“Of course it is.”
“Then what’s stopping you?”
“Well, for one, I find it hard to believe that someone who’s barely spoken to me in four years now wants the whole school to think I’m his girlfriend. Seems a little suspicious, if you ask me.”
“So what, you think this is some sort of ploy to try to humiliate you?” He slides his sunglasses up into his hair.
“Maybe,” I admit.
“Come on, you know me better than that.”
“No, I did know you. Past tense.”
“You still know me. Okay, you don’t know everything about me like you did once upon a time, but you know me at my core. You know I would never intentionally hurt you like that.”
“Wouldn’t you?” My forehead crinkles.
“No.” He shakes his head. “And I get that this was kind of out of left field, but I saw an opportunity to help out an old friend and take care of a few grievances of my own.”
“You really are insane.”
“Don’t pretend like you’re not at least a little curious if this could work. Come on. I know you’re not wearing this skimpy thing because you like it. You were hoping Ethan would notice you.” I tense when his eyes do a full sweep of my body. “I’m offering you an even better solution. One that doesn’t require you to walk around almost naked.”
“Is that your way of telling me I can’t pull this bathing suit off?”
“The exact opposite, actually. I think you’re pulling it off quite well.” He grins, pushing up on his knees before crawling to his feet. “In fact, I might need to go take a cold shower.”
“Oh my god. Will you please go away?” I can’t help but laugh at how ridiculous he’s acting.
Who the hell is this guy and what did he do with Callum Hanson?
“Just think about what I said.”
“If I promise to think about it, do you promise to leave me alone?”
“For now.” He rocks back on his heels, the smile on his face only making him better looking. Asshole.
“Fine. I’ll think about it,” I finally concede.
“I’ll find you later.” He starts to back away. “And P,” he waits until my eyes meet his, “I don’t plan on taking no for an answer.” With that, he spins around and takes off up the beach to join some of the other football players who are tossing a ball at the edge of the water.
I don’t have time to process anything before Camila and April rejoin me in the sand, both of their gazes locked on me.
“What the hell was that?” Camila is the first to speak.
“Spill.” April leans in like she can’t wait to hear every detail.
“It was nothing. He just wanted to ask me something about my mom.” I feel guilty for lying and truth be told, I’m not even sure why I feel the need to. It’s not like I actually plan to go through with his stupid idea anyway.
Or do I?
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little intrigued. After all, I’ve all but thrown myself at Ethan, and he barely bats an eye when I walk into the room. I need to try something extreme, and let’s be honest, this pretty much takes the cake.
But, I don’t like the idea of lying. It feels wrong and slimy and totally not who I am.
“Seriously?” Camila draws back. “He interrupted us laying out to ask about your mom. What a fucking buzz kill. Doesn’t he realize we’re on vacation here?”
“Wait, does this mean he did overhear you last night?” April adds.
“Not sure.” I shrug. “Anyway, can we please talk about something other than Callum Hanson or my mother? This is not how I envisioned this afternoon going.”
“Fine,” Camila grumbles, clearly not fully buying my excuse, but also loving me enough to let it go for now.
I relax back, closing my eyes, trying to find some of the peace I felt moments ago before Callum so rudely interrupted. Unfortunately, it seems to be long gone because the longer I lay here, the longer my mind swirls around the possibility of what Callum is proposing.
Having people think I’m dating one of the most popular boys in school wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, would it? Not that I’m unpopular by any means, but Callum’s popularity extends into a whole other stratosphere. Maybe he’s right. Maybe this is exactly what I need to finally get Ethan to look at me as more than another run of the mill girl. I need something to make me stand out. And Callum would definitely help me there. I swear, he’s like a bright light walking through a dark hallway. Everyone can’t help but look in his direction when he walks by, myself included. No matter how many times I’ve cursed at myself for doing so.
As much as I hate the idea, I can’t deny it has merit.
But can I really do this?
Can I really lie to everyone I know?
No, no I can’t.
There’s no way I’m going to crawl into bed with the devil, figuratively speaking of course.
And I plan to tell him just that when I see him next.
Until then, I’m determined to forget all about my infuriating next door neighbor and enjoy a little R&R with my girls.
ONCE WE FINISH UP AT the beach, I head back up toward the cabin, my beach towel cinched around my waist. I had planned on getting cleaned up and going to look for Ethan, but it turns out I don’t have to look far.
I spot him and Heidi sneaking off into the woods as I make my way up the dirt path and an instant sense of resentment kicks in. Toward him. Toward her. Toward this entire situation.
I’m a good catch, right?
I might not be the most popular or even close to the prettiest, but I have things to offer... Don’t I?
Self-doubt is one hell of a bitch and she’s currently slapping me right across the face.
“You know, that could be you.” I jump at the sound of a voice behind me.
Turning, I’m not sure if I’m more irritated or relieved to see Callum. On one hand, lately he seems to be there every time I turn around. On the other, I need a distraction.
“Pardon?” I question, acting like I don’t know what he’s talking about.
“Are you seriously going to stand there and pretend like you weren’t just watching Ethan and Heidi sneak off into the woods?”
“Don’t you have someone else to bother? I’ve seen more of you in the last two days than I have in the last four years.”
“Ever stop to ask yourself why that is?”
“Oh, I know why it is. Because you need me now, so suddenly I serve a purpose.”
“Don’t act like this doesn’t benefit you too. We both know it does.”
“Maybe. Or maybe it’ll backfire and people will think I’m just another one of your easy sluts.”
“Can’t see a negative there. Either way, you get the attention you want.”
“Being classified as another notch in your bedpost is not the kind of attention I’m looking for,” I counter.
“What are you so afraid of?”
“I’m not afraid.”
“You sure? Because from where I’m standing, that’s exactly what it looks like. The Poppy Harris I knew wasn’t afraid of anything.”