Shielding the sun from his eyes, Adam replied, "Maybe."
Later at dinner, he asked his father if they could use the Ford Expedition to drive around for a couple hours. Initially, Mr. Wheeler was hesitant, but then he agreed when the boys said that he and Mrs. Wheeler could enjoy some time alone.
There wasn't much to look at during the drive. Houses and trees surrounded the lake. Although it didn't take long to sightsee, the sun was sinking to the horizon by the time they'd reached Bantam Road. But they'd arrived at a string of businesses and parked next to a long, narrow, brick building.
"Hey," Adam said, cutting the engine. "It's a bakery."
Conner peered out the window. "Yeah, it looks like the pastry café back home." He opened the back-passenger door. "Not much nightlife going on, huh?"
"It's a tourist spot," Trevor said. "I bet there's even less people around when summer's over."
Jared scooted across the back seat and then joined Conner on the sidewalk. "Looks like they're getting ready to close soon." He glanced back at Adam. "If you really wanna get something, we better hurry."
Conner studied the dark, cloudy sky, searching for the moon. "Let's get something, and then we can go back to the cabin."
"Boring!" Adam locked the SUV and walked toward the bakery. "What are we gonna do back there?"
"Who cares?" Trevor draped his arm across Adam's shoulders. "It's the four of us. We don't have anything or anyone to worry about."
They strutted into the bakery like the popular star athletes that they were in Newman. Carefree. Confident. They scanned the selection of cookies, pastries, and fancy small desserts. A young man appeared, obviously anxious to serve the last customers of the night.
"Man, look at these." Adam pointed at a variety of doughnuts. "We gotta get extra to take back to the cabin."
Huddled together, the four chose their treats in excited fashion.
"Two coconut and two cinnamon," Conner said.
"Lemon, chocolate, coconut, and jelly," Adam said. "And I want that cinnamon roll too."
Jared asked, "Should we get something for your parents?"
"Would be nice, I guess."
Minutes later, they each stepped outside with a coffee and a bag of sugary snacks.
Trevor laughed. "We just spent fifty bucks on doughnuts."
"Not all doughnuts," Adam replied. "Jared got cookies."
Two pretty girls, who appeared to be college-aged, strolled in their direction. Both wore jeans, a T-shirt, and a smile on the warm evening. As the girls advanced toward them, Adam was the first to nonchalantly step closer to the sidewalk, as if simply munching on his cinnamon doughnut and unaware of the girls.
Slowing their steps, the darker-haired girl said, "Looks like you're really enjoying that."
Adam offered a wide, pearly-white-toothed grin. "This? It's pretty good, all right."
"My mom gets stuff here all the time. Everything's good."
The girl with light-brown hair agreed. "You guys renting a house on the lake?"
"Yeah." He motioned for his buddies to approach. "We'll be here the whole week."
"There's not much to do," the dark-haired girl said. "We've lived here our whole life. Trust us, we know."
"We've been here two days," Conner said. "And we already know."
The girls laughed.
"What's fun around here?" Jared asked.
"You have to make the fun," the second girl said. She extended her hand. "My name is Gwen. And this is my cousin Sam."
The guys introduced themselves.
"There's a party," Sam said. "If you're interested."
Trevor asked, "What kind of party?"
"Just a bunch of us hanging out."
"Where?"
"Well, hardly anyone is twenty-one, so we get together at a spot off the lake."
"Like, in a field?" Jared asked.
Gwen giggled. "It's embarrassing, we know. But when there's not a lot to do around here, you end up hanging out with friends in a field to have a good time."
"Tell us how to get there," Adam said. "Maybe we'll show up."
"If you do," Sam said, "make sure you look for us."
"Why wouldn't we?" Conner asked.
Sam chuckled. "I mean, you're not from here. And you guys will definitely stand out compared to the guys that live around the lake. They might think you're crashing the fun."
"Stand out how?"
"Your nice-looking clothes. Your muscles."
"And good-looking," Gwen added. "The guys around here don't look like you. They'll be jealous if the girls pay attention to you."
"We can handle it," Adam said. "A bunch of Bantam boys aren't gonna scare us off."
Sam waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, please. I can't imagine any of them actually trying to fight. They might say something, but I doubt any of them would do anything."
"Well," Trevor said, "then there's no problem."
Gwen set her hand onto Adam's shoulder and leaned close. "Bring up a map on your phone. I'll show you where to go."
He tapped the screen to his cell.
"People usually start showing up about ten," Sam said. "But it'll be eleven before everyone's there."
After locating the party spot in a field off Lake Forest Passway, the girls said they hoped to see the guys there and then continued their evening stroll.
"See?" Adam said. "We got something more exciting to do than hang out at the cabin." He directed the car's fob, unlocking the SUV. "And if Gwen and Sam have two more friends, we'll each have a girl for the week."
Trevor shook his head. "You just want to get laid."
"What's wrong with that?"
"Nothing." Trevor glanced at Conner and then back at Adam. "Thankfully, you won't be like this at college. You'll have Conner to keep you focused. You'll be a star athlete, just like you are now."
"But it's the summer," Adam replied. "We're free now. There's no school tomorrow. We're on vacation, man."
Close to ten thirty, the guys convinced Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler that they were only hanging out with local kids, and that there was no harm making new friends during their stay. Not that it really took much convincing. Adam had always had a long leash.
"Don't come back too late," Mr. Wheeler said. "Your mom and I don't want to be awakened by a bunch of noisy teenagers in the middle of the night."
"So . . . any time,
