My family knew everyone on every crew. My brother had been rowing with the same group of guys all his life. We didn’t let outsiders into our world. I wondered who this girl was and what she was doing here—and where in the world she got that snowball.
She scooped a bite of colored ice into her mouth then squinted like she’d gotten a brain freeze. “My dad’s doing a concert for some rich kid’s birthday, and my mom flaked, so I had to come.” She pointed at the racing shells lined up on the launch. “What’s that?”
“Those are racing boats.”
“Boat racing? Like, with oars?” She scrunched up her nose. “That doesn’t sound like fun.”
It wasn’t. Not for me, anyway. But my dad was in politics, and according to him,family is important in politics.I’d heard him say that at least a hundred times.
“My brother rows.” I paused a beat then smiled. “And it’s his birthday, so I had to come.”
She stopped just before the white plastic spoon disappeared inside her mouth again. Her lips and tongue were stained green, contrasting her pale skin. “Oh, God. Your brother’s the rich kid, isn’t he? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
I laughed and waved my hand. “Don’t worry about it. He’s been called worse.”
“My dad says rich people don’t have morals.” She took another bite of her shaved ice. “You’re cool, though. You’re not like the rest of them.”
I wondered what else her dad had to say about rich people.
She pulled a cell phone from her back pocket then snapped a picture of me.
“What are you doing?”
“Taking a picture of my new best friend.”
I smiled because I liked her. She didn’t ask where I bought my outfit or where we were going on vacation this year. She didn’t care about money, and she didn’t drool over Lincoln the way most other girls did. I’d never been anybody’s best friend, but I wanted to be hers.
She walked over to one of the shells and hopped inside. The boats were all secured between two metal rails on the edge of the launch, but it still rocked when she jumped in. “Come on. Come sit with me.” When I stood there pursing my lips, she sighed. “It’s not like you have anything better to do.” She jumped up and down. “And see? We won’t go anywhere.”
“Don’t even think about it,” a male voice said from behind me.
I looked over my shoulder and watched as Caspian stalked down the walkway of the launch. He walked with his shoulders squared and his back perfectly straight. My ballet teacher would love his posture, but I thought it made him look more like a grown-up than a fourteen-year-old boy. He had his usual serious,I’m-the-boss-of-everythinglook on his face.
Well, he wasn’t the boss of me, even though he liked to act like he was.
I stuck my tongue out at him, then moved closer to the boat.
“I mean it, Tatum. Your parents are either going to kick your ass or you’re going to fall in and drown.”
He said ass.
Fourteen-year-old boys had no business saying ass.
A few loose strands of hair fell out of my ponytail as I ran to the end of the launch, where Lyric was watching us with wide eyes from inside the boat while she finished eating her snowball.
Caspian let out a loud groan that sounded more like a growl.
I’ll show him who’s boss.
I hurried to hop into the boat, but my foot got caught on the rigger. I reached out for support, but there was nothing to grab onto. The sound of Lyric’s voice yelling my name was followed by the stomping of footsteps on the launch. The hull of the boat scraped my leg as my whole body fell forward into the lake. All the air was squeezed from my lungs the second I hit the cold water. It felt like knives were stabbing my skin. I tried not to panic as I pushed my way to the surface. I knew how to swim. I was just surprised by the chill, then I thought about the secrets, all the secrets that might be under here. I pushed my legs harder.
Out of nowhere, a strong arm wrapped around my body, pulling me close. My heart beat faster as I squeezed my eyes shut, praying the secrets hadn’t gotten hold of me.Please don’t take me down to the bottom.They didn’t. They pulled me up and up until we broke through the top of the water. I sucked in a deep breath, then opened my eyes to find Caspian staring at me. The water made his dark hair stick to his forehead, and tiny droplets trickled down his face. We stayed there like that, treading water with his arm around me.
I finally shoved at his chest, but he only held me tighter. “Let me go.”
“One day you’re going to listen to me.” He heaved a breath. “Even if it kills us both.”