"Dude, your dad's huge. A hurricane couldn't move him. I got scared. I'm allowed."

She stops in her tracks and faces me. "Did you have that speech prepared?"

"What speech?"

"Everything you just said back there."

I shrug. "It wasn't a speech, I was just talking."

Taking my hand, she walks us past the woods and to a clearing that opens up to a lake. My eyes soak in the scenery. "Holy shit, this is on your property?"

"Yup." She tugs on my hands to get my attention. "Thank you, Cam."

"What for?"

"For saying what you did. For knowing that he needed help and giving him that piece of mind. He has enough to worry about at the moment, and you, saying what you said, it gives him one less thing to worry about. He appreciates that... even if he never tells you."

I move in to kiss her but she steps back, then slowly starts to lift her dress.

My eyes go wide.

I'm about to have sex.

She's wearing a bikini.

Holy shit.

She shoves my chest. Hard. "Quit staring!"

But I can't. My mouth's dry. I try to swallow. I fail.

She laughs.

My breathing stops.

My dick—I have no idea what the hell it's doing.

She walks to the end of the dock and dives in. "Coming?"

Yeah. In my shorts. Right now.

I'm ruined.

Ruined.

CHAPTER NINE

-CAMERON-

It took me two weeks to convince Lucy to sit with us at lunch, and another week for her to be comfortable with it.

Her dad came up with a few more rules after he had some time to think about it. He asked for my phone number, which I was more than happy to supply. Schoolwork came first, which was fine, because she ended up helping me study anyway. And the main ones; doors to remain open if we were in a room together, and never, under any circumstance, ever, am I allowed to step foot on the stairs leading to the bedrooms. Ever. For that last one, he made a point of showing me his shotgun. It was meant to be a threat, but when I asked him if he could teach me how to use it, his eyes lit up.

A scrunched up napkin smacks my forehead, pulling me out of my thoughts. My gaze lifts to Logan sitting opposite me. His brows are furrowed as he jerks his head toward Lucy sitting next to me. I turn my attention to her; she's focused on her e-reader, her eyes wildly moving from side to side. She uses a fork to pick at her fruit salad, but she doesn't eat it. Actually, she hasn't eaten anything on her tray.

I switch back to Logan. "What's with her?" he mouths.

I shake my head, telling him to leave it alone. Then her cackle of laughter interrupts us. She laughs so hard her eyes start watering.

The sound of it's so infectious I find myself smiling down at her. "What happened?"

"The guy..." She stops to take a breath. "In this book..." We all wait for her to calm down. "Came in his pants while they were dry humping!"

"How awkward," Jake states.

Logan watches her with amusement in his eyes. "What the hell do you read, girl?"

She shakes her head and wipes her eyes. "Oh man, that was good."

-LUCY-

"I have to talk to you about something," he says.

My body immediately tenses. I try to hide my reaction and finish watering the plants on the porch.

He takes a seat on the steps and motions for me to sit next to him. "I don't know how to bring it up and I'm scared that it's going to upset you."

I turn to him now, trying to mask my emotions.

I knew it was coming.

Setting the watering can down by my feet, I take the few steps to get to him. I hesitate a moment, not sure that I'm physically capable of taking the blow he's about to deliver. I find the strength I need before sitting down and taking his hand. "It's okay, Cameron. I understand." I turn my body toward him. "I mean I was expecting it to happen, I just didn't want it to happen so soon."

He looks down at me, his frown consuming his entire face. "So you know what I want to talk about?"

I nod slowly, knowing things were too good to be true. I had to be grateful it lasted as long as it did. "Yes," I answer. "And it's fine. You don't need to spare my feelings. I'm just thankful you came into my life."

He opens his mouth to speak but I interrupt him. "You don't have to tell me, but do you think I could have done anything different? Could I have been better somehow?"

He rears back, his brows bunching. "What are you talking about, Luce?"

"Maybe I kiss wrong or something. Is that it? Or, is it because you wanna kiss other girls? Please don't tell me you've already kissed other girls." I feel the bile rise to my throat, but I push it down.

"Lucy—"

"I know that your friends are like that. I hear the stories, you know—that they go out and make out with random girls, or whatever. Was she just a random girl? I don't know what would hurt more. No—don't tell me. Ple—"

"Lucy—"

"Oh man. I was prepared to be hurt." I suck in a breath and press a hand to my heart. "I didn't think it would hurt this much."

"LUCY, stop!" His voice is loud. Commanding. His hand rises and wipes at my cheeks. Tears. I was crying. I was so overwhelmed with the pain of heartbreak that I didn't realize I was crying. "Baby." His eyes roam my face. "What are you talking about?"