Heat rushes through my core.

Just the two of us, away from here, tucked into his car under the cover of night? Something tells me we wouldn’t be paying much attention to whatever’s on the screen.

“Nervous?”

My cheeks flush. “Huh?”

He nods toward the edge. “About jumping again.”

Oh. “No.” Actually, now that I consider the thirty-foot free fall into the lake, I realize that I am nervous. More so than the first time, when I had little time to think, when I had no experience to recall.

He looks over his shoulder at me and smirks, like he knows I’m lying, his gaze skating over my body a second time.

And then, with a boyish grin, he takes a running leap off the cliff.

Exhilaration swells in my chest as I rush to the edge to watch him resurface.

He wades to the side, his strokes strong and practiced. “Am I going to have to talk you into it again?” he hollers, and I hear the challenge in his voice.

Taking a deep breath, I step back and then charge forward, gripped by a sensation that’s both paralyzing and exhilarating as I plummet through the air. By the time my body emerges from the crisp water, a hysterical laugh—of accomplishment and ecstasy—takes over.

Until I realize the rush of water has forced my bikini top clean off me.

I yelp and cover my bare chest with one arm, while using the other to tread water. “Shit . . . my top!”

Kyle swims toward where I plunged in and dives under, only to pop up a few moments later, long enough to curse about murky water. He gathers a deep breath and then he’s gone again, swimming deeper into the abyss.

Treading water with one arm is difficult and I finally have to relent, releasing my hold of my chest to stay afloat, wondering just how murky the water is, how much Kyle can see from beneath. I have yet to strut around nude in front of him—or any guy, for that matter.

He bursts through the water’s surface with a gasp for air. “Sorry, it’s gone. It’s too deep here and I can’t see shit.”

“Well, this is going to be fun,” I mutter, eyeing the steep and rocky slope that I get to try to maneuver up, topless.

Kyle swims toward me, doing a poor job of hiding a secretive smile.

“Don’t look too upset.”

“Sorry. It’s just . . .” The small smile morphs into a wide grin. “I was wondering if that would happen.”

“And you didn’t think to warn me?”

“I did think about it.” He edges in closer, until our knees are bumping together. “And then I thought better of it.”

“You jerk.” I smack his chest playfully, before scanning the cliff top. “Where’s Eric?” Kyle seeing me topless is one thing. I’m not putting on a show for the other counselors.

“The last I saw, he was heading somewhere with Avery.” There’s a hint of bitterness in his voice.

“Is he into her?”

Kyle rolls his eyes. “Who the hell knows with him. They messed around last week.”

They must have done it in secret, because nothing stays quiet long in the counselor circle. So far, Colin’s been spotted making out behind the canteen with Jenny and, though no one can confirm they saw Marie and Carlos hooking up, the fact that they both developed a poison ivy rash all over their backs on the same day last week is highly suspicious.

I hesitate. “Is that weird for you?” If one of my close friends started dating Trevor after we broke up, that would probably bother me.

“Not the way you’re probably thinking. Eric’s not serious about Avery. He’s just biding his time until Ashley decides he isn’t a fool.” Kyle chuckles. “That might be a while. I tried to help him out last year by hinting to her that he was into her, and then he pulled the same kind of shit, and Ashley wouldn’t give him a chance the rest of the summer. If she hears about him hooking up with Avery, he’ll screw his chances up a second year.” Kyle shakes his head.

It dawns on me. “Aww . . . You’re a hopeless romantic!” I tease.

“Shut up.” Kyle grins. “Right now I’m a horny guy with a hot, topless girl in front of me.”

The fact that I’m so close to him and naked save for my scrap-of-a-bottom is not lost on me. Despite the cool temperature of the water, my entire body is flushing with warmth. If Kyle is affected, he’s not letting on; at ease in the water, his breath is even and calm.

“You good?” he asks, as if reading my mind.

“Yeah.”

He hesitates. “So . . . Shane is going home next Saturday, for the night. He only lives, like, an hour away and he wants to see his girlfriend.” Kyle pulls his bottom lip between his teeth and holds it a moment before releasing it, a shy smile touching his lips. “I’ll have my cabin to myself for the night. In case you wanted to hang out there with me.”

My stomach flutters as I grasp what he’s really asking.

“For a few hours . . . or the night.” He swallows hard. “Whatever you feel like—”

“Okay,” I blurt out, not even pretending to play coy. “I mean, as long as Darian’s not going to nail us for breaking probation.”

“She said we had to be in our cabins for lights-out with our campers. There are no campers on Saturday night.” He says it so innocently. “It’s our night off to do whatever we want.”

Except “whatever we want” means squeezed together in the twin bunk. The two of us in a bed together, alone, all night long.

My breathing has turned ragged. Meanwhile, Kyle’s breathing hasn’t even wavered.

“You’re a strong swimmer,” I murmur, needing to change the conversation to something less heart palpitation–inducing.

“I should hope so. I did a couple years on my school’s swim team.” He grins when my eyebrows arch with surprise. “What?”

“Nothing. Just picturing you rocking those little swim shorts and cap.”

“Are you mocking me?”

“Never.”

He laughs. “I was actually supposed to do the Red Cross lifeguard training program last year.” He tosses that scrap of personal information out so casually.

I seize it. “You totally should! It’s a great part-time job. I have a friend who’s a lifeguard. She makes good money. For a teenager, anyway.” Money she doesn’t need. She’s doing it for her college application.