Her brother was silent as they continued to walk, and they spent the next twenty minutes climbing the gentle, winding path while their parents chatted in low voices.
Via was sweating by the time the spindly trees hugging the path gave way to a wide clearing at the base of the waterfall. On one side was a thirty-foot cliff of gray jagged rocks, glistening with the spray coming off the crashing water after it hit the dark glassy pool at the bottom. Tiny rainbows hovered in the sheen, and thick curling ferns sprouted out everywhere. A few lazy trees leaned over the basin, shading it from the glaring sun.
The pool of natural water was filled with familiar bodies—it seemed like half the campsite had decided to go there. Zac’s chest puffed out at the sight of Ally, his prospective new conquest, who was perched on a rock.
He made a beeline toward her, and their parents were already stripping off their hiking gear to go plunging into the water.
Via wiped her damp brow. She had a swimsuit underneath her shorts and T-shirt but was too self-conscious to peel off her clothes when other people were around. She wasn’t fat or thin. But neither was she muscular and bronzed like Zac or her parents. And after years of hearing comparisons, she tended to sweat it out and avoid the situation.
“Hey,” a voice said, and she stiffened.
Hudson?
He was leaning back against a rock, legs out. The bandage on his ankle was wet, and a large inflatable ring was nearby.
Oh, and he had no shirt on.
His torso was tanned, and rivulets of water still glistened on it. She swallowed. She had a brother who had lots of friends, so she’d seen enough male chests before. But they’d never done anything for her. Especially since Zac’s friends either stank of body odor or covered themselves in sickening sprays that made her gag.
But Hudson wasn’t like them. He was smart, serious, and liked to study.
And somehow had a really great, chiseled body.
Did he work out? She self-consciously walked over to him, suddenly nervous. What if yesterday had been some weird blip in her mind? Then she frowned. The hike had taken an hour along an uneven dirt trail. Not exactly crutch friendly.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded in a blunt voice. He didn’t seem offended as he nodded toward a second trail.
“There’s a parking lot through there. Ruth wanted to bring the kids, and here we are.” He nodded to the pool where his little cousins were climbing up on their dad’s back and laughing hysterically, while Ruth was chatting to some of the other campers, their bodies submerged so only their heads were bobbing above the water.
“What? Every year we have to walk here, and now you’re telling me there’s a road and a parking lot?”
“Yup. Do you feel ripped off?”
Her eyes drifted back to his chest, and she gulped. Ripped off was the last thing she was feeling right now. Focus.
“Yes. I’ll be having words with my parents later,” she said in what she hoped was a casual voice.
“Just don’t mention my name. So…you want to sit down?”
She peered around. Her brother and Ally were at the far end of the pool, near the rocky cliff face, laughing and horsing around while her parents swam.
“Sure.” She fumbled for the towel in her daypack. She flicked it out and kicked off her shoes and stretched her legs. The cut from the tree was still there, but the angry red sting had gone.
Nerves churned in her belly.
Nowhere in the plan to be friends was there any mention of sitting together while Hudson was half naked. It shouldn’t be a big deal. They both came from Cricket Bay, a place filled with beaches. Nearly everyone at their school would be spending their summer down by the water, wearing not much. But Via wasn’t most people.
She self-consciously tugged at her T-shirt.
“I take it you couldn’t come up with a good excuse to get out of your family hike.” He twisted slightly, so close she could count the tiny freckles on his great cheekbones.
“Nope,” she said with a sigh. “Which is a pity since those books I bought yesterday are itching to be read.”
“Tell me about it. Still, it was a good day. I got to see what a dedicated ice cream eater you are.”
“And I got to discover your secret addiction to manga,” she said, referring to the three Attack on Titan books he’d bought.
“I swear, I can give up anytime I want,” he said as two wet, slithering bodies launched themselves at him. His little cousins, Lulu and Theo, began to tug at his arms. They were soaking, and water sprayed off them, showering Via with cool droplets. She jumped as Hudson groaned in protest. “What do you two troublemakers want?”
“Come for a swim,” Lulu shrieked with laughter.
“I’ve just been in,” he protested in a halfhearted voice as he pushed against the rock to help him stand up. Muscles rippled and Via swallowed. He grinned as he reached for the inflatable ring. “I can’t do much but float on this thing, but at least it’s cool. You want to come in?”
She took a deep breath.
This was what she hated. The part where she had to explain why she didn’t want to take her clothes off in front of people. Didn’t want them looking at her. But before she could answer, he let out a groan.
“Hey, kids. I’ll be two minutes. You go and make a whirlpool for me.” His two cousins immediately galloped off, and he sat back down. “Is this like the school play?”
She swallowed. “Sort of. I…when I swim, I leave my T-shirt and shorts on.”
Without breaking her gaze, he reached out for a white T-shirt and tugged it down over his chest. He gave her a shy smile. “Makes sense. Far too much skin cancer out there. But I get it if you don’t want to
