Daring the Bad Boy

  “I know he’s your nephew,” I started, and Fozzie nodded.

  “I think everyone knows he’s my nephew.”

  “Well…I, uh, really like him.”

  Those bushy eyebrows lowered.

  “And he really likes me. A lot.”

  The eyebrows were now scrunched because he was frowning.

  My palms started to sweat. “We, uh, we’ve been sort of seeing each other for the last few weeks, and I really care about him. Jake cares about me, too, and we—”

  “What?” The one word blasted out of him like a bullet. All glimpses of sweet, lovable Fozzie Bear the camp director were gone. He looked positively furious. “How old are you, young lady?”

  I was completely shocked by his tone. “Um, sixteen.”

  “There will be no fraternization between campers and counselors!” He picked up the phone receiver and stabbed a button, shouting when his secretary answered, “Find Jake now!”

  My heart felt like it just fell into my toes.

  …

  JAKE

  It was so damn hot out, I felt like I was sweating out every single drop I drank. There weren’t even many kids in the water, the sun and the heat were so intense. Couple that with the humidity and it was like no one even wanted to move.

  Including me.

  I’d found one of those spray bottles with a fan attached a few days ago in Uncle Bob’s office so I was spritzing myself constantly. Thank God for the umbrella shade that kept me mostly covered. I’d melt away if I didn’t have that thing.

  Not only did the heat make me miserable, but also my recent conversation with Annie left me down, too. I didn’t know what to do about her—more like, I didn’t know what to do about Uncle Bob. If he hadn’t laid down the law so firmly, I’d be strutting around this place with my arm around Annie. I wouldn’t care who knew we were together.

  We only had a few days left, and then camp was done for the summer. I probably shouldn’t care if he caught us together. But I didn’t want to disappoint him. I didn’t want to upset my dad, either, because even if Uncle Bob found out this last week, I’d bet money he’d ship me back home. Or call my dad and demand he come pick me up.

  I didn’t want to deal. I didn’t want them mad at me. For once, I wanted to prove to them I was a good guy. That I could clean up my act and do the right thing. I didn’t want this summer to be wasted.

  But to not acknowledge that Annie and I were together would be a wasted summer, too. If she could just be patient, we could declare to anyone and everyone that we were a couple once camp was finished. Then it wouldn’t matter anymore.

  Right now, though, it still mattered. A lot.

  I glanced to my left to see someone running toward the lake. Squinting, I brought up my binoculars to see it was my uncle’s secretary.

  My stomach churned and I dropped my binoculars. This didn’t look good.

  “Jake!” she screamed once she got close enough. “Your uncle needs to talk to you. It’s urgent!”

  The churning turned into full-blown nausea. “Is everything okay?” What if something was wrong with my dad?

  She waved an impatient hand. “Hurry!”

  “What about the tower?”

  “I already told Dane. He’ll cover for you. Come on!”

  I scrambled down the tower and chased after her, passing her with ease and I was only jogging. My heart raced triple time as I contemplated the many reasons why Uncle Bob would need to see me so urgently.

  And it all came to a skidding stop when I entered his office to see Annie sitting in one of the chairs, softly crying.

  She glanced up at me, tears streaming down her cheeks as she kept whispering, “I’m sorry,” over and over again.

  Turning my head, I saw Uncle Bob sitting behind his desk, his beefy arms crossed in front of his beefy—fine, pudgy—stomach. “You have something to say for yourself?”

  I felt like I was eight and had just got caught busting out that dining hall window with a baseball—true story. I had to work kitchen duty for a week when I was here that one glorious summer. I hadn’t minded a bit.

  This was much worse.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, refusing to let myself look at Annie. All I really wanted to do was go to her and wrap her up in a hug. I hated to see her cry.

  “Well, your father is on his way. I’m sure you can explain it to him then.”

  “You called my dad? Why?” It felt like my heart was in my throat. I could hear Annie behind me, the soft crying, the sniffles. The anger that blazed in Uncle Bob’s eyes, his gaze going to the side as his mouth drew into a thin line. It dawned on me that he was gesturing toward Annie, and I knew right then what happened.

  He knew. He knew about the two of us.

  But how?

  “It’s not what you think—” I started to say, but he shook his head, cutting me off with a look.

  “It’s exactly what I think, because Annie told me everything.” He dropped his arms and they landed on the edge of his desk. “Why, Jake? I told you that was the one rule you couldn’t break, and you did it anyway? I thought you were better than that.”

  “It’s not what you think because this is more than me breaking your rule,” I explained, needing him to actually listen to me for once. “Annie is more than just a—”

  “She’s more than what? Another one of your conquests? I wouldn’t be so sure about that. You don’t think I don’t know what goes on around here? I have eyes, son. I know about you and Lacey.”

  Shock rendered me speechless.

  “And I know you ended it with her before you two got out of control. Trust me, she came right to me and ratted you out,” Uncle Bob said. “But when I realized you weren’t spending any, ahem, quality time with her, I let it go. You seemed to be on the right track. Now there’s this.” He shook his head, his disappointment with me radiating from him in big, giant waves.

  I felt like one of those waves just plowed into me and stole my breath.

  Whirling around, I stared at Annie’s bent head, anger making me want to lash out. I pressed my lips together, exhaled shakily, and just let it all out. “You actually told him?”

  She lifted her tearstained face, our gazes meeting. Her eyes were filled with even more tears, and I refused to let them hurt my heart. I was too pissed to want to offer comfort. “I thought I could convince him that what we had was real. That we both wanted it.”

  “Yeah, well, thanks for convincing him to kick me out of here.” My words made her flinch. “Is this what you really wanted? Are you getting back at me because I made you sneak around, so you decided to make me disappear instead? Well, congratulations, it worked.”

  “Annie, it’s probably best if you left now,” Uncle Bob said, his voice soft. “Grab some tissues on the way out, okay, honey? You have snot running down your face.”

  She leaped to her feet, let out a frustrated little growl, and walked out of the room.

  Effectively walking right out of my life.

  I almost shouted “don’t go,” but what was done was done. She probably didn’t mean for me to get kicked out of camp, but she should’ve come to me first. This was my life she was fucking with.

  She did a damn good job of it, too.

  “Is my father really on his way here?” I asked, my voice raspy. I felt like I was going to cry now. And I hadn’t done that since Mom died.

  Uncle Bob nodded. “I didn’t tell him what you did wrong. I thought I’d leave that explanation up to you.”

  Great. My dad wouldn’t listen to me. I knew he wouldn’t. He’d think I screwed up, and he’d want to get me out of here as soon as possible. He’d probably hardly give me a chance to pack up my stuff. Now I’d miss out on the last week of camp, miss out on saying good-bye to my friends, to Annie.

  Though she’d given me the worst kind of good-bye that any girl ever could.

  “Go pack your things. ” And with that, I was dismissed. Not allowed to plead my cas
e. Not permitted to even beg for my job back.

  I would’ve, too. These last couple of weeks, I’d grown closer to people. I had friends. I taught the little kids how to swim. I led my first paper-airplane craft class and had half the seats filled. I’d made an ass of myself in a skit with Dane a few nights ago, and everyone had laughed. I’d dressed up as a mummy during a ghost-telling round and scared the hell out of the little kids.

  I also had a girlfriend. A girl who understood me, who held me close, whose smile lit me up inside and whose laughter made me feel whole. When she kissed me, touched me, looked at me, I felt like I could do no wrong.

  But I could. I was fallible. I was weak. Annie was my one true weakness.

  Somehow, she’d used it against me.

  Chapter Twenty

  JAKE

  A knock sounded on my cabin door before it creaked open and I heard footsteps. I kept my back to the open door, my duffel sitting on my bed as I continued to stuff my clothes inside. I didn’t even bother folding stuff. I didn’t care. I just wanted out of here before everyone saw me being escorted out by my father and uncle like I was some sort of criminal.

  I almost wanted to laugh. Technically I was a criminal. I wouldn’t be surprised if my dad brought handcuffs and put them on me before shoving me in the backseat of his car. He’d drive me straight to the courthouse, where that judge would pound her gavel and send me to juvenile hall. Or worse—jail. I was seventeen, after all. Pretty damn close to being a legal adult.

  “Jake.” Dad’s familiar voice said my name. “Son, turn around and look at me.”

  I stopped what I was doing and tilted my head back, staring up at the wooden slats of the ceiling. I didn’t want to turn around. I didn’t want to face his wrath. Bad enough how angry my uncle got at me in his office and in front of Annie. Talk about humiliating.

  “Jake. Come on.”

  I frowned. He didn’t sound mad. But he was real good at masking his feelings.

  Slowly, before he started yelling, I turned around.

  My dad stood in the open doorway, wearing a T-shirt and black cargo shorts, his sunglasses were on his head much like mine are most of the time. He looked tan, fit. More than that, he looked…happy?

  My frown grew in intensity. Was he happy that I’d failed yet again? No freaking way.

  “Your uncle is being ridiculous.” Dad entered the room and sat on the edge of my bed. “You should unpack your stuff. You’re not going anywhere.”

  “What?” I asked incredulously. I felt like I was being jerked around. Leave! Stay! Pack! Unpack!

  “You’re not leaving. I convinced your uncle that you didn’t break some cardinal sin.” I gaped at him and he shrugged. “So you have a girlfriend who’s a camper. So what? I did the same thing with your mother, and look at how good we turned out.”

  I snapped my mouth shut. “Wait a minute. You told me you and mom met here at camp.”

  Dad nodded. “We did. When I was a junior counselor and she was a camper, much like you and your girl now. I know I said you should do the right thing the last time we talked, but after our phone conversation, I thought about my time here. When I met your mom and we fell in love.”

  I remained quiet, watching the many emotions pass over my dad’s face, my heart aching thinking of my mom. Of losing her. My heart ached even more at the thought of losing Annie, too.

  “I told Bob he was making too big a deal out of it. Teenagers fall for each other here every summer. You can’t fight love.” Dad’s smile was nostalgic. “I met the love of my life here. Being at camp is bringing back lots of memories. Good ones.”

  I missed her, too. Life was good when she was alive. My parents rarely fought. They were a solid unit and grossly in love. I only say “grossly” because when I was younger, I couldn’t handle seeing them kiss each other all the time, considering I was a typical punk-ass kid. They were so incredibly close, I think that was why my dad was so devastated when she died. He didn’t have his partner anymore. He relied on her a lot. And so did I.

  “I miss her,” I said, my voice scratchy.

  Dad met my gaze. He didn’t look angry or upset with me, and I couldn’t help but feel relieved. “I do too, son. I miss her a lot.”

  “But you never talk about her.”

  “It was too hard.” He sighed and shook his head. “And that was wrong of me. I’ve been thinking a lot while you’ve been gone. I missed you, too, you know.”

  “You did?” I was surprised.

  “Absolutely.” He reached out and ruffled my hair, but I ducked away from his hand before he could mess it up too bad. “Can I tell you something?”

  “What?”

  “Your uncle did the same thing.” Dad hesitated. “Dated girls at camp.”

  “Seriously?” I could hardly wrap my head around it.

  He nodded. “He—how do you kids say it today—hooked up with plenty of girls, especially when he became a counselor.”

  “I find that hard to believe,” I muttered.

  “It’s true. I think it was the megaphone.”

  I busted out laughing. I couldn’t help it. “He had it back then?”

  “He sure as hell did,” Dad said, chuckling and shaking his head. “I went and talked to your Annie.”

  The laughter died. “She’s not mine.”

  “Aw, come on, Jake. You’re going to pull that? She only did what she thought was right.”

  “And what was that? Telling on me? Getting me busted? Because that’s exactly what she did.” I paused, ran my hands through my hair. “He was so angry, Dad. He wouldn’t even listen to me. Just told me to pack my stuff and that you’d be here soon.”

  “He was mad at himself more than anything. That’s what he told me, at least. When I sent you here for the summer, I gave him implicit instructions that you weren’t allowed to get away with shit.” My dad’s face became serious. “You had a way of worming yourself out of everything since you were a little kid, and it got worse after your mom died. You became so angry. And then you started acting out when I wasn’t paying attention to you, and you were feeling neglected. I didn’t see it that way then. Only recently have I been able to figure this all out, you know.”

  Surprise coursed through me at his admission. “I was angry. And sad.”

  “I know. I was, too. I just didn’t know how to deal with it.”

  “Me, either,” I admitted softly, hanging my head. I blew out a harsh breath. “Do you think she did this on purpose and tried to get rid of me?”

  “Absolutely not. She was devastated at the thought of you leaving. Even more devastated that you were mad at her.”

  “Then how can I fix all of this?”

  “Well, first you need to go talk to your uncle. He’ll say sorry, you’ll say sorry, he’ll give you your job back, and you’re here for the last week.”

  “What about me and Annie?” I lifted my head. “I said some mean things to her, some things I regret, all because I was mad. I don’t know if she’ll forgive me.”

  “Do you care about this girl, Jake?”

  I nodded, trying to swallow past the choked-up feeling that clogged my throat. “A lot,” I croaked.

  “Then if she feels the same way about you, I’m sure she’ll listen. And I’m sure she’ll forgive you.” He smiled. “Just brush yourself up on your begging-for-forgiveness skills first. That’s my recommendation.”

  His words made me smile, but I was still a nervous wreck inside. “Thanks for convincing Uncle Bob that I’m not a screwup, Dad.”

  “He knew you weren’t a screwup. He mentioned that you’d been doing a great job around here this summer, especially the last few weeks. Does it have anything to do with you being together with Annie?” Dad raised a brow.

  I shook my head. “She’s changed me.”

  “For the better?”

  “Yeah.” I was embarrassed, admitting this stuff to my dad. “She’s made me see I don’t need to be so angry all the time.”

  ??
?You’d better not let go of this girl, Jake. She sounds like a keeper. She reminds me of your mother.”

  “What?”

  “One of those quiet, sweet girls. The kind that makes you realize one day that the perfect girl has been sitting in front of you all along.” He smiled, his tone wistful. “If she’s anything like that, make it right.”

  I nodded, my mind spinning with all the possibilities. I needed to make it right with Annie.

  But how?

  …

  ANNIE

  Would I ever stop crying? No, I didn’t think so. Though I needed to get a grip because the tears were blurring my vision and I’d just tripped over a branch in the middle of the trail that I should’ve noticed, since it was about as big as my leg.

  But no, I kept thinking of how angry Jake had looked. How furious the normally sweet Fozzie Bear had been. What a nightmare. I hadn’t gone back to the cabin, not wanting to hear any more input from my friends. I knew they meant well, but they’d be so mad at Jake for saying those things. I didn’t want to alter their opinion of him and make it even worse.

  So I hung out in the arts and crafts building for a while, helping Nancy clean up and organize everything. Keeping busy took my mind off everything for a little while, though I still felt sick to my stomach over what happened and what Fozzie Bear said.

  I figured Jake was just lashing out. He thought I told on him to his uncle, so I could understand why he was so upset. That he wouldn’t even let me explain why exactly I told Fozzie about us frustrated me to no end, but what else could I do? Fall to my knees and beg Jake to listen to me?

  No way.

  It had been reassuring to talk to Jake’s dad. Fozzie’s secretary spotted me crying near the volleyball courts and called me over, escorting me into an empty office where a handsome man who vaguely reminded me of Jake had been waiting. When he introduced himself to me as Jake’s dad, my knees had started knocking together. I figured he was going to rip into me just like Jake.

  But he didn’t. He was so nice, offering me kind words and asking me to be patient with both Fozzie and Jake. He explained what happened, how frustrated he’d been with Jake at the end of the school year. How he shipped Jake off to camp with all of these expectations and rules. And how he fully expected his older brother to keep watch on Jake and not let him get out of line.