He's With Me Page 4

  this”?

  She’d have to save panicking about that for later. Maybe Colin could help

  figure it out. Not for the first time, she wished he was at Summerlodge, too, and

  she wondered what he was doing all day. Probably beating all her high scores on

  their games.

  She adjusted the straps on her black one-piece and stepped into her flip-

  flops tucking the rest of her stuff into her shoulder bag. Her red bead necklace

  from Jake went carefully into the side zipper pocket, where she was sure it

  wouldbe safe. The minute she unlatched the door, Bree pulled it open.

  “Oh, Lexie,” Bree said. “What a darling bathing suit. I used to have one just like it. When I was nine.”

  Bree, of course, was wearing one of her twelve different white bikinis. This

  one had thin barely there straps holding up the top, and the bottom was a pair of

  tiny short-shorts that showed off her long legs. Lexie could not imagine ever, ever,

  ever wearing something like that in public.

  Sally was wearing a two-piece, too, but it was more of a tankini, where the

  top came all the way down to cover her stomach like a tank top. She kept tugging

  at it as if trying to make it cover more. It was a deep emerald green with darker

  green waves across it, and she wore matching emerald green flip-flops.

  “Towels are over there,” Sally said, pointing to a folded pile by the door.

  “Unless you brought your own,” Bree said, “because you don’t care for

  other people’s germs.” She wound her lavender beach towel around her waist

  while Sally and Lexie each took one of the plain white ones from the pile. Then

  she led the way out into the pool area.

  Lexie was glad she was wearing waterproof sunscreen, even if her mom

  was crazy. It was really hot around the pool, like the sun was magnified by the

  chiseled, fake-looking stones. Up in the two lifeguard stations, two older guys

  were sitting, looking like Secret Service agents behind their sunglasses. A

  volleyball net had been set up, stretching across the middle of the pool.

  Jake was standing with a couple of freshman’s talking and pointing to the

  net, but when he spotted Lexie, he broke off and came over to her.

  “Hey,” he said with a smile. “Long time no see.” But Lexie could tell that he

  was worried about her being alone with Bree in the changing room, and that he

  was really asking if she was okay.

  Before Lexie could say anything, a curly-haired woman in bright yellow

  culottes blew a whistle around her neck and made them all gather at the wall

  furthest away from the pool. Then she spent forty-five minutes explaining all the

  rules of the pool as well as how to play the game. She must have no “No running

  on the edge of the pool” five gazillion times. Lexie wasn’t sure how she was

  supposed to take anyone in bright yellow culottes seriously.

  Finally she called the team captains forward and read off their assigned

  teams. Lexie couldn’t believe her luck – she was on Jake’s team! As she headed

  over, he high-fived her and winked.

  “Did you make that happen?” she whispered.

  “Of course,” he said. “Cynthia likes me. She’s hoping I’ll work here as a

  lifeguard once tens camp is over.”

  Best of all, Bree had to be a team captain, too, and Sally wound up on a

  third team, so Lexie and Jake didn’t have to get too close to them for the rest of

  the day.

  There were six teams, so four teams would watch while the other two

  played each other, and then they’d switch around. As Cynthia explained it, they’d

  practice for a week, and then they’d have a tournament the next week to crown a

  winning team. Lexie realized that that meant she’d signed up for two weeks of

  pool volleyball. She wouldn’t get to switch to something else – like Frisbee – until

  the two weeks were up. Well, maybe Bree would be over Jake by then.

  To her surprise, volleyball was much more fun than she’d expected,

  although she kept getting water up her nose and a couple of the freshmen on her

  team were horrifyingly better than she was. She even managed to hit the ball in

  the right direction a couple of times, and each time she did, Jake yelled, “Yeah!”

  ad splashed her.

  Her turn to serve came up. She balanced the ball on one hand and tried to

  remember what she’d learned in regular volleyball in gym class.

  “Here,” Jake said, coming up beside her. “Hold this arm out straight.” He

  took her left arm under the water and straightened it out so it was pointing a little

  to her right. “Now keep that arm straight while you hit t with your other fist.” He

  reached around behind her and touched her right shoulder.

  The combination of his hands, her bare arms, and the water made her so

  nervous, she swung wildly and sent the ball up out of the pool, into the crows

  along the edge.

  “Don’t worry,” Jake said, squeezing her shoulder, “You’ll get it next time.”

  Not if you keep helping me like that, I won’t! Lexie thought, but the truth

  was she’d rather be that close to Jake than hit a great volleyball serve any day,

  Finally, finally, the end of the day came. Lexie didn’t want to face Bree and

  Sally in the changing room again, so she toweled off her hair, pulled on her shorts

  over her bathing suit, and headed straight out to the bikes.

  A stranger was leaning against the rack, next to her bike. A guy about her

  age. She’d never seen him before, which probably meant he either was new or

  went to one of the private schools in town.

  “Hey,” he said with a lazy, crooked smile. He had amazingly straight white

  teeth. His hair was shaggy and dark, and his eyes were light brown.

  “Um, hi,” she said. “Sorry, that’s – um, that’s my bike.”

  “Oh, sorry,” he said, moving aside. She knelt to unlock it, hoping Jake would

  come out soon.

  “I’m Riley,” he said. “I’m just waiting for my brother. Do you go here?”

  “Summerlodge?” she said. “Yeah. I’m doing the tennis camp.”

  “Huh,” he said. His eyes had this faraway dreamy look, and she couldn’t tell

  if he was really listening to her until he turned and smiled at her again. His smile

  could really catch a girl’s attention, even if that girl had a pretend boyfriend she

  was secretly in love with.

  “Is it cool?” he said, but kept going without waiting for an answer. “Tennis.

  Man, I’m bad at tennis.”

  “Me too,” Lexie said. “It’s –“

  “What did you say your name was?” he asked, shoving his hands in his

  pockets. He was wearing jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, and she wondered if he

  was melting in the heat but too cool to admit it.

  “I didn’t,” she said. “Um. It’s Lexie.” She unwrapped the chain from her bike

  wheel and stashed it in her shoulder bag. She tried to move as slowly as she could

  without looking like a mentally challenged alien. She really, really wished Jake

  would show up. Or else she’d have to stay and make conversation with this

  strange guy, because of course she couldn’t leave without Jake, could she? That

  wasn’t a girlfriendly thing to do.

  “Lexie,” Riley said. “That’s cute. Has anyone ever told you that you look like


  Sophia Bush?”

  “Who’s that?”

  “Wow, really?” he said. “Or are you just trying to trick me into admitting I

  watch One Tree Hill?”

  Lexie giggled. “My brother would kill me if he found that on the TiVo.”

  “Uh, yeah, me too,” Riley said, affecting a deeper voice. “Me, I only watch

  wrestling. And monster truck rallies. Grrr.”

  “You’re so busted,” Lexie said. “Admit it – you stay home whenever Grey’s

  Anatomy is on, don’t you?”

  He laughed, and she found herself smiling despite her nervousness. She

  liked it when people got her jokes.

  “Hey, Lexie,” said Jake from behind her. She’d forgotten to keep watching

  for him, but her heart still leaped into double time as he paused next to her. His T-

  shirt was slightly damp from his wet hair, so it clung to his shoulders, which were

  strong from all the swimming and tennis. The light blue colour made her want to

  lean into it, like falling into the sky.

  “Who’s this?” Jake asked. His gaze was fixed on Riley, and he didn’t look

  too friendly.

  “This is Riley,” Lexie said, wondering why her voice sounded higher than

  normal. “We just met. He’s waiting for someone.”

  “Oh,” Jake said. Riley reached out his hand, and Jake shook it, the tendons

  in his arm tensing like he was slamming a hammer down.

  “And you are?” Riley said.

  “Jake.” Pause. “Lexie’s boyfriend.”

  Lexie was astonished. Why on earth did he say that? Bree was nowhere in

  sight. There was no one around to run back and report to her. There was no

  reason at all to volunteer that information, far as she could see. Not that she

  minded, but it was odd.

  “Ah,” Riley said.

  “We’d better get going, Lexie,” Jake said, touching her bike but not looking

  at her.

  “Yeah, okay,” she said. She pulled her bike free and stood for a moment

  awkwardly, waiting for Jake to unlock his bike. Riley was still watching her.

  As Jake rolled his bike free, she swung onto hers and said, “Well, see you.”

  “Nice to meet you, Lexie,” Riley said. He gave her the smile again, and she

  ducked her head and pushed off.

  Jake was quiet all the way back to her house. She felt the wind blowing her

  hair dry and she wondered what he was thinking. At the bottom of her driveway,

  he braked but stayed straddling his bike.

  “Don’t you want to come in?” she said. “We can make fun of my lazy slug

  brother.”

  “Nah, not today,” Jake said. “I’ve got stuff to do. Tell him I said hi.”

  “Oh, okay,” Lexie said.

  He ran his hand along the top of his hair, looking like he was going to say

  something else, but in the end he just stood up on the pedals and rode away. She

  watched him ride to the end of the block, where he glanced back and waved at

  her, and then she rolled her bike into the garage and went into the house.

  Colin was lying on the floor in front of the couch, where she’d expected him

  to be. As she went into the den, he quickly slid something underneath a pile of

  cushions.

  “What was that?” she said.

  “What?” he said, pretending to be focused on a plate on the coffee table.

  “Here, Mom made snacks. It’s basically peanut butter on celery, but cut into slices

  so it’s prettier and harder to eat. Have you ever noticed that she’s weird?”

  “Colin, come on,” Lexie said, flopping down on the couch. “What were you

  hiding when I came in?”

  “Nothing,” he said. “Where’s Jake?”

  Lexie was hurt. Colin never kept anything from her. What could it be?

  “Jake decided not to come in,” she said. “But he says hi.” She waiting for a

  minute, but Colin kept moving the celery around the plate without saying

  anything.

  “So...did you have fun today?” she tried. “Tennis was so lame. I’m a total

  menace with a tennis racket. What did you do?”

  “Nothing,” he said again.

  “I’ll bet,” she said, reaching for the remote control and flipping the TV to

  their favourite game. To her surprise, none of the scores had changed. Either he

  hadn’t played very well that day, or he hadn’t played at all.

  “Was Bree there?” Colin asked.

  “Of course,” Lexie said. “She’s so scary. And now she seriously hates me.”

  “But she’s really hot,” Colin said. “I don’t get why Jake wouldn’t just date

  her. I would, if I weren’t too stupid and boring for her to like me. It sounds a lot

  easier than pretending to date you.”

  “Oh, thanks!” Lexie said, pushing herself off the couch. She headed for the

  door in a huff, but he didn’t stop her. In the doorway, she turned and glanced

  back. He was staring down at the table, rolling a pencil absentmindedly back and

  forth along the carpet.

  Her mom was coming down the stairs as Lexie went up.

  “Oh, Lexie!” Mrs. Willis said happily. “How was Summerlodge? Did you

  have such a lovely time? It wasn’t so bad without your brother was it?”

  “It was terrible, like I thought it would be,” Lexie said. “And I think

  something’s wrong with Colin. I’m going to take a shower.”

  Her mom looked disappointed, but she stepped aside without pressing for

  more tennis details. At least she didn’t ask about the bikini, safely hidden under

  Lexie’s bed.

  In her room, Lexie lay down on her bed, feeling tired. It was kind of

  exhausting being a pretend girlfriend. First there were Bree and Sally; then there

  was all the complicated Jake stuff, plus that guy Riley; and now Colin was acting

  strange and keeping secrets. She felt all mixed up, with no one to talk about it.

  And it starts all over again tomorrow.

  Chapter 5

  The next day was even stranger than Lexie had expected, mainly because there

  was a surprise newcomer to her tennis class. He was leaning against the fence of

  the tennis courts as she walked up, swinging a racket in one hand.

  “Hey, Lexie!” Riley said enthusiastically. “Where’s your boyfriend?”

  Lexie nearly said, “Who?” but remembered in time. “He’s in the Advanced

  class,” she said. “What are you doing here?”

  “Well, you made these tennis lessons sound so fun,” he said with his

  crooked smile. “I figured I’ll sign up and join in.”

  “I did?” Lexie tried to remember anything she had said that might possibly

  have been misunderstood as “tennis is fun.”

  “Sure,” Riley said. “And maybe if you’re as bad as I am, we can be

  partners.”

  “I’ll be pretty impressed if you’re as bad as I am,” Lexie said.

  Sally was on the court already, bouncing a ball off her racket into the ait.

  Lexie wasn’t sure, but she got the feeling Sally was watching her and Riley.

  “Don’t you need to change?” Lexie said as Riley started to follow her

  through the fence. He was wearing jeans again, although at least he’d switched to

  a T-shirt.

  “I already got the lecture from Sergeant Shorts over there,” Riley said,

  jerking his thumb at Mr. Giambi, the instructor. “But what’s he doing to do? This

  is how I am.”

>   “There’s a lot of running around,” Lexie said worriedly. “Especially when

  you play with me.”

  “Don’t worry,” Riley said, smiling again. “I’ll be fine.”

  He wasn’t fine. By 10:00 A.M., when they switched from drills to practice

  matches, he was sweating so much that his shirt stuck to his back, and he looked

  exhausted. Lexie felt bad for him, so when they were paired up, she tried to be

  the one to run after the ball as much as possible. Each time she did, he would

  collapse down on the court and lie there until Mr. Giambi yelled at him to get up.

  He was right about one thing, though: He was really bad at tennis, too. He

  had trouble even getting it over the net, so she hardly ever got to try volleying it

  back.

  Finally, for the last hour, Mr. Giambi switched the partners and she was

  paired with Sally. At least with a good partner she had a better chance to practice,

  but Riley seemed disappointed that they were split up. She glanced over at his

  court a couple of times and caught him watching her instead of the tennis ball he

  was supposed to be watching.

  “Hey,” Sally said during a break for water. “I’ve been meaning to talk to

  you.”

  It was funny how a simple sentence like that could make a person so

  nervous. Lexie screwed the cap back on her water bottle, trying to look calm.

  “This Friday,” Sally went on, “would you and Jake want to go on a double

  date with me and Ian?”

  “Really?” Lexie said. That was about the furthest thing from what she’d

  expected Sally to say. A double date? A real date? With Bree’s best friend? Maybe

  that’s why, the voice in her head whispered. Bree’s assigned her to spy on us. To see if Jake and I still act like a couple away from Summerlodge. So I have to say

  yes, don’t I?

  “Um,” she said, hedging. “Let me ask Jake. But thanks, that sounds like

  fun.”

  “It would be fun,” Sally said. “I was thinking we could just walk downtown

  to the movie theatre on Main Street – I think they have the new Pixar movie

  there, which Ian is being kind of a jerk about seeing, but I’ll get him to go. And

  then we could have dinner at the diner across the street afterward.”

  Lexie nodded. Sally added, “Unless you want to do something else. My

  mom could drive us to the mall, but I thought we’d have more fun if we could go