was in order.
Strong jawline: Check.
Aquiline nose: Check.
Full lips: Check.
Edit: Full, highly kissable lips: Check, check, check.
Tousled brown hair: Check.
Penetrating blue eyes, eyes that were staring directly at me: Check.
Oh, wait. Those penetrating eyes were penetrating me as I nonchalantly ogled him.
Oops.
My cheeks flamed. Shit. I had hoped this fine specimen wouldn't notice my perusal, or my blushing. But the smirk on his face and the glint in his eyes told me otherwise.
Damn.
"Um, I—I… uh…." I trailed off.
The gorgeous guy laughed melodically.
"Are you Brooks?" he asked in a voice that did funny things to my insides.
"Um, yeah, that would be me."
The mystery guy was leaning with one hand on top of the chair, and I couldn't help but notice how his arm muscles rippled enticingly when he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
"I'm Sebastian," he said, in that damn velvety voice.
"Oh, hell, wait… Sebastian Kain?"
He cocked his head, curious, but I ignored him.
Damn. How could I not have realized this dude was Lacey's brother? Mr. Special Treatment himself was standing directly in front of me, in the flesh.
Oh, and what flesh it was. No wonder this guy received special treatment. How could anyone deny him anything? Hell, Shirley the stern camp director probably had a secret crush on him.
I chastised myself for having jumped to conclusions before meeting him. I was so certain I'd dislike him.
But, God, dislike him? Perish the thought. I was in love with him. Okay, not "in love." That was silly. But I certainly was in lust. No doubt about that.
Regaining my composure—well, sort of—I said, "Uh, I was actually looking for Lacey. Do you know where she is?"
Sebastian smirked. He knew something regarding his sister's whereabouts.
"What?" I suddenly wanted to know. "Where is she?"