"Tell me about Arizona," he asked, hands caressing my hips ever so slightly. "Do you miss it?"
"No, not at all," I replied honestly.
"Why's that?"
I took a deep breath and told him about my boring life in Phoenix. Then I explained how North Carolina was my opportunity to start over.
"So, this is your second chance?" I could hear the smile in his voice.
"Yes. And I want to do it right this time."
Resting his chin on my head lightly, he inquired, "So, no boyfriends back home?"
"None," I assured him.
He was quiet, so after a beat, I asked, "Do you think I'm weird?"
He tightened his arms around me, as if I were a precious doll. "No," he whispered. "I think you're actually very sweet."
I closed my eyes. Oh, boy, I could really fall for a guy like Sebastian.
"What about you?" I said loudly over a strong wind that had begun to whip up around the canoe. "No special someone waiting for you when you get back from camp?"
"Nope," he replied.
As we talked more and more, I discovered Sebastian was set to attend the University of North Carolina in September, just like me.
"I'm glad I'll know someone." I glanced back at him, and added, "I was afraid college would turn out a repeat of high school."
Smiling, he said, "Can I tell you something, Brooks?"
"Yes, of course."
"I've actually been a little nervous myself about college."
"Really?"
I was shocked. I mean, shit, Sebastian was gorgeous and personable. Surely, he'd fit in anywhere. Maybe he wasn't so different from me after all. It seemed Sebastian had the ability to bring out my confidence, and I was able to make him feel comfortable sharing his vulnerable side.
"Yes." He laughed nervously. "I am only human, after all."
"Being afraid of new things is okay, you know."
"I know," he replied. "Hey, how 'bout we make a promise?"
"Sure."
"Let's promise to remain friends. That way we'll have each other, at least, when school starts."
Of course, I agreed wholeheartedly. Settling back into Sebastian's embrace, I felt like I knew him better—the real him, the one he hid behind his confident side.
We drifted around on the lake for a while, both of us content to enjoy each other's presence. But then the winds picked up even stronger than before, tossing our little boat to and fro.
The threat of a storm was imminent, and Sebastian murmured in my hair, "We should head in."
"Yeah," I reluctantly agreed.
Sebastian pressed his lips to my neck, and I twisted toward him, leaving our lips mere inches apart. Closing my eyes, I listened as his breathing picked up, matching mine.
Sweetly, he pressed his lips to my forehead, and then began to kiss his way down my nose. He stopped at the tip to deposit a tiny kiss.
Aww, my heart.
As Sebastian's hot breaths intermingled with my own, and the warmth of his lips was almost upon mine… a damn downpour began!
And, by downpour, I mean buckets of water fell from the sky.
I almost cried. The moment was broken, once again.
I may have found a friend, but getting my first kiss was not in the cards that evening.
Chapter Three
Scare Me, Scare You
A few hours later, after Sebastian had valiantly steered our half-submerged canoe back to shore, we'd made a run for the main cabin. There, we'd hurriedly changed into dry clothes, and then planted ourselves in front of the big TV in the front room to watch scary movies from the eighties with Lacey, Tim, Ginny, and Mike.
We all thought it'd be great fun to watch the first two Friday the 13th movies. You know the ones, the movies with the crazed maniac named Jason Voorhees running around the campgrounds, killing unsuspecting camp counselors. Yeah, those movies.
When I noticed Camp Crystal Lake bore an unsettling resemblance to Camp Glen Hollow, I found myself thinking maybe these movies weren't such a good idea, after all.
I then rethought that observation.
After all, the scary movies were giving me a reason to move closer to Sebastian on the sofa. The only problem was I really was kind of scared. Like, a frightened-half-to-death variety of fear.
That was why after the movies ended, and everyone had retired to their respective cabins, I hid under the covers in my bedroom. I fought against it, but I kept imagining some lunatic in an old-school hockey goalie mask bursting through the door and doing me in. Probably in some overly imaginative style, like in the movies we'd just watched.
The wind blew outside my window, making the glass rattle, and that was it for me.
I jumped out of the bed and raced down the hall to Sebastian's bedroom. I didn't even care I was wearing old gray sweatpants and a ratty tank top. There was no way in hell I was staying alone in my own room. That Voorhees dude was not going to get me. Hell, no.
I was so frightened that I didn't even bother to first knock on Sebastian's closed bedroom door. I just barged right in and jumped unceremoniously onto his bed, waking him up in the process.
"Jesus, Brooks," he exclaimed. "What the hell are you doing in here?"