I wasn't at all surprised to see all of the familiar cars parked in the lot when we arrived at the lake.
Dino's SUV was there and so was Maureen Mangles VW, which meant she and her boy friend, Gary, were there, among others.
My heart started pounding with trepidation as I slammed the door of the pick up.
Those guys were not going to take too well to my fraternizer with an invader. All I could do was hope that they weren't in a testosterone-y mood. Then there might be some trouble.
"You all right?" Jared asked.
I stepped over one of the prone logs that acted as a border between the lot and the grass and led him over to the dirt path that wound it's way to the beach.
I could already here the music playing from someones radio and a couple of loud whoops and splashes.
"I'm fine, why?" I asked.
"I don't know. You suddenly look even more ill than you did when you got out of my car the other day," he said with a smile.
I flushed, embarrassed that he had noticed my discomfort. "I'm just looking forward to a swim," I replied.
We emerged from the trees and onto the wide, sandy, man-made beach.
Sue enough, Maureen, Alison, and a couple of the other gilrs from my class were hanging out on a blanket, scrolling through their phones and eating pretzels and chips.
Dino, Gary, Mike, and a few of the guys from the football team were out on the raft, executing flips and cannonballs off the diving board.
The dark blue water looked freezing cold, but still inviting.
Of course, it would have been more so if those loud mouthed guys hadn't been taking up so much space.
Out in the distance, on the deeper part of the lake, a pair of small sail boats with pure white sails chased each other westward. A small motor boat with a water skier attached zipped by in the other direction. It looked like water sport season was officially underway.
"Hi guys!" I said, the moment Maureen and the others noticed us. They, of course, blatantly checked out Jared. I was pleased to see the look of surprise on Allison's face as she leaned over to whisper to Mara Winters.
"Hey." Maureen was the only one who answered. The others were too busy wondering who Jared was and what he was doing with me.
Normally I would have gone over and hung out with them. Maureen was pretty cool and Allison was okay when she wasn't sucking Dino's face.
But the last thing I wanted to do just then was introduce Jared and spend the next hour listening to them grill him about his family and living in New York City.
The benevolent part of me didn't want to put him through that and the more selfish part wanted to keep him to myself.
Once everyone knew he was a Kent, he would develop instant celebrity status and all the good and bad attention that went with it. I kind of wanted to get to know him first.
"Those your friends?" Jared asked as we laid out our towels a good distance away from them.
"Some of them," I told him.
The guys were swimming toward the waters edge now and I saw Dino eyeing Jared curiously. Jared wanted them as they stepped out of the lake and walked dripping wet over to their towels.
"What's up Cassie?" Mike said, lifting his chin in my direction.
"Hey, Mike." I replied.
He shot Jared a curious look, but said nothing. There was so much manly sizing each other up that I felt like they were about to start circling one another and sniffing each other's butts like dogs.
I dropped down on my towel and started rummaging through my bag, trying to ignore them all.
"You going to introduce me to any of them?" Jared asked finally.
We both looked over at the beach blankets where every last one of my class mates were clearly talking about me and Jared.
Dino smirked in our direction and, although I wasn't sure what it meant, I knew it couldn't be good.
"Probably not a good idea," I said. "Some of the kids don't really like it when out of towners hit the local spots."
Jared's chin dropped. "You've got to be kidding me. What is this, 1955?
"What's 1955 got to do with anything?" I asked.
"I don't know, turf wars come to mind" Jared said tersely. "Or just a time when people were close-minded and backward."
Whoa.
Was he calling my friends backward? Even if it had a slightest pinch of truth, he had no right to say it. He had only been here for less than a week.
"I knew coming up here was a mistake," Jared said, leaning back on his elbows. "I could be in the Hampton's right now, partying with my friends instead of sitting here getting ostracized by a bunch of country bumpkins."
"Hey!" I protested.
I couldn't let that one slide.
"Hey, Cassie! Is that guy bothering you?" Mike asked, standing up and rolling his sizable shoulders back.
I looked at him and laughed. "Uh, no Mike. At ease," I joked.
He nodded, looking not too convinced, and dropped back down on the blanket, never taking his eyes off of Jared.
I guess around Lake Logan, we protect our own.
"Sorry," Jared said, pulling a glance at Mike. "I didn't mean you. It's just... man. I can see the boring stretching out in front of me like an eternity."
I sighed. Apparently he didn't even realize that everything he said was hitting me like a personal insult.
"Look, if you don't want to be here, then why are you here?" I asked him, standing up.
I dropped my shorts, and watched him blatantly check out my legs. Then he looked down, picking up a hand full of sand and let it run through his fingers.
"My dad kind of... made me come," he said.
I scoffed. "Sheesh. Who's the baby now?" I joked, raising my eyebrows.
He looked up at me, his eyes flashing, but I turned around and strode over to the water before he could make a comeback.
Reaching my hands over my head I took two steps into the frigid water, then plunged forward, head first. It was like diving into an ice bucket, but it was exactly what I needed to clear a day of sweat and toil right off of me.
When I resurfaced, Jared was still sitting there, playing with the sand like a petulant child.
What was his deal exactly? Was he a fun loving daredevil or the pouty kid who couldn't get his way? Did he want to hang out with me or was he just using me to fill time like Derek had suggested?
I really didn't know what to think of Jared. Clearly, I was attracted to him. That much I could admit. And hanging out with him would definitely put some excitement into my otherwise predictable summer. But hanging out with him could also cause me some serious trouble - with Derek, my dad, with the other locals. Trouble I didn't even want to think about.
* * * *
SURPRISE UPDATE!!!! I seriously could NOT wait for y'all to read this chapter.
What did y'all think?
I feel like it's not what y'all were expecting, which is great to me. You always have to keep em guessing.
Do y'all think I should keep Mike in as a main character? I'm really starting to like him and I don't know how I feel about him showing up here and there. Like I'm really split on the decision. Let me know what y'all think.
Thank you for reading yet another chapter, your reads, comments, and votes mean the world to me, and it helps keep me motivated on writing even more for y'all.
Thank you so SO much!!!
Much love, Kylie ,< 3