Challenge Accepted Page 13

  Glancing down at my stuffed monkey, I said, “Hey, you want to go help me organize my book collection?”

  It didn’t answer, just stared up at me lifelessly. I ran my hand over the soft fake fur on its head and smiled. It had felt so good showing up Logan at the ring toss game. Amazingly enough, he’d been a decent sport about it, although I’m sure it ate him up inside.

  As I walked upstairs to my room, I tried desperately to forget the conversation I’d just had with the girls. I didn’t like their assumption that something could be going on between me and Logan. Hopefully, the party on Thursday would change all that. Maybe I’d get to talk to Matt this time.

  And I had the next two days to plot out exactly what I would say to him.

  Chapter Fifteen

  LOGAN

  My two-and-a-half-day break from Emma was awesome and it really gave me the opportunity to start fleshing out my plan. By the time Thursday came, I figured it was time to kick things into high gear.

  It was time to get the Emma and Matt ball rolling.

  My plan for Thursday was simple, but hopefully effective: Emma and I were going to hitch a ride with Matt to the party. When it came time for us to leave, I would conveniently find a reason to get a ride home with somebody else, forcing Matt to take Emma home alone. Maybe nothing would come of it—and probably nothing would—but it would at least get them socializing. It would at least put Emma on Matt’s radar.

  Emma was unaware of my transportation plans, and when I arrived on her doorstep that afternoon and told her we’d be riding with Matt, she immediately perked up.

  “Really?” she said with a smile. “That’s a great idea.”

  Hmm. Not what I was expecting. I thought she would hate the idea of being stuck in a car with him, having to maybe even spark up a conversation with him. But maybe all this hanging out we’d been doing was starting to help. Maybe she was starting to come out of her shell.

  “Of course, it is,” I said. “I told you, I know what I’m doing.” I glanced over my shoulder at Matt’s house and noticed an unfamiliar car was parked next to his in his driveway. Turning back to Emma, I said, “Are you ready?”

  She nodded and shut the door behind her.

  As we made our way across the street, Matt exited his house, followed closely by a girl I didn’t recognize. My heart instantly sank. I had no idea who she was, but she was tall, brunette, beautiful, and scantily clad in a pair of short jean shorts, a bright pink bikini top and a white button-up that was left unbuttoned, but tied at the waist. She looked like she could be a waitress at Rodeo Roy’s.

  And she was apparently Matt’s date to the party.

  I snuck a glance over at Emma, who looked utterly destroyed. I couldn’t help but feel bad for her. She knew there was no way she could compete for Matt’s affections with somebody like this girl. And I also couldn’t help but feel bad for myself. The trip to New York was starting to look more and more like a reality for me.

  When Matt saw us, he grinned and waved. “Hey, guys!” He and Smokin’ Hot Barbie bounced down the front steps to greet us.

  “Logan, you remember my cousin, Riley, don’t you?” He motioned to the girl beside him.

  I could hear Emma breathe a sigh of relief next to me at the revelation that Riley was Matt’s cousin, not his new girlfriend.

  My jaw dropped. “Riley Cavanaugh? No way. That can’t be you.”

  Riley Cavanaugh was my first kiss. We were at Matt’s twelfth birthday party and a group of us had decided to play 7 Minutes in Heaven. I got paired up with Riley, who at the time was a skinny tomboy with frizzy hair and a retainer, and for seven glorious minutes, we awkwardly made out in a broom closet. I thought I was in love with her for the rest of the day, but after she went back home to New Hampshire that night, I forgot all about her.

  Until now.

  She was no longer a tomboy. She’d filled out quite nicely, and from the looks of it, she’d learned how to tame her hair, which now fell in loose waves down her back.

  “Logan!” she exclaimed, throwing herself at me and pulling me into a tight embrace.

  Unfortunately, it only lasted for a few seconds before she removed herself from me.

  “It’s so good to see you!” she gushed.

  “Yeah, uh, it’s good to see you, too,” I said, suddenly feeling like a shy, awkward twelve-year-old again.

  Emma raised an eyebrow at me and looked like she was trying desperately not to smirk at my reaction. I threw her a subtle glare.

  “I’m Emma,” she said, holding her hand out to Riley.

  Riley, who was maybe only an inch taller than Emma, looked down at her curiously and shook her hand. “Oh right, the girl next door. I remember seeing you around whenever I’d come to visit. Usually, you were being chased by Logan, screaming at the top of your lungs at him.”

  “That sounds about right,” I said, throwing Emma a lopsided grin. She didn’t seem as amused as I was.

  “Riley and her parents are up here visiting for the summer,” Matt explained. “She was bored, so I suggested she come with us to the party tonight.”

  “Sounds good to me,” I said a little too eagerly. I could tell Emma picked up on it, but no one else appeared to.

  We all headed over to Matt’s Jeep. Since nobody had called shotgun yet, a light bulb flipped on above my head.

  “Hey, Emma, why don’t you sit up in the front?” I suggested. When everyone turned to look at me, I said to Matt, “Emma gets carsick riding in the backseat. And unless you want her blowing chunks all over the place, it would probably be best if she stayed in the front.”

  Matt grimaced slightly at the thought. Riley snorted. Emma narrowed her eyes into a death glare. I subtly shrugged at her, as if to say, “Be cool, I’m doing this for you.”

  I had no idea if Emma was prone to carsickness, but it didn’t really matter. I had to find an excuse to get her to sit next to Matt. It would take us close to twenty minutes to get to the party and that was twenty minutes they could spend making small talk.

  However, that’s not what happened.

  Instead, Riley talked most of the way. Some of the time she was speaking to me, asking me what I had been up to all these years, but she kept including Matt in the conversation and thus successfully talk-blocking Emma.

  Oh well. I’d make sure they’d have plenty of time to talk at the party.

  It was nearly six-thirty when we arrived at the camp and only a few people had shown up already. Justin was tending to the grill and a group of his friends had already started a game of beer pong on the deck. There were a few others wandering about, but all in all, it was a low-key event so far. I could tell from the look on Emma’s face that she appreciated that.

  I was glancing around, trying to think of an excuse to get Emma and Matt alone, when Matt spoke up.

  “Hey, Riley,” he said, grabbing her arm. “Since you’re going to be up here all summer, I might as well introduce you to everyone. You’ll probably be seeing a lot of them.”

  He gave me a nod that said he’d catch me later, and they walked off toward Justin.

  Okay, well there went that opportunity. I turned to Emma. “You want to take a walk or something?”

  She blinked at me in surprise. “A walk?”

  “Yeah. I can show you the lake.”

  “I’ve seen the lake before.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I know that. But would you rather go check out the lake, where there appears to be nobody hanging around, or would you rather stay here and participate in a rousing game of beer pong with a bunch of jocks?”

  She glanced over my shoulder at the group of already-drunk football players on the deck. “The lake it is.”

  I figured as much. As we started down the long, stone path leading to the dock, Emma ran a hand through her hair and said, “So Riley turned into quite a looker, huh?”

  I raised an eyebrow, amused. “A looker?”

  “Yeah. I remember seeing her come up from time to time to vi
sit with Matt. She used to look so…different.”

  I nodded in agreement. “She has definitely filled out, that’s for sure.”

  Emma chuckled softly. “I’m just glad she’s Matt’s cousin. For a split second there, I didn’t recognize her. I thought she might be his new girlfriend or something.”

  She could have easily been. If you took away the blood relation between the two, she probably would’ve been. She fit Matt’s type to a T.

  “Well, the good news is that she’s not,” I said as we approached the water. “But she’s exactly the type of girl he’s looking for. Carefree. Fun. Hot. Has no problem walking around in a bikini. Which reminds me, when are we going bikini shopping? This weekend is fast-approaching, and you have to come to Matt’s pool party.”

  Emma shook her head. “I already told you, Logan, I’m not going.”

  “Oh, come on. It will be fun.”

  “There is no part of a pool party that would be fun for me,” she said. “I can’t even swim and I’m afraid of the water so…nope. I’m not going.”

  We stopped walking once we reached the lake. Grabbing her hand, I began to lead her down the dock.

  “Logan, what are you doing?”

  “We’re going to take an up-close look at the water.”

  She tried desperately to remove her hand from mine, but it only made me tighten my grip. When we arrived at the very end of the dock, I placed my hands on her shoulders and gently moved her so that she was now at the very edge, staring down at the water.

  “Logan,” she said nervously, “this is a little too up-close.”

  “Emma, it’s just water,” I said, removing my hands from her. “It’s harmless. It’s not very deep here. Nor is it very deep in Matt’s pool. You’re not going to drown. There will be plenty of people around to save you if you go under. I promise.” I paused for a moment before leaning in and whispering in her ear, “I’ll save you.”

  She jumped slightly at that and whipped around to face me. As she did so, her heel slipped off the edge of the dock and she stumbled backward with a gasp. My quick reflexes kicked in and I reached out to grab her; there was no way I was about to let her fall into the lake. Hooking one arm around her back, I stopped her from falling. Hooking my other arm around her waist, I pulled her in close. So close her chest was now pressed firmly against mine. So close I could feel the pounding of her heart against her ribcage.

  Relief washed over her face as she realized I’d done what I’d just claimed I would: I saved her.

  I had to admit, I was a bit relieved myself. I didn’t know how deep her fear of the water actually went, and I didn’t want to be the reason I found out firsthand.

  Despite the fact she was safe and sound and both feet were now firmly planted on the dock, something was preventing me from letting her go. Maybe it was because I suddenly noticed how good she smelled—like apples. Fresh, crisp apples. Probably her shampoo.

  Or maybe it was because I noticed how substantial she felt in my arms. She was thin, but she wasn’t Grace-thin. She wasn’t a size negative zero. She had some meat on her bones, and in all the right places.

  Maybe it was because I noticed how perfectly her body molded into my embrace.

  Maybe it was because I noticed how soft her hands were as they clung to both of my arms, holding onto me for dear life.

  But worst of all, maybe it was because I noticed what holding her close was doing to me. It was making my head fuzzy, my breathing shallow. And when our eyes locked, my pulse began to race, matching hers beat for beat.

  Fortunately, the moment was fleeting—ending when a deep voice behind me yelled, “Incoming!” before I felt two hands on my back, shoving me forward…sending both me and Emma flailing into the lake.

  She managed to get out a yelp before we landed in the water, sinking below the surface on impact.

  The water wasn’t all that deep, which was a good thing considering Emma couldn’t swim. It took her only a second to resurface after me, but she did so while coughing and sputtering.

  I glared up in the direction of the dock to see one of Matt’s football teammates, Jackson Rowe, laughing and pointing at us.

  “What the hell, dude?” I shouted at him. “What did you do that for?”

  “Sorry, bro,” Jackson said, clutching his stomach from laughing so hard. “I just saw you two standing there like you were about to make out and I couldn’t help myself.”

  My mouth clamped shut at his words. Emma and I were not about to make out. Why would he even say that?

  “Not cool,” I grumbled and turned my attention to Emma, whose coughing had subsided. “Are you okay?”

  I expected her to either just nod and maybe join me in chastising Jackson for his actions, or to be freaking the hell out at the fact she was in the water. But instead, she scowled at me and yelled, “What the hell is wrong with you, Logan?”

  My jaw dropped. “What’s wrong with me? Jackson’s the one who pushed us in!”

  “He wouldn’t have been able to if you hadn’t forced me to the edge of the dock in the first place,” she said, wading past me in a huff. “You’re such a jerk.”

  Oh, here we go again. “That’s just great, Emma. Blame the victim, why don’t you?”

  She ignored me as she climbed the ladder up to the dock.

  Jackson noticed right away how nicely her wet, white t-shirt was now clinging to her and let out a low whistle as he leered at her. “Nice bra, Dawson.”

  He wasn’t kidding. From what I could tell through the now-see-through material, it was a nice bra. Pink and lacy, and not at all what I pictured her choice of bras to be.

  Not that I’d ever given it any thought.

  She looked confused for a second before glancing down at herself and seeing what he was referring to. Instantly turning a dark shade of red, she promptly crossed her arms over her chest and began to stalk off in the direction of the camp.

  “Emma!” I called after her, quickly pulling myself out of the lake. I gave Jackson a good shove as soon as I stepped onto the dock.

  “You’re a real prick,” I muttered before taking off after Emma. He just threw his head back and laughed in response.

  “Emma, wait!” I broke into a jog to catch up to her. “Are you okay? I’m really sorry about that.”

  “Yeah, well, you should be.” She stopped and threw her hands in the air. “Now we’re going to have to spend the rest of the night in soaking wet clothes. Plus, I think I inhaled some lake water up my nose, and I’ve probably contracted a brain-eating amoeba.”

  “If it makes you feel any better, I’ve probably contracted one, too.”

  “At least it will be a quicker death for you since there’s less there for it to eat away at,” she snapped, but followed it up with a small smile.

  “Funny,” I said with a fake laugh. “Taking a shot at my intelligence when you know darn well that my grades are just as good as yours, if not better. You know what? You deserve to suffer the rest of the night in wet clothes.”

  She just shook her head and hugged her arms tighter across her chest. Her bra was still visible through her shirt, and I could tell it was making her feel incredibly insecure. So, being the gentleman I was, I decided to help her out. Lifting my shirt up and over my head, I took it off and held it out to her.

  “Here, take this.”

  She stared blankly at the shirt and said, “What am I supposed to do with that? It’s just as wet as my own clothes.”

  I twisted the material to squeeze out as much of the water as possible. “Yes, but it will at least cover you up so the entire party won’t be able to see that you shop at Victoria’s Secret for your unmentionables. Although, that might not be a bad thing because it would actually make you seem somewhat cool…”

  Emma rolled her eyes. “Put your shirt back on.”

  Once the shirt was off, I wasn’t planning on putting it back on. At least, not while it was still wet. I was about to suggest we go ask Justin if there was a dryer in
side the camp that we could throw our clothes into when Matt and Riley suddenly appeared by my side.

  “Aw, these two already went for a swim without us,” Riley said to Matt with a pout. Her gaze flickered to my chest and her pout turned into a smile. “Nice muscles, Logan. You didn’t have those the last time I saw you.”

  My gaze flickered to her chest for a split second and I couldn’t help but think, and you didn’t have those the last time I saw you. Judging from the small smirk that played at her lips, she knew exactly what I was thinking.

  Her bikini top could barely handle what she had going on underneath it.

  At the sound of Emma clearing her throat, I looked over to see her standing there looking uncomfortable and miserable. Her mascara had started running, creating dark circles under her eyes, and her hair was all wet and matted. She was a stark contrast to Riley, whose everything was all perfectly in place, and it was obvious Emma was aware of that.

  I felt bad for her. Especially since her crush was standing right in front of her, taking in her disheveled appearance with a faint look of amusement on his face.

  Removing her white shirt and unbuttoning her shorts, Riley looked at me and said, “Is the water warm? I feel like going for a swim.”

  Before I could answer, she lowered her shorts and stepped out of them. My mouth hung open when I took in the full view of her in a bikini. I didn’t even care that she noticed the fact I was blatantly checking her out.

  “Would you like to go with me?” she asked, batting her eyelashes at me and running a finger across my stomach. “Since you’re already wet and everything.”

  “Um…” Swallowing hard, my eyes flickered over to Emma, who was busy studying the bark of the tree next to her. I looked at Matt and a brilliant idea hit me.

  “I’d love to,” I said to Riley before turning to my best friend. “Hey, Matt, why don’t you take Emma back to the camp and show her where the dryer is, so she can dry her clothes?”

  The perfect opportunity for them to be alone.

  “Uh, okay,” Matt said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his shorts. He turned to Emma. “Shall we?”