Sun Kissed (Camp Boyfriend) Read Free Page A

he kissed me and his lips snagged on my braces? Imagine explaining that to the nurse. The humiliation would be a gift that kept on giving the whole summer through.
    “Susannah? Can we sit near the front?” Alex’s sharp nudge to my ribs made me gasp.
     “Sure,” Susannah called before rounding a bend ahead of us. “Fill in behind the Wander Inn, okay?”
    Seth’s cabin. I froze and took in the smirking faces surrounding me. I knew they meant well, maybe even thought they were doing my shy self a favor, but this was a full-out conspiracy. And ohmigod. There he was.
    Taller than all his friends, he sat in the middle of the Wander Inn guys. Where other boys couldn’t sit still—wrestling and shoving, perpetually in motion—Seth was laid-back. Calm and relaxed, his shoulders broad compared to the squirrely kid next to him, Seth was like the calm in the center of the storm for his cabin. He was a year older than the rest of us and it showed.
    And he was oh-so-good-looking.
    If he'd walked into camp without his nerd herd around him, he would have turned even Hannah’s head. Seth’s nearly six-foot height dwarfed most of the guys. Plus his sandy hair with blond tips made him look more like a West Coast surfer than the son of an Indiana University wrestling coach. He loved the outdoors and he looked like he could have walked out of a J. Crew catalog, with his long khaki shorts and worn cotton tees. The one he had on tonight looked like it was navy blue a few hundred washings ago. I’d bet if I touched his shoulder, the combination of fabric over muscle would feel both hard and soft….
    “Come on.” Alex jerked her chin in the direction I should have been walking.
    Somehow I’d stopped to just … stare.
    Awkward girl genes—you never let me down.
    Forcing my eyes to the ground, I hurried after Trinity into the back row. Susannah had already left us, chatting up one of the other counselors.
    “Earth to Lauren. Come in Lauren,” Alex whispered as we wound our way through some noisy younger kids tearing through the circle with their counselor. The mini-campers wore paper crowns with pictures they’d colored of fish and birds.
    “What?” I snapped, on edge and self-conscious now, especially about how my braces looked. I sensed Seth’s warm amber eyes on me. Was he thinking I was a metal-mouth freak?
    “He’s looking at you,” Alex sing-songed, completely oblivious to the fact that we were close enough for him to hear.
    I was going to kill her. Seriously.
    “Hey, Lauren. Cool shirt… and did you get braces?”
    My heart stopped at the sound of Seth’s voice. My gaze flew right to his, hand clamped over my automatic smile. “Hi, Seth. Got them in December.” My words were paper thin. Barely there.
    “They look cute.” He chucked me gently under the chin—big brother-like. Great. I must be practically oozing sex-appeal. Not exactly the impression I’d imagined.
    My body felt hot and cold. But at least my heart started beating again. Only now, at his touch, it operated at warp-speed. My friends reorganized and shuffled themselves to ensure I sat close to him. Could they be any more obvious?
    “Hey, Lauren?” Alex suddenly intervened, her dark hair swinging between Seth and me.“Didn’t you say that meteor shower was tonight? I’ll totally cover for you if you want to go to the dock and check it out. I’m sure Seth will go with you.”
    “And miss the bonfire with us?” complained one of Seth’s cabin mates. They squished against us or leaned over for maximum eavesdropping potential. “There’s no waaaaaa—”
    Alex’s elbow connected with his ribcage, the daggers her eyes threw silencing him.
    Brilliant. Totally freaking brilliant.
    Could this be any more embarrassing? But I had to hand it to Alex, she’d manipulated things perfectly. I would have fist bumped her, but I couldn’t let Seth know I was doing this on a dare. There was a chance this could turn into something real.
    “My dad