“How does it look?” I batted my eyelashes at him like I’d seen my mom do when she wanted to joke around with my dad.
“You’re really pretty,” Eli said softly, and his cheeks turned a dusky rose color. He looked everywhere but at me.
“Thanks,” I whispered. It was like my voice didn’t want to work, like sound was getting trapped in my throat.
He coughed into his closed fist. “Do you need some help cleaning up?”
I looked around. The carnival was over, and I was still sitting on the grass. “I can handle it,” I said.
I reached around and started to toss the ducks into a bucket I’d brought. Eli picked one up, looked at the bottom, and said, “Did I win?” He grinned at me.
I dug into my pocket and pulled out a small red ball. I was going to keep it for myself, but I’d much rather give it to him. “I just happen to have one more prize.” I handed it to him. He tossed it into the air, caught it in his palm, grinned at me, and then he shoved it in his pocket.
He helped me gather up the ducks, dump the water from the pool, and we carried it all out to the shed behind our cabin. I leaned the pool against the outside of the cabin and put the bucket of ducks inside the building.
“Thanks for the help,” I told him, not sure what to do now.
“Do you have plans tonight?” He shoved his hands into his shorts pockets and leaned on the side of the building.
“I don’t know. Why?”
He kicked at a rock with his shoe for a second, and then he looked into my eyes and said, “I thought you might want to take a walk or something.” He nodded toward the lake. “We could walk down to the dock.” He left the question hanging in the air between us.
“I’d like that,” I replied, mortified when my voice squeaked a little.
Then I remembered what Aaron had shared with him. The traitor. “So, I know that Aaron talked to you.” I wrung my hands together nervously.
He grinned at me. “Yep.”
“And I know he told you that I’ve never been kissed.” My face was probably flaming by that point.
“Yep.” He grinned some more.
“And I don’t know if that makes you not like me…” I let my voice trail off.
He stood up tall, pulled his hand out of his pocket, and held it out to me. “I like you just fine,” he said. He waited, his palm extended. I was afraid to reach out. I didn’t know what to do, so I did nothing. I stared at his hand until he let it fall down by his side again.
He started to walk, and I fell into pace next to him. “I like you too,” I said quietly. It wasn’t much more than a whisper, but I might as well have shouted it.
He reached over and took my hand in his. “Is this okay?” he asked.
My palms were probably going to get sweaty, but I didn’t even care. “It’s okay.”
He smiled down at me. And we went for a walk. And it was the best walk ever.
16
Aaron
I watch as Bess reacts to the retelling of her own story. Her cheeks are rosy, and the corners of her lips are tilted in a smile. It’s so at odds with the her she is now that it seems strange. Bess used to be happy-go-lucky. Now she never smiles. She just gives you that tight-lipped almost-grin that means nothing. But at this moment, she’s soft, and I don’t want to ruin it by telling her that Eli is standing behind her, that he heard her story, so I keep it to myself.
“That was the night we met up with you guys, and we went walking around the campground in the dark together for what seemed like hours.” She bumps my knee with hers. “Do you remember doing that?”
“I remember that crown of weeds on your head. I gave you a hard time about it, but you refused to take it off.”
“Oh!” she says, her voice animated at another memory. “When I got home that night, I hung that crown over the bedpost and it stayed there until it got dry and brittle. I’m not sure what happened to it because one day it was just gone. My mom must have thrown it away.”
“He carried that stupid red ball around all summer.” I see Eli smile at the memory as he stands silently a few steps behind Bess. “He used to take it up to the bathhouse and bounce it against the wall, catching it over and over. I wanted to shove it up his nose so many times.”