Unknown (The Secret Life of Cassie Martin #1)(10)

Clearly, the infatuation goes both ways.

“The thing is, I really wanted to finish reading through the packet before tomorrow morning,” I hedge. “You also look busy. Maybe, we can go swimming another day? I need to borrow your packet, too, because Jay threw mine into some poison oak.”

Please agree with me on this one, I silently plea. I’ve never tried puppy dog eyes on anyone. I wonder if it will work on Fallon.

Of course, it won’t because Fallon heads to the bathroom to change before I can finish my sentence. “Jay did what? That’s surprising. He normally ignores everyone unless he wants something from them. I can’t image what he’d want from you on the first day other than maybe a date. He’s not my type, but you two would be cute together. Go for it.”

Wait, what? How did this turn into me dating Jay? “I just met the guy. I’m not ready to date him. Do we have to swim? I told them I would only go if you were going.” Some honesty here may help.

She gathers her towel. “If you don’t want to swim, just tell them no.”

I already told them I would though, and I hate going back on my word. I also want to figure Jay out. He can’t like me since we just met, but what would he want from me? Mindy probably put him up to it.

With my mind made up, I grab my suit. It’s black with mesh cutouts that enhance my hourglass figure. Luckily, my foster mom Jeannie likes fashion because my swimming attire would be a tank top and shorts. “It will only take me a second to change.”

While I change, Fallon hides her stash of secret plans. “That suit is adorable.” She waves her hand up and down my figure. “If you don’t want Jay, I’m sure there will be other boys lining up to get your number.”

I shake my head at her as I pull my shorts and t-shirt back over my swimsuit. Who starts a romance at summer camp? The likelihood of me ever seeing or speaking to anyone after this is slight. “I just want to make it through today. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves with the boy thing. We should focus on you and Micah. He’s cute in a geeky sort of way.”

“He is, isn’t he? We spent as much time as we could together last year, but his team was doing so well they didn’t have much free time. After we left camp, Parker and I had to head back to Chicago while Micah was off to Texas. We emailed some right afterward, but we didn’t keep it up.” Fallon turns wistful at this point as she remembers something. I’ll have to ask her about it later.

“Are most of the kids not from Ohio? Why would anyone purposely come to Ohio for camp?” I question her as we walk out the door.

“People come from all over. You’ve met Lucca. He splits his time between Italy, which is where his father is from, and Brazil, which is where his mother is from. This place is unique in the people that you meet and the things that you do. You’ll see.” She runs off to talk to Micah before I find out anything else.

“So, you decided to join us. I’m glad. The pool is great.” Jay matches my stride as we walk up the lane, which must be difficult for him since he’s more than a foot taller than me.

Since Micah and Fallon outpace us by twenty feet or more, I decide to confront Jay on Fallon’s comments. “If I ask you something, do you promise not to get mad?”

“You can ask me anything. One of the first things you’ll learn this week is not only how to trust, but who to trust. You can trust me, and no, I won’t get mad.” His sincerity bleeds through his speech, so I question whether or not to ask him now.

“Well...” I sigh and pause. Coming across as a huge jerk right after I met the guy bothers me, but my mind focuses on Fallon’s comments about him.

He steps in front of me and stops. “I swear, whatever it is I won’t be mad, and I’ll answer as honestly as I can.”

“When I went to tell Fallon about running into you, she mentioned you don’t talk to people unless you need or want something from them. We couldn’t figure out what that could be with me, though. Is Mindy putting you up to this?” I watch my feet shift from foot to foot, ignoring his gaze.

“Hey.” He puts his finger under my chin and lifts so my eyes meet his. The sparks return, locking me into place. “Fallon’s right. I don’t talk to a lot of people. I wanted you to know that not everyone here is like Mindy and that not everyone will believe the rumors she spreads. As I said, I’ve been on the biting end of her comments, so I thought I should do something about it.”

My shoulders relax, and the urge to throw my arms around him overwhelms me. I contain myself even though the sparks now reach my chest and make it hard to breathe. “Thank you for answering me. I’m not used to all of this. I’m on my own most of the time.”

He throws his arm over my shoulder as we return to our path to the pool. “If you don’t trust me with anything else, trust me when I tell you that you are not alone here.”

His arm remains across my shoulders as we walk in silence until we reach the fence around the pool. Fallon and Micah, already in the water, splash around near one of the slide exits. She dunks him, but they both laugh about it. Jay opens the gate for me leads me over to the pool. He places our towels on one of the loungers sitting in the grass. I sit on the edge and let my feet dangle in the water at the five-foot mark. The water won’t be over my head, but it will come up to or even cover my mouth if I’m not on my tiptoes. As long as I stay near the edge, I should be fine.