No One Needs to Know

by Amanda Grace

  My jaw drops.

  Carolyn.

  Even from a distance, even with the glare and the waves, she’s unmistakable.

  “Holy shit,” I mutter under my breath, watching as she bends her knees, making it over the wake without falling.

  The boat slows and she somehow knows what this means, dropping the triangle-shaped tow handle.

  She skids across the surface for one, two, three seconds until the momentum slows, then drops into the water, yards shy of the dock.

  The tips of her skis poke out of the surface, just like her life jacket, and she grins so wide I can’t believe her face doesn’t crack. “THAT. WAS. AWESOME.”

  She busts out into laughter, and I can’t help but grin in response.

  “Having fun?” I drop down to sit on the dock.

  “Yeah.” She kind of doggie paddles, trying to get closer to me without taking the skis off. “BEST DAY EVER!” she screams, tipping her head back.

  I laugh, pointing my toes so I can kick at the water, spraying it toward her.

  The dopey grin drops from her face “But really, thanks for bringing me.”

  “Hey, you finished your first semester at Lowell with all pluses! I figured I could bring you out here as a reward.”

  “I can’t even believe Mom said yes.”

  I grin. “I’m eighteen now, so I’m a legitimate adult chaperone. Plus, I’m pretty sure she wanted to spend the weekend with Charlie.”

  “Ugh,” Carolyn says, sticking her tongue out.

  I laugh. “Oh, come on. He’s a cool guy. Give him a chance.”

  “Maybe.”

  I splash water at her with my toe again. “Hey! I mean it.”

  “Fine, he’s kind of cool. He took me and Mom to the Lakewood Theater last weekend. You know they have seats that recline? Made of leather. You just push a button and a footrest slides out.”

  I smile. “Sounds awesome.”

  “They are. You should buy recliners for your apartment with Olivia. Then maybe I’ll visit.”

  “Hey now,” a voice says behind me. Olivia’s footsteps are quiet on the planks. “We picked a loft that’s close to you guys. The least you could do is visit, recliners or not.”

  “Yeah, and I picked UW Tacoma because of you,” I add. “You’re pretty much required to drag Mom over once a week for dinner.”

  Carolyn frowns. I know she’s still getting used to the idea of me moving out, but I can’t quite bring myself to feel bad when I know I’m staying so close. “I still don’t see why you have to move at all,” she mutters.

  “For the ‘college experience,’” Liv says, grinning. “And because my parents are bankrolling it.”

  I laugh. It’s true, though. We’re doing our lower level classes at the Tacoma campus, and then maybe if we’re feeling adventurous we’ll go to the Seattle campus for our upper level stuff, really get the experience of going to a big college. But since Olivia’s parents had already agreed to bankroll campus housing, they kinda paid for our place at Harmon Lofts, these really cool apartments in a converted furniture factory on the same block as the college.

  As much as I wanted to reject their offer, resist it on principle … I’m getting used to saying, “Yes please,” and “Thank you” instead.

  Besides, I’ll have to help Olivia with homework practically every night, so I think we’re almost even.

  “Hand me your skis,” I say to Carolyn as she gets closer.

  She pops them off, holding them up at such an angle that I can grab the curved tips.

  Free of the skies, she turns on her back and floats leisurely toward the ladder around the side of the dock just as the speed boat completes its loop and heads back toward us. I let my eyes drift to Liam, and to the girl sitting beside him.

  “So do we like this new Jennifer girl or do we not like her?” I ask, sliding the skis onto the dock.

  “I haven’t decided yet,” Olivia says. “She’s studying Poli Sci. Seems … smart.”

  “She sucks at skiing,” I say, giggling.

  “Liam claims she’s more of a wakebarder,” Olivia says. “I think skateboarding translates better to that than skiing.”

  I chew on my lip to keep from laughing. “I kind of liked when she did the splits, though. I kept waiting for her to just let go of the tow rope.”

  Olivia leans against me as she laughs, so hard she almost pushes me off the side of the dock. “I was hoping Liam would tow her in a complete loop before she gave up. Who knew she was so flexible?”

  The boat slows, approaching the shore.

  “She seems cool, though. So far.”

  “Yeah. We’ll see.”

  Olivia twists around as Carolyn climbs up the ladder. “Hey, you wanna make banana boats tonight?”

  Carolyn, still dripping wet, strides across the dock, leaving wet footprints behind. “What’s a banana boat?”

  I can’t help but grin as Olivia meets my eyes. “You’ve never had a banana boat?” she asks.

  “Now that is a travesty,” I say.

  “Come on. Let’s go up and get the ingredients ready.” Olivia stands up and holds her hand out to pull me to my feet.

  “You coming, Carolyn?” I ask, turning back to her.

  “Nah. I’m going lie here and dry off.”

  “Okay.”

  Olivia and I walk up to the cabin and climb the creaky steps. At the top, I stop at the railing and stare out at the beauty of the lake.

  “I love this place,” I say.

  Olivia comes up beside me, putting her arm around my shoulders and squeezing me up against her. “I do too. Especially now that you’re here with me.”

  And when she kisses my temple, I close my eyes, listening to the lake and her breath and wondering how it is that everything ended up exactly how it should.

  © Amber Sheree Photography

  About the Author

  Amanda Grace is a pseudonym for Mandy Hubbard. She’s the author of But I Love Him, In Too Deep, and The Truth About You & Me, written as Amanda Grace, and several novels under her own name. She lives near Seattle, Washington, where she watches a lot of sports (Go Sounders!) and wastes too much time on Twitter. Learn more at MandyHubbard.com.