Highly doubt that.
“Why doesn’t Dad pressure you to get married?” I sweep my hair off my neck, pulling it off my hot skin and into a ponytail. The swell of my eyelids is as distracting as it is exhausting, and I’d give anything for a cool washcloth.
She shrugs. “Because I’m smart about things.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Bellamy takes long strides toward the door, pausing when her hand grips the doorknob. “That’s a conversation for another day.”
Of course it is.
The second she leaves, I strip my clothes off and climb into pajamas. Fatigue takes hold of me the second my head hits the pillow. I’m spent—physically and emotionally.
Tomorrow is a new day, and while I don’t know what it might bring, I vow to myself to take back control of my life one decision at a time.
CHAPTER 23
JENSEN
“Claire Fahnlander is obsessed with you.” I’m walking out of morning devotions Monday morning next to Waverly. So far Camp Zion is a carbon copy of Whispering Hills high school complete with the same familiar faces and one, miss Claire Fahnlander shooting daggers our way during prayer time.
“She’s always been,” Waverly sighs, hoisting her Bible and Book of Mormon on her hip as we breeze down the hallway. “She used to have a thing for Cade Corbin. Cade has a thing for me.” She shakes her head. “I don’t know. It’s been going on since middle school.”
“So that’s why she doesn’t like you?”
“I guess?” Waverly doesn’t seem to care that much, which is a relief because I know how fucking catty these high school bitches can be. “I try to stay out of it.”
“Who’s Cade Corbin?”
“That guy right there.” She nods forward where a tall, lanky guy with surfer hair and a neon pink, popped-collar polo is walking toward us. He’s smiling at her like a love-struck puppy dog. Waverly stops at a drinking fountain. “He’s been in love with me for years. I think he just wants me because he can’t have me.”
I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel good knowing she came all over my cock the other night but she won’t give frat boy here the time of day. Almost makes a guy feel special.
“Hey.” Cade weasels his way up to us, edging me out with calculated intention. “So, uh, any plans this summer?”
Waverly smiles at him, laughing under her breath like she’s amused by his goofy grin and his California tan and those disgusting dimples. He’s showering her with attention and she’s lapping it right up like a kitten to milk. “Cade, you know I can’t hang out with you.”
“I’ve been waiting forever for this,” he says. “All those years of turning me down and you won’t at least let me take you on one date? Send me off to college on a high note?”
This guy’s fucking obnoxious, and I want to slap that smug grin off his face right here, right now.
“She’s with me.” I clear my throat as Cade whips around.
His smile fades. “Who’re you?”
Waverly shoots me a furrowed-brow look, which I’m interpreting as, “Protect the family secret,” but for all I know, it also means, “Don’t intervene, I actually want to date this douche canoe.”
I’m not a mind reader, so she’s out of luck.
“We’re together.” I’m not sure why that seemed like the best thing to say in that moment, but I’ve said it and now I have to own it.
Her jaw drops, her face paling. Cade scratches the side of his head, squinting at me.
“I thought you couldn’t date?” he asks her.
It’s funny watching her squirm and try to come up with some kind of impromptu lie, especially since she’s a horrible liar. I decide not to make her suffer too long.
“She’s not supposed to.” I inch closer to her, slipping my hand into hers. “It’s kind of under wraps, so I’d appreciate you not saying anything to anyone, man. Thanks.”
I pull her down the hall with me, leaving Cade to eat my dust. By the time we round the corner, she yanks her hand out of mine.
“Why did you do that?” Her words are delivered with a hushed heat. “What, you think because of last night, I’m with you now?”
“Abso-fucking-lutely not. Let’s just make that clear right now.” I smirk, rubbing my hand across my mouth.
“You can’t just tell people we’re together.”
“Why not?”
“Because…” She wants to get angry at me, I can tell, but she’s still trying to wrap her head around how she feels about it. This will either bode well for me or it’ll be catastrophic. “Because it’s not true.”
“That’s the best you can do?”
She’s cute.
“I’m not supposed to date, and even if I were, you’re the last person on earth I should be associating with in that way,” she says. “Look, I’m already on thin ice, and if this were to get back to my dad…”
Her words trail off, like she’s afraid to finish the thought.
“I can handle your dad. Not worried about him.”
She’s quiet, but her face says it all.
“What, are you afraid of him?” I ask. “Or, wait, are you afraid to disappoint him?”
Her palms smooth over the hem of her sweater. “Look, just don’t tell people I’m with you, okay? Even if you’re joking.”
“Fine,” I say. “As long as you don’t go on a date with Cade Corwin.”
“Corbin.”
“Whatever.”
“Not a problem.” Waverly rolls her eyes. “I’m not going to date him, anyway.”
“I can’t imagine you’re missing out on much.” I grab the collar of my polo and pop it up, flashing a goofy grin like Cade’s.
She cracks a smile and somehow we’re just now realizing the halls have emptied around us. Her hand clasps over her mouth. “Jensen, we’re going to be late for the Faith-Building workshop.”
“Oh, no. Whatever will we do?” I find the situation to be hilarious, though judging by the sour look on her face we’re not on the same page. At all. She brushes past me in a panicked frenzy, only I grab her arm. “Where are you going?”
“Class.” She jerks her arm from my grasp.
“No, you’re not.”
“You don’t understand. I can’t be late. I can’t have any tardies on my record. They’ll make a note of it on my weekly report, and Bellamy already says everyone thinks I’m acting different and I’m still trying to prove to my Dad that—”
She yammers on, but I tune her out.
“We’re both adults here.” I clear my throat, interrupting her train of thought. “Let’s just sign ourselves out. They’ll only contact your parents if you’re, like, missing or a no-show. Trust me. I’ve spent my fair share of summers at Bible Camp. If we sign ourselves out, that takes care of any tardies or unexcused absences. This isn’t high school.”
She leans back against the wall, her head tilted, and then our eyes meet. “Fine.”
That was easy.
With determined steps, we rush to the main office and sign ourselves out. Minutes later we’re just a couple of free birds, heading down student-free halls toward the front doors where adventure begins the second we peel out of the parking lot.
She climbs into my truck, slinging her bag between us. “So what now? Where are we going?”
“I hadn’t thought that far.”
“Seriously?”
“You were worried about getting a tardy,” I say, turning the ignition. “Now you don’t get a tardy and you get out of camp for a few hours so you can be bad with me.”
“Just don’t get me into too much trouble today. Let’s fly low on the radar.”
“So you barged into my room last week and practically demanded that I fuck you, and now you don’t want to get into trouble?” Good to know even losing her virginity hasn’t changed the core of Waverly Miller. She’s still jam-packed with indecisive confusion. “You had a problem. I solved it. You really think I’d get you out of trouble just to get you into more trouble?”