Zayd gives me a goodbye kiss on the cheek, and a pat on the ass before he takes off across the grass and I flip him off. Lizzie is waiting on the other side of the lake, and I can just barely see her as she waves to me. I wave back, but we won't be able to actually hang out until later this evening, at dinner.

That's okay though, because even though I'm stuck with Becky, I know I have allies here. Besides, it's better than being at home with Jennifer hovering around, and dad gazing at her like she's the love of his life. Anyway, the harp is one of my passions, and I don't mind spending spring break getting better at it.

Doing what you love makes the day go by quickly, and before I realize it, the sun’s already sunk beneath the surface of the lake, and I'm heading across the grass toward the mess hall.

Stepping into the giant log cabin with its picnic tables, red plastic trays, and cafeteria food makes me laugh. The students at Burberry Prep might call our restaurant The Mess, but this place is far more deserving of that name.

“Hey, Working Girl,” Zayd calls out, waving me over to sit next to him and Lizzie. She rises from the table and gives me a big hug before scooting a tray in front of me and grinning.

“We got here before everybody else, so I grabbed you the good stuff.” She points at the pizza on my plate, and then gestures in the direction of the line where people are complaining because the only thing that's left is meatloaf. Gross. Based on the smell, I’m pretty sure it has onions in it, too. Double gross.

“Thanks,” I laugh, as I pick up a slice and bring it to my lips. “How was your guys’ day?”

“Would've been better if you were in it,” Zayd says, throwing me a sharp grin. The way he looks at me sends shivers through my whole body. If he really had been around me all day, I wouldn't have gotten anything done because I'd have been too busy staring at him, memorizing the full curve of his lower lip, or the long dark curves of his lashes. “Doesn't matter though,” he continues, folding his tattooed forearms on the table and resting his chin on them. He looks at me from under half-lidded eyes, reminding me of Creed, and that strange situation in the bathroom.

“What doesn’t matter?” Lizzie asks glancing between the two of us. She raises her eyebrows, but she knows how I feel about Zayd. That is to say, she knows that I have no idea what to do with his attention. Or Creed’s. We don't really talk about Tristan. How can I, when I know that she still loves him?

“We're gonna make up for all that time spent apart,” Zayd says, grinning. He nods his chin at my pizza and then reaches out and steals a slice. I pretend to slap his hand away, but really I'm grinning.

“How are we gonna do that?” I ask, exchanging a glance with Lizzie. She shrugs her thin shoulders and then steals the other piece of pizza from my plate.

“We,” Zane begins, shoving the last of the pizza in his mouth and swallowing, “are going skinny dipping.”

Zayd knocks on the cabin door after curfew, and I let myself out. Fortunately, Becky is sound asleep and snoring, a floral eye mask covering her face. Dressed in nothing but shorts and a tank top, I follow him down to the lake and over to a shadowy area protected by a copse of trees.

“Where's Lizzie?” I whisper, because honestly she seemed pretty excited to take a nude dip in the lake. It's the only reason I'm here. Not because I necessarily wanted her to see me naked. but because there's no way I'm stripping down when it's just me and Zayd.

“Skipped out,” he says with a shrug, already in the process of tearing his shirt over his head. “She wanted to give us some privacy.” He turns and flashes me a cocksure smirk that I can barely see in the moonlight.

And then his pants are down, and I can see that he even has a few tattoos on his legs. Zayd winks at me, and then turns and dives into the lake. He barely makes a splash, slicing through the water with his tattooed hands, and then reemerging a few feet out. The moonlight reflects off of his white-toothed smile, as I wrap my arms around myself and consider whether or not this is a good idea.

The old me definitely wouldn't have done something like this. There's always the chance that someone like Becky is waiting to sneak up and snap my photo, share it around the whole school. But … this is the new me. I'm taking chances, making a fresh start. And if Zayd were going to humiliate me, I imagine he could come up with a more creative way to do it. This just isn't his style.

My heart is pounding, and sweat is beading on my forehead. It might be cold outside, but when I dip a toe in the lake, it's still relatively warm. I can't believe I'm doing this, I think as I wait for Zayd to turn his back. And then I tear my shirt over my head. My shorts drop to the ground, and I wade into the water with my arms crossed over my chest.

Zayd turns around and watches me, his eyes tracking my movements hungrily. When he swims over to stand next to me, water dripping down the sides of his face, I don't miss the implication. It's dark, we're alone, and we're naked together. Plus, there's this palpable tension between us that I felt from day one. Even when he was being an irreconcilable jerk, I could feel it.

“Well hello Working Girl,” he purrs, swimming in a circle around me. When he pauses, he's even closer, our bodies just inches apart. I reach out and put a hand on his chest, intending to push him away. Instead, as soon as my hand makes contact with his flesh, we both sigh.

“I'm not having sex with you,” I say, pursing my lips firmly. And I mean it. I won’t let myself get swept up in the Idols and their charisma. It's just not going to happen. If I decide to have sex, it'll be on my terms, and in my time. Tonight is not that time.

Zayd chuckles at me, but manages to keep his howling laughter to a minimum. The last thing I'd want is for the camp counselors to stumble on us out here. What a scandal that would be. Dad would most certainly kill me.

“Hey,” Zayd says, flashing me another grin. “Don't make that decision just yet. We have a whole two weeks out here. A lot can happen two weeks.” He starts swimming toward the center of the lake, gesturing for me to follow after him.

When I first started at Burberry Prep, there's no way I would've joined in. I was too unsure of myself in the water, and I could barely do a dog paddle. But even though Harper and Becky have done their best to make PE a nightmare for me, I've actually learned some valuable skills.

I swim after Zayd’s ass, until we’re both bobbing in the center of the lake, spinning in slow circles and taking in the majesty of the camp and the trees around us. The moonlight highlights the water, casting a silver glow, and taking the evening from mundane to spectacular.

The next time Zayd swims so close to me, his eyes are soft, but the tension between us is still white-hot.

“If I promise not to take it too far …” He begins, reaching out and pulling me to him. I put my palms on his chest, and keep a safe distance between our bodies. But when Zayd dips his head to mine, our lips brush together, and I open my mouth to let him in.

His hands slide down my back, and cup my ass, pulling me closer. Without meaning to, I wrap my legs around him. Our bodies are sandwiched together, with nothing between us. His mouth works on mine, his tongue hot and demanding. A moan escapes my lips; it's a small, quiet sound, but it echoes across the surface of the lake, and I feel my cheeks heat with a blush. I push away from him, and he lets me go, falling behind me as I swim back to shore and climb out.

My ass is already in view before I realize I should've told him to turn around. It's a little too late now though, so I saunter up the beach like I intended to let him see, grab my clothes and get dressed.

“Thanks for the view,” he says grinning as he too rises out of the water and flashes me. As soon as my shirt’s pulled over my head, I slink back to my cabin, crawl in bed, and dream about rocker boys with incredible kisses.

A few weeks later, there’s another Infinity Club party at the lodge. This time, it’s not quite so cold, so the party’s spilled down the hill and into the water. The girls are dressed is mismatched bikini tops and bottoms, while the guys don colorful swim shorts, creating a splash of brightness against the endless blue of the lake.

When the Idol boys offer to play me at poker, I decline. I learned my lesson last time, and I’m not about to repeat that mistake. Things are going well for me right now, and I’m not about to mess that up by putting myself in debt. I have yet to fulfill my end of the deal with Creed, but I still don’t know anything about Miranda and her dating habits.

Part of me hopes I never do, so I don’t have to tell her brother. Maybe one day he’ll just stumble onto the information on his own, then my debt will be null and void, and I won’t have to share secrets.

It’s worth a thought.

“I still don’t quite get the Infinity Club or what it is,” I confess to Lizzie as we sit in chairs on the edge of the shore, watching people splash around in the water. Her fiancé is out there, making an ass out of himself, and she frowns. I notice her eyes go to Tristan whenever he enters a room, and I have to fight back a strange mix of jealousy and pity. Lizzie should be able to date whoever she wants, regardless of her parents’ wishes. But … also, I think I kind of like Tristan now?

Lizzie turns her amber eyes over to me and smiles.

“I’m not allowed to tell you much, but … it used to be a boys’ club.” She sighs and sits up, pushing her dark curls back from her face. “It wasn’t until, like, ten years ago that they started letting women in.”

“Is the gambling stuff … necessary?” I ask and Lizzie shrugs.

“Infinity Club is about … risks … money, connections … secrets.” She exhales sharply and leans back. I can see her infinity tattoo just above her right hip. “Nations thrive and wither depending on the club’s wants. We’re all just, like, the junior version.” She laughs softly, focusing on her blue painted toenails. “We’re being molded into the future rulers of the world.”