He laughed as Killian emerged, water dripping down his torso, and realized for the first time in a while he was having fun. There was no overthinking, no worrying.
He looked down at his phone and flipped to Asher’s text he never responded to. He wanted Asher to know he didn’t need him, that Kenny was going to be okay. It wouldn’t do to have Asher pity him.
Killian pulled himself from the tank and shook the water off like a dog. “Your turn, Ken doll.”
Kenny ignored the nickname and stripped off his shirt. This was going to suck. He climbed onto the board and scooted his butt out to the edge, hanging his legs off. His feet sank into the icy water, sending a chill through him.
Random strangers tried and failed to dunk him. It wasn’t until he heard a familiar voice he turned. Wylder Anderson held a ticket out to Killian and grinned when she took the balls. “I’ve been wanting to do this basically my entire life.”
“Dunk someone in a tank?” Killian asked.
“No, dunk Kenny in a tank.” She grinned wickedly as her eyes found him. “Dickhead totally deserves this.” She pushed her dreadlocks over one shoulder and squared up to the target. As soon as she pulled her arm back, Kenny knew it would miss. He just didn’t realize by how much.
“You have the worst aim of anyone yet today,” Kenny taunted her. This girl was Becks Anderson’s little sister and Nicky’s best friend. She’d been a thorn in Kenny’s side for years, and now even went to his school after getting kicked out of her own.
She pouted. “You’re right. Little old me could never make the shot. Good thing I brought a friend.” She reached behind her, her fingers latching on to Diego’s arm. Ugh. Not again.
“No way.” Kenny waved his arms at Killian. “She paid for the tickets. She throws the ball.”
Killian only shrugged. Traitor.
Diego looked from Wylder to Kenny and back again, unsure of what to do. Kenny felt kind of sorry for the guy. Anyone who was friends with either of the Anderson siblings was put in uncomfortable situations basically daily.
Wylder cupped her hands around her mouth. “Diego. Diego. Diego.” The crowd joined in until the boy in question had no choice. Not many people said no to Wylder.
Diego took the final ball and stepped up, readying himself just as he had before. Part of Kenny hoped Diego would take pity on him and go easier than he had on Killian. As Kenny glanced down into the ice-cold water, he knew he’d be meeting it momentarily.
Lifting his eyes, he fixed them on Wylder. “You’re—” His words cut off as the board beneath him fell away, plunging him into the water. Ice snaked through his veins as his feet found the bottom, and he broke through the surface, sputtering and choking.
Wylder pulled herself onto the edge of the tank and grinned down. “You were saying something?”
Kenny splashed, and she jumped back with a shriek of laughter that quickly turned into a low cackle.
The color in her cheeks and the shine in her eyes spoke of a lightness she hadn’t brought with her from Twin Rivers High to Defiance Academy. In their few classes together, Wylder was a silent participant, speaking to no one.
“Glad I could give you so much entertainment.” Kenny pulled himself from the water with a grunt, and Killian prepared to go in again.
Wylder snagged Killian’s discarded robe and held it out to Kenny. Not caring about anything but the cold, Kenny shrugged it on and ran his hands up and down his arms, huddling under the heat lamp someone had the presence of mind to bring them.
Diego eyed him for a moment before taking over the ticket table. Ignoring Wylder, Kenny sat in one of the metal folding chairs at the table. Wylder disappeared as someone cheered, and Killian went into the water.
The next hour passed in a blur of freezing dips and still-cold moments in between. During a much-needed break, Killian sighed. “At least we don’t have to do this all day tomorrow.” The agreement with the team was they’d hold the dunk tank on the festival’s first night, but the rest of the weekend would be theirs. Tomorrow night featured an important home game against Lincolnton.
Kenny watched Will at his booth nearby. His baked goods seemed to be a hit and all the two defenseman had to do was sit behind a table eating cookies. “Martha Stewart,” Kenny grumbled. “I want to be Martha Stewart.”
Killian shook his head. “Don’t give up now, man.”
“I can’t feel my legs.”
“This will help.” Wylder set a foam cup in front of each of them along with bags of cookies that looked suspiciously similar to the ones Will was selling.
Kenny sniffed his drink.
“It’s hot apple cider.” Wylder sighed as she took a seat. “And no, I didn’t poison it.”
Kenny sipped it tentatively, groaning without shame when the heat hit his throat.
“This festival is boring.” She twisted a blond dreadlock around her finger.
“I’m sorry this couldn’t be more fun for you,” Kenny deadpanned. “Let me find my little violin.”
“Shut up.”
An idea sparked in his mind. “You know…if you want to have fun…”
“Oh, no.” She stood and backed away from him. “You couldn’t get me in that tank if you paid me. It’s freaking freezing. You’d have to be an idiot to willingly do it.”
Kenny and Killian shared a look. They were the idiots of whom she spoke, and it wasn’t exactly wrong. Making a silent agreement, they both turned toward Wylder. She stepped behind Diego as if he’d protect her.
“I dare you.” Kenny met her gaze. If she was anything like her brother, she’d be a little crazy. It was a good thing he liked crazy. “Go on. If I can’t hit the target, you don’t have to go in the water. I’ll only get one shot.”
“A dare?” she challenged, walking closer. Her eyes narrowed, and she crossed her arms over her chest. “What do I get out of this?”
“What do you want?”
“You.”
His brow furrowed. “Wylder… I like you, but…”
“Ugh, I don’t want you like that, ya perv. Gross. You dated my best friend. That’s like incest.”
“I don’t think incest means what you think it means.” He suppressed a laugh.
“Here’s the deal. I will go in your stupid dunk tank. I’ll even let our surprise ringer, Diego, try to dunk me when you fail.”
“I don’t fail.”
She smirked. “But I get a dare too.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“I’m not telling you yet. I’ll reveal my dare after I go in the tank. I want you to agree to it now. Whatever it is.”
“Within reason.”
“Within reason.” She lifted her hand, but he hesitated to take it. “Unless you’re scared. Does little Ken doll need to ask Daddy’s permission first?”
He clasped her hand. “Deal.”
With a grin, she released him. After taking off her coat and shoes, she climbed onto the platform as if the prospect of an icy drop didn’t bother her at all. Steely eyes scrutinized the crowd that had formed as they solidified their dares.
“You’re so screwed.” Killian laughed. “That girl scares me.”
Kenny watched her. She kicked her feet like she was splashing them in the water at the end of a dock on a summer day.
The girl who shunned the entire student body and was even more of a loner than Kenny also had the hardest will. She’d have made a great hockey player with her toughness.
And she was beautiful in a completely unique way. Of course, she looked too much like Becks for Kenny to ever go there, especially not with Asher on the brain. But he knew a lot of their classmates who would kill just for one look.
Will wandered over, a grin on his face. Kenny stepped in front of the crowd as if he could shield Wylder from their eyes. Maybe it was because she was Nicky’s best friend, or maybe he saw a familiar loneliness in her.
Her eyes met his. “Go on then. See if you can do it.”
A smile curved Kenny’s
lips. His fingers curled around the softball and he released a breath before throwing the ball.
It hit the target dead center. The board dropped, and Wylder fell into the water without a sound. Kenny waited for her to emerge, but she never came back up. He shared a look with Killian before they both ran to the tank, Diego following behind.
“Wylder.” Kenny reached into the water to pull her still form to the surface, panic clawing at him. Did she hit her head? He managed to take hold of her arm, but as he pulled her to the side, she sprang to life, splashing everyone who’d crowded nearby. She laughed as she gasped for breath.
Kenny yanked his arm back. “Not funny.”
Beside him, Killian chuckled.
Wylder climbed from the tank. “What a balmy day. That swim was delightful. I don’t know what babies said it was cold.”
By this point, sunset had come and gone, replaced by stars overhead. More heat lamps lined the sidewalks, but it wasn’t enough to help the idiots with the dunk tank. And yet, Wylder managed to keep herself from shivering.
Diego wrapped a towel around her, and she smiled at him gratefully before turning gleeful eyes on Kenny.
He groaned. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”
“You promised you’d go through with it.”
“Not saying I won’t.”
“Good.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I want you to go in the tank.”
“Okay…”
“Naked.”
His mouth opened, but no words came out.
Killian and Diego rolled with laughter.
Wylder didn’t even crack a smile. “You said you’d do whatever dare I came up with if I went in the tank.”
One side of his mouth curled up. “That desperate to see me naked?”
Her face twisted in disgust. “Incest, remember? Maybe I’m just desperate to see you humiliated.”
Who was this girl, and where had she been all his life? Everyone needed a Wylder Anderson. She stared him down like he was nothing.
And it made him feel like he was something for the first time in a while. So, he’d do it. He wouldn’t back down from a dare. His smirk transformed into a grin and he draped an arm over her shoulders. “Wylds, trust me, I won’t be humiliated if everyone sees me naked.”
“Ew.” She pushed away from him. “You disgust me.”
“But I also think you kind of like me.” He held his thumb and pointer finger up. “A little?”
“Nicky doesn’t hate you.” She looked away. “So, I figure you can’t be the devil.”
His grin widened. “Oh, I’m definitely the devil.”
“Stop flirting with me.” She dropped her voice to a whisper. “You don’t have to make a show of it just so people don’t think you’re gay after the picture with Nicky.”
Gay. Of course she thought he was gay, because there were only two options. And that was why he didn’t do friends. They inevitably said something they couldn’t possibly understand.
Turning away, he huffed out a breath. She circled around to face him. “Ken…you are gay, right? You weren’t really hitting on me?” With the uncharacteristic vulnerability in her voice, he couldn’t stay mad at her. Was she really worried about making him mad? The Wylder Anderson everyone at Defiance Academy knew didn’t care about things like that.
“I’m…” He swallowed. “I’m…just going to do this dare so we can start packing up.”
She rested her hand on his arms. “You don’t have to, you know. I know most people just think I’m insane and ignore the things I say.”
“I told you I’d go through with it, so I will.” Forcing a grin on to his face, he removed Killian’s robe and handed it to Wylder. When his hands started pushing down the waistband of his swimsuit, passersby stopped to see what was going on. They catcalled, but Kenny let their words roll off him as he stepped out of the trunks, bare-ass naked in the middle of Twin Rivers Fall Festival.
Silver light from the moon illuminated his skin as he walked with all the confidence he’d always pretended to have. He climbed up the steps and sat on the cool wood, crossing his legs to avoid the kind of view that his classmates didn’t need in their minds.
He covered himself as best he could with his hands as he waited.
A long line formed, people drawn by the spectacle that was the naked senator’s son. For a fleeting moment, he wondered if this would end up in the newspaper. His father would have a stroke.
But that moment passed, and all he remembered was that he’d actually had fun tonight. His eyes found the laughing Killian, Diego, and Wylder. For once, he wasn’t left alone to brood. And it felt damn good.
He was so focused on that feeling, he didn’t hear the ball hit the target. His stomach dropped as icy water encased him.
When he came up for air, music reached his ears as the quartet increased their volume. Wylder mimed a tiny violin as a smile split her face.
Kenny threw his head back to get the hair out of his face and glanced up at the stars overhead. A laugh burst free of him.
His moment ended when someone cleared their throat. Mrs. Donovan, the little old lady who taught English, scowled at them. “Mr. Montgomery, get out of the water right now.”
“Uh, I don’t think you want me to do that.”
“I said now.” She crossed her arms.
He shrugged and stood, revealing his state of undress.
Mrs. Donovan issued a curse they’d never heard come from her mouth as Kenny tried to shield himself from the teacher’s eyes.
Wylder held up Killian’s robe, and he climbed down to take it, not breathing until he’d wrapped it securely around his body.
“Ms. Anderson.” Mrs. Donovan sent her a scathing look. “I assume you had something to do with this? You made a promise when we let you into this school. No more trouble.”
“It wasn’t her idea.” Kenny didn’t know what he was doing, but he’d get in less trouble than Wylder. That was sure. “I orchestrated everything.”
“You’re telling me you wanted to sit up there…”
“Naked? Yeah. I did.” He ran a hand through his sopping hair.
“Mr. Montgomery, you’re a lucky kid. The school made a deal with the town. No reporters were allowed into the festival while our academy kids were working it. But your father will still get a call. I expect better behavior out of you.” Her eyes fell on Wylder again. “And maybe reexamine the company you keep.” With that, she turned and walked away.
Killian whistled. “How’s it feel to know Mrs. D. ogled you, bro?”
“She did not ogle me.”
Wylder punched his shoulder. Hard.
“Ow.” He rubbed where she’d hit. “What was that for?”
“You rich kids. If she’d blamed me, I’d have at least a week’s worth of dining hall cleanup duty or something. All you get is a call to daddy.”
She was right. As long as it didn’t end up in the press, his father didn’t care what he did. He’d have to think about him at all for that.
Pressing his phone into his hand, Wylder leaned in. “You’re not what you seem, Kenny. It took ovaries to do what you did.”
“Ovaries?”
She nodded like it was the most serious thing in the world. “If people can use the term balls to describe strength, I can use ovaries.” She turned away. “See ya later, Ken-Ken. I’m headed to the White House this weekend. I’ll be sure to tell Asher you said hi.” She shot him a wink as she walked away.
He almost laughed at the nickname, realizing just how similar she was to her superstar brother, but his stomach dropped with the mention of Asher.
The festival thinned out until it was only the people manning the booths. It didn’t take long for Kenny and Killian to shut theirs down. The company they’d rented it from would pick it up Monday.
By the time Kenny got back to the dorms and took a scorching hot shower, he was ready to crash. He laid on his bed and unlocked his phone. Someone had changed his screensaver to a pic
ture of him sitting on the board with no clothes. It didn’t show anything sensitive, but he was obviously naked.
He shook his head. Wylder. Opening his photo album, he saw she took quite a few photos.
A text popped up.
Nicky: Wylder told me you had quite the night.
Kenny: Of course, she did.
Nicky: Thanks for hanging out with her. I think that’s the first time she’s admitted to having fun since transferring to the academy.
Kenny: For you, Nick, I’ll put up with her.
Nicky would read between the lines. He always had. Kenny had a good time too. He wasn’t one to do anyone favors by spending time with them, and he didn’t do anything he didn’t want to do.
Flipping through his texts, he came to Asher’s boxing glove. After all this time, the emoji just seemed ridiculous now. What had Asher meant to accomplish?
He wasn’t getting off that easy.
If anyone knew how to fluster Ash, it was Kenny.
He pulled up one of the photos from the night. He sat on the board covering himself. Asher wouldn’t be able to see anything, but if Kenny still knew him at all, he knew it was enough to get under his skin.
He hit send with a smile on his face.
Game on, Asher Brooks.
Two can play the confusing text game.
12
Asher
“What the… What am I even looking at right now?” Asher gaped at Kenny’s text message. Is he…butt naked in a dunk tank? In November?
“You look like you’ve seen something scandalous.” Harper’s grin widened as she sat up from her spot on the floor in her room. “Let me see.”
“Nope.” Asher shoved his phone in his back pocket. He was not about to discuss why Kenny Montgomery was sending him naked pictures. He was so not ready for that conversation even with his best friend. “It’s nothing.” He reached for his messenger bag. “I’ve got to get home. I have three new pieces to finish before the show, and I’m freaking out. We’ll finish studying later.”
Dating Him: The Series Page 33
