That Thing You Do (Crystal Lake 2)

“Prom?” Her brow rose, and she looked confused. “I wore coral, and you wore a navy suit with a matching tie for my dress. Remember we had to go to the city to find the exact color?” She paused. “Why are you asking me about prom?”

Well, shit. Now he felt like an idiot. Did all girls remember those details? Were all boys oblivious?

“Who you floating with?” The thought struck Nate when he realized Kyle wasn’t in the picture anymore.

“I have my floaty tied to Zach’s.”

“Why don’t you hop on Doug’s? It’s big enough.”

“Oh, well…I, ah…” Her cheeks got all pink, and she was stumbling over her words. “I invited a friend along.”

At that moment, a tall, athletic, tattooed guy walked up to them and smiled widely when he spied Nathan.

“Jacobs. Nice to see you out here, mate.”

Nathan looked at Link Major in confusion, then swung his gaze back toward Molly. And the two hot dogs. And the damn pink cheeks.

“Link Major is your floating buddy?” How in hell had she managed to meet up with the footballer in the few days he’d been in Crystal Lake? Hell, Nate had barely managed to get him out fishing the day before.

“We met this morning.” Molly was back to normal again. “On the trail.”

“The trail,” Nate repeated.

“Yes, I was jogging. He was jogging. There was a dog. We met, and I invited him to float down the river.”

Nathan looked at Link. The guy was out of play with an extreme groin pull. “You were running down the trail.” It wasn’t a question but a statement.

“I ran slowly, you know. Carefully.”

The guy was full of shit, but now wasn’t the time for that conversation.

“How do you know each other?” Molly asked, clearly confused by the conversation as she handed Link a hot dog.

“Link here is a client of mine.”

“Prospective client,” the man said with a glint in his eye.

“He’s renting Beck’s place while he figures some shit out.”

A horn sounded just then, signaling five minutes until the float began.

“We should go,” Molly said.

“So you two are floating together.” Nate’s mind began to turn as an idea took shape. He could spend some time with one of his best pals and figure out what the hell was going on with Link.

She nodded but remained silent.

“Since I’m solo, do you mind if I tag along?”

A heartbeat passed, and Nate held his breath as he gazed at her. The wind picked up just then and snagged a thick swath of hair, twirling it around her face so that for a moment, her features were hidden. He almost reached for it, but something held him back. Some sane part of him that said keep your hands to yourself. As if touching her would change the game yet again.

“There’s room,” she said, turning on her heel. She headed toward her floaty, and Nate watched her, momentarily forgetting about the man beside him.

Link slapped him on the shoulder. “I think I’m going to like it around here.”

“We need to talk about the groin.”

“We will.” Link grinned, taking a step back. “Another time, mate. I’ll tell you what you want to know, and you can tell me why the hell that woman is still single.” His grin widened. “And why you’re looking at her like she’s a tasty snack.”