Page 52 of One Last Summer
“I’m pretty sure your assistant cleared it, remember?” His eyes didn’t budge, but the corners of his mouth twitched. “I’ll have to make sure she pencils me in. I’ll need at least a day.”
Oh god. We weren’t just talking about kissing again, we were planning on it. And maybe—no, definitely—hinting at more.
My brain started scrambling, searching for some way out of this conversation. “First you have to accept this.”
I dug around my pocket and sighed with relief when I found what I was looking for. “Here. A vote of confidence.”
I dangled the medal in front of him and then draped it over his rearview mirror.
“Oh, I see what you’re doing, Millen.” He chuckled. “This is all just part of your long con. You’re trying to woo me, and then when my guard is down—bam!—you pass the medal back to me.”
“Nope.” I swiped my palms together with a smack. “No more passing this thing back and forth just to bug each other. This medal has a new meaning.”
“Huh,” he said, his skepticism exaggerated for comedic effect, brows raised. “Okay, so what does it stand for now? Sexiest Camp Waterfront Director? Longest Running Crush of Clara Millen’s Life?”
“I’m trying to be serious right now, Mackenzie Sullivan,” I scolded, giving him a cross look.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m listening,” he said with a pat on my leg.
“What I’m saying is that I think you’re great,” I continued. “And I’m rooting for you. Just, in general. In life. For your happiness and success and all the things you want to do.”
The words came out sappier than I intended, and I sat there quietly as they lingered between us. Normally I’d try to deflect, or self-deprecate, anything to try to lighten the conversation, steer it away from this serious, heavy place. But I didn’t feel like changing the subject right now. I wanted Mack to know that whatever was happening between us, there was something deeper occurring, too, something that had always been there, since the day we met.
I cared about him.
Mack’s cheeks flushed as he glanced at me for a moment. “Thanks, Millen,” he said finally, his hand sliding up my thigh until it found mine with a squeeze. “I’m rooting for you too.”
22
MACK HAD HOPPED out of the car and raced off to “take care of something” the second we pulled back into Pine Lake. I’d found the rest of the gang in the dining hall, pillaging the fridge to slap together a smorgasbord that included a salad made up predominantly of iceberg lettuce, tater tots, and mini pizza bagels.
Now we were sitting around a table covered in our empty plates, like a pride of lions exhausted after a kill.
“So we’re postponing the relay then?” Nick asked as Mack sauntered in through the front doors. “It’s late now. It would take forever to set up.”
My body temperature seemed to rise every time I laid eyes on Mack, and a feverish sweat took up residency at the base of my neck. If we postponed the relay, it meant that I could spend the afternoon with him, alone. I was still trying to determine if our vague, flirty conversation earlier in his car had been a genuine confirmation of our feelings for each other or just another round of our old Clara versus Mack teasing game.
“I think that makes sense,” I said, trying not to hover too long on his face. “And we should wait for Sam.”
“She’d be mad if she missed it,” Eloise agreed, picking at a leftover piece of lettuce on her plate. “Even if she is only able to watch.”
Mack didn’t say a word, his eyes shifting to whoever was talking. He seemed completely unaffected, and meanwhile, I was a nervous, desperate mess, fidgeting in my chair.
All I could think about was getting Mack alone again, and I tried to communicate that with my intense stare as his eyes passed over my face, his lips twitching when he caught my eye.
“Nick and I wanted to go for a walk, anyway,” Trey said. “So we’re fine holding off.”
“I’m driving back to the hospital,” Eloise said, checking her watch. “She’s supposed to text me to pick her up.”
“I have to ask Marla about getting back into the office to get stuff for the relay, anyway,” I said, rushing to stand. I needed to move my body and shake off this fiery electric feeling. The only thing more overwhelming than being alone with Mack was being close enough to touch him and not being able to do anything about it. “Apparently, there’s a whole stash in there.”
“I can take you right now,” Mack volunteered quickly, finally opening his mouth. “I know where all the best sack race gear is. And I have a key. Unless it would be weird to go with me to get it.”
His face was utterly nonchalant, but there was no denying the emphasis in his voice.
We were very much on the same page.
“Not weird at all,” I said, pushing in my chair and grabbing my trash in one swift movement. “Let’s do it!”
