Love Notes (Accidental Kisses #3)

by Tammy Andresen

  Now what was that supposed to mean? Did I not seem like I could graduate? “Yeah,” I snipped, irritation making me huffy. The last thing I needed was to be teased by Drew. Couldn’t he see I was falling apart here? And besides, I’d only just pulled in the parking lot. Did he have to start giving me a hard time already? “Most people do.”

  I watched as his smile turned brittle, the corners pulling up tightly. A tiny bit of guilt made my toes curl in my shoes. He hadn’t actually been rude…yet. This time, I was the one who was taking my disappointment out on him. He opened my door anyway and reached his hand in to help me out of the car.

  My brow wrinkled. What was going on with Drew? Because that was rather chivalrous. And as far as I knew, Drew didn’t do the nice guy thing. He sat playing his guitar by the fire and rolling his eyes at all the bad singing. If a camper was sick, he’d make a sarcastic comment about how they ate too many tacos rather than holding back their hair.

  Unlike Alex. He was more like me. Patting a kid on the back, helping them conquer their fear of the ocean, teaching them how to search for starfish. Singing at the top of his lungs. Weren’t you supposed to date someone who was like you?

  “Thanks,” I said as I stood, coming up next to him. His hand was still holding mine, warm and strong, he already smelled of sunshine and tanning lotion and a hint of aftershave. I don’t why but it made me slightly giddy. I tilted my face up to his, my lips parting in a question. Was Drew making me giddy? God, why?

  His answering smile said that he knew something I didn’t. I meant to tell him how annoying that smile was but then his other hand came to my waist to move me over as he closed the door. I’d danced with who knows how many guys, who had all put their hands on my waist but this was different. Maybe it was because the sun beat down on us but I could feel warmth spreading through me.

  His grin broadened. “What college did you decide to go to?”

  It was a simple question. Later, I would wonder why I was such a bumbling idiot but in that moment all I could say was, “Huh?”

  His hand slowly slid out of mine and then he took a step back so there was more space between us. “College? Where are you going?”

  “Oh,” I blinked, my brain suddenly working again. “Simmons. It’s in Boston.”

  He gave me another smile and this one was unlike any I had ever seen from him. It practically knocked me over, it was so bright. Full lips revealed sparkling white teeth that were so straight, they looked fake. It was a great smile. It was like, well, it was like Alex’s actually. It might have even been better. “Yeah, I know. I’m transferring to the Boston Conservatory School of Music. They’re like a block from each other. I saw Simmons when I toured the campus.”

  “What?” I was back to being dumb. But I seriously couldn’t process that I might be running into Drew when I moved two states away for college. He was going to be able to torture me year round, in front of all my new, super cool college friends. Not that I had any of those yet. I was just picturing it in my head. Like my moment with Alex. The one that had gone terribly wrong. “You didn’t like UConn?”

  He shrugged. “It was fine, I guess.” He looked almost vulnerable as his hands shoved into the pockets. That was not Drew at all. What had happened? “But an actual music school is a great opportunity, especially because I got a scholarship.”

  “Well, congratulations.” My hands hung limply at my sides. Not sure what else to do, I reached up and punched him lightly on the arm. “Maybe we’ll carpool sometime.” I didn’t know why I’d just said that. It was a reflex, like breathing. Why couldn’t I turn nice girl off?

  He looked down at his arm where I’d just hit him, his eyebrows going up above his sunglasses, his mouth slightly ajar. Then he looked back at me. “Sure, but we’ll take my car.”

  I huffed a breath. That brought me back to myself. This was the guy who’d given me crappy nicknames last year. Who teased me every time I sang around the camp fire. Who was he to judge me? “I love my car.”

  “It’s pink.” He pulled the sunglasses down to reveal his dark eyes and penetrating eyes. They stared at me, seeing past the lenses of mine. It was as though he expressed his disappointment in me without saying a word. I shuffled my feet as my stomach started to flutter again.

  “It’s cute.” I gave him my ick face. The one where I pretended to be Tiffani. “What is your problem with happy?” I turned away from him. I couldn’t look at him anymore, though I wasn’t sure if it was his annoying words or his soulful eyes. Walking to the trunk of my car, I popped it up to pull out my suitcase.

  But he followed me. So weird. Why was Drew even talking to me? Even weirder was that as I got to the trunk, Alex was there helping Millie pull out her suitcase. What was happening? Wasn’t Millie just talking about how dreamy Drew was while I had been fantasizing about a date with Alex forever?

  “I don’t have a problem with happy.” Drew reached around me, his body brushing mine as he grabbed for my suitcase. It made me tingle in the oddest way.

  Alex and Millie stopped, staring at us for a few seconds before they burst out laughing. The noise helped me shake my strange feelings around Drew.

  “Dude, you totally have a problem with happy.” Alex grinned.

  Drew set down my suitcase and furrowed his brow, his mouth turning down. “I love happy.”

  “Remember when you told Chloe she should be medicated to reduce bubbliness? Alka Seltzer for the personality, you said.” Millie ducked her head as she pulled a small duffle from the trunk.

  That one had irritated me. Sunshine had been one thing. I could pretend that it was a compliment. But Alka Seltzer? He’d said it in front of whole group of counselors, all guys, all in college. They’d all laughed at me, pointing and jeering. I don’t get upset too often but I’d gone back to my cabin to cry. Secretly, I’d blamed Drew for why Alex didn’t want to date me. Though, to be fair, he’d already been an item with Tiffani by the time Drew had dropped that little bomb.

  “Remember when she came into the rec room during song time and you played ‘Shiny Happy People’ as she walked across the entire room?” Alex was suppressing a smile which only riled me more. How would Alex ever like me if I was the constant subject of teasing?

  Millie opened her mouth but I sliced my hand through the air to cut her off. “Can we not take this trip down humiliation memory lane please?”

  “Humiliation?” Drew said behind me, his voice rising like this conversation upset him, which was crazy. I was the one who had been teased mercilessly. I should be upset, not him.

  “Whatever,” I replied, not looking at him as I grabbed the handle of my suitcase. I reached in and grabbed my other duffle bag and then slammed the trunk back down. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I’m headed to my cabin. You coming, Millie?”

  “Sure,” she chirped grabbing her own stuff.

  I didn’t wait for her to have it all in hand. I’d stop halfway to the office to let her catch up. I needed to get out of there before I did something stupid liked cry… again. Because thinking back at all those things really hurt my feelings. Why did Drew dislike me so much? And, I reminded myself, he’d ruined my first conversation of the summer with Alex.

  A little voice chided me that it hadn’t been Drew’s fault that Alex was checking out Millie. But I silenced it. Drew was to blame. Definitely Drew. How was I going to avoid the most annoying guitar player to ever grace Camp Winni for the entire summer?

  Want to read more? https://amzn.to/2MYWKmd

  About the Author

  Tammy Andresen is a USA Today Bestselling author of historical romance. But now that her daughters are teens, the Young Adult market has been calling to her. And with two built-in beta readers, she decided to give it a go! You can get all her latest updates at www.tammyandresen.com!

 

 

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