As they approached the small, rocky landing of the shore, she set her feet on the ground, making the rest of the ten or so feet on her own. Tristan was right beside her, his tan back glistening in the faint light of the moon.
Tristan sat down on the rocky beach a few feet away. Long wisps of his hair clung to his forehead before he pushed them back, revealing a soft, contagious grin. He leaned back on a large rock, using it as a pillow, and looked up at the stars.
But he said nothing, just lay there, looking into the sky. Samantha stood beside him, her arms wrapped around her middle, wondering what to do. Going back to the cabin was an option, back to Renee and dry clothes, but for some reason, she didn’t want to. She didn’t want this night to end—not yet.
Gazing up at the sky, she marveled at the millions of stars that were normally impossible to see. She glanced down at the spot beside him, knowing it was a bad idea, but finally picked an area to sit.
They were both quite for a time, absorbed in the magic of the evening when he finally spoke. His voice soft, breathy, mysterious. “This is my favorite,” he whispered.
She turned to look at him, puzzled by this new side of him she’d never noticed before. “What is?”
“This. Seclusion. The quiet… I can actually hear myself think.”
She swallowed. “And what are you thinking about?” She laid her head beside his. Too close. Not touching, but close enough that the pounding in her heart increased a little.
“Not much.” But the way he said it, with the heaviness in his voice, she knew it was the opposite. Tristan Montgomery was thinking about a lot. She only wished she knew what it was.
She turned back to the sky, where the night was so dark it offered a narrow patch of privacy, but she said nothing at all for a good ten minutes. It wasn’t awkward though, even though she thought it should be, lying next to the boy she’d hated for as long as she could remember. She couldn’t figure it out, because sometimes she felt uncomfortable with Steven, and they’d been friends for nearly four years. She played with a rock with her fingers, rubbing the soft edges against her palm. Maybe her calmness was because Tristan affected her more than she cared to admit. Maybe for the first time in her life, she was enjoying herself without the worry of tomorrow.
Tristan finally turned to her, adjusting himself sideways on the rock until he faced her. As if they were lying on a bed, instead of the beach of the lake they’d crawled out of. “You have a good vibe about you, Sammie Smiles. You relax me, and that doesn’t happen very often.”
Her stomach tightened, and she took a deep breath before speaking. “I relax you?” she asked, reluctantly turning her head to face him. She hated the effect he was having on her, but loved it at the same time. He causes a delicious bundle of contradictions to roll around inside her. A push and pull like she’d never felt before.
“Yeah.” The corner of his mouth lifted, but he didn’t say anything else. He just lay there, so close she could feel his breath on her face, so close she could feel the heat radiating off his skin.
She turned back to the sky, needing to put distance between her and the boy she wasn’t sure if she hated any longer. She needed more than that; she needed to get up, go back to the cabin, and put herself to bed. But she couldn’t make herself do it. She couldn’t convince her body to move, no matter how hard she tried. No matter how loud her internal voice yelled, she couldn’t move. Even though she knew she should, even though no good ever came of girls who sat too close to Tristan Montgomery. Because she knew that if she did, if she got up and walked back to the cabin, this moment would never come again.
“I have the same problem as you,” she stated. She wasn’t sure why, because there was no reason to share such a thing, but her voice came again, uneven and vulnerable. “With a boy, anyway.” She hesitated for a moment, her fingers playing with the rocks by her side. She wasn’t sure why she felt the need to talk about Steven, but she did. “He wants to date me. I just don’t know what to tell him. All our friends expect us to get together. I mean, he’s so persuasive—even I expect us to end up together, some days…” She turned to Tristan, too curious about his reaction to keep the distance any longer. “But at the same time, I don’t know what to say.”
His brows furrowed, and he reached out to brush a strand of hair back behind her ear. The action caused goose bumps to run the length of her body, but he acted like it was something he did all the time, like it wasn’t the most intimate thing she’d ever experienced in her entire life. “Do you like him?”
She swallowed, because a tight ball of something had lodged itself in her throat. “Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don’t.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because—” She shook her head, unsure why she was confessing all this. “Because he’s my best friend. He’s been there through everything. I just…”
“You don’t like him like that.”
She bit her lip, wondering how he’d known what she was going to say before she said it. “Yeah… I guess that’s it.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, Sammie Smiles. Don’t settle for anything less than what you want.” He ran his thumb across her chin, touching her in such a comfortable way you’d think they’d been friends for years. “Tell him the truth.”
“I can’t. I don’t want to ruin our relationship.”
“So you’d rather give up on what you want to make him happy?”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying.”
“Then what are you saying?”
“I just don’t know what to say.”
“Tell him…” His eyes trailed down her face, stopping at her lips. “That you met another guy. A guy who’s trying damn hard to be a gentleman right now.”
He met her eyes again, as though trying to read her thoughts. “Have you ever been kissed before, Samantha?”
She turned away, too shocked by the turn in conversation to get her mind to focus. “Why does that matter?”
“Because I need to know.”
“Why?”
“Because.” He touched her cheek gently with his fingertips, easing her face back toward him. “If this is your first time, I want it to be unforgettable.”
Her chest rose and fell with each breath. She was sure it was visible, but there was no point in trying to hide it now.
He smiled. “You have no idea, do you?”
“No idea about what?”
He pushed himself to his elbow. “How goddamned sexy you are.”
She covered her face, wanting to hide away with embarrassment, but he reached out softly and brushed her hands aside. “You’re beautiful, Samantha, but I think what amazes me most is the fact that you don’t know it.”