The Junior (College Years 3)

When the sky turns to twilight, I can feel the buzz in the air. The murmur of excited conversations all around us. People are everywhere. On the water in their boats, on the lakeshore, on the decks of their lake houses. Sitting on the boats that are docked in front of Mitchell’s. People are also sitting at tables on the outdoor dining patio, on the grass, or out in front of their cabins. They’re all waiting for the fireworks to begin.

“Why do they have the fireworks here?” I ask Aidan, knowing that he’s grown up around here, just like Caleb. “Why not at the high school or whatever?”

“They’re a total fire hazard, especially up here since we’re in the middle of the forest. But if you launch the fireworks over the lake, you’re way less likely to set something on fire,” he explains.

I nod. “Makes sense.”

“They put on a pretty good show. You won’t be disappointed.” Aidan glances around at all the people milling about. “This is a highlight of the year around here. Not much happens in this town.”

“The place comes alive in the summer though,” I observe, taking in all of the people surrounding us.

“Definitely. The tourists keep us going. When a fire hits nearby, it ruins everything. Last summer a fire threatened the lake, and we had to shut down right before Labor Day. The entire area was evacuated,” Aidan says.

“I remember that,” I murmur, inhaling the scent of pine from the nearby trees. I can’t imagine losing all of this to a fire. That would be awful.

A girl approaches Aidan and he turns to talk to her, putting on the charm. Scarily enough, he reminds me of a mini-Caleb. I wonder if he’s actually Caleb’s protégé.

Wouldn’t doubt it for even a second.

I decide to watch the fireworks from the dock office. There’s a giant window that faces out on the water, and I slide it open, both pleased and dismayed that there’s no screen on it. Pleased because my view is completely unobstructed, and dismayed because every bug—every single giant, horrific lake bug, is already flying into my office.

My least favorite thing about the lake—all the

bugs. Spiders. Giant, hard shelled things that everyone calls June bugs. They’re hideous and they have claws. One landed in my hair and I literally screamed, desperate to get it out of my hair, but the little sucker was hard to dislodge.

All the boys laughed their asses off at me when it happened, including Caleb. Even TJ, the dock manager, couldn’t stop chuckling.

I grab my Mitchell’s hoodie and pull it on, forgetting I’m wearing the star headband and immediately getting it all tangled up in the sweatshirt and my hair. I try to yank it out, pulling on my hair and muttering ‘ow’ under my breath, when I feel warm hands gently push mine away and take over.

“Let me help you,” Caleb murmurs, his deep voice making me go completely still. I drop my hands to my sides and wait, achingly aware of his close proximity as he carefully disentangles the headband from my hair. “There you go.”

He takes the headband off and shifts so he’s standing directly in front of me. His lips curve up as he slips the headband on his head, the stars blinking, casting his face in red, white and blue. “What do you think?”

I smile. “You look goofy.”

“Not cute like you?”

There he goes, calling me cute again. He needs to stop. “Goofily cute,” I tell him.

He looks pleased by my compliment. I’m starting to realize it doesn’t take much to make this man happy. Kind words, a funny joke. A compliment. Food—always food. Hanging out with his friends. Football. Jumping off the dock office roof into the water—I really hate when he does that but when he first pops out of the water wearing that giant smile, I can’t help but smile too.

I suppose I should add sex to that list. Oh, and sleep. Caleb loves his sleep. He likes to lounge around in bed on his days off when he has nothing to do and nowhere to go. I could never call him lazy though, because the dude is almost always on the go. But when he gets a chance for some downtime, he fully embraces it.

“You watching the fireworks in here?” he asks.

“Yes,” I tell him, worry immediately filling me. “Is that okay? Or should I be out on the dock?”

“Michelle’s out there, schmoozing with everyone. Kevin is too.” Kevin is Michelle’s husband. They own and run Mitchell’s together. “You’re fine in here.”

“Oh okay. Good,” I say, relief filling me.

“Can I join you?”

“Um, sure,” I say, suddenly feeling…what. Shy?

No way. I never feel shy. I go for what I want, balls to the wall. Hayden and I pumped each other up throughout our freshman year at college, telling each other we could do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted it. It was liberating, being at a school where no one really knew me, and I could start completely over. Be who I always wanted to be. Back at home, where I grew up, I was just…that girl. Gracie. The quiet one. The athletic one. No one gave me much credit for anything beyond being fast on the track.

Yet here I am, all alone with Caleb, feeling unsure. Like old Gracie.