“The pattern is really cool.”
“Thanks!” I perked up. “I’ve been practicing all year! I thought the neons and the peach were kind of funky together.”
“Definitely,” he said, leaning closer. “Could you make me one?” he asked, looking back up at me. He wasn’t kidding. I hopped up and dug out the embroidery floss kit from my desk. I placed the small wooden box with my initials carved on top on the floor between us.
“I’ve got a bunch of different colors, but I’m not sure if I have anything you’ll like,” I said, pulling out the rainbow loops of thread. I’d never done one for a boy before. “But tell me what you’re into, and if I don’t have it, I can get Mom to take me into town to see if we can find it. Usually I know people a little better before I make them. It might sound silly, but I try to match the colors to their personality.”
“That doesn’t sound silly,” he said. “So what do those colors say about you?” He reached out and tugged on one of the strings dangling from my wrist. His hands were like his feet, too big for his body. They reminded me of the oversized paws of a German shepherd puppy.
“Well . . . these don’t really mean anything,” I stammered. “I just thought it was a sophisticated palette.” I returned to organizing the embroidery floss, lining them up in a tidy row from light to dark on the wood floor between us. “Maybe I could make it in blues to match your eyes?” I said, thinking aloud. “I don’t have a ton of blue, so I’ll just need to get a few more shades.” I glanced at Sam to see what he thought, except he wasn’t looking at the floss; he was staring right at me.
“That’s okay,” he said. “I want it to be just like yours.”
* * *
THE NEXT MORNING I scarfed down breakfast, then raced to the water with my kit. I sat cross-legged on the dock and fastened the bracelet to my shorts with a safety pin to work on it while I waited for Sam.
When his footsteps tramped across the dock next door, it was almost like they were right beside me. He was wearing the same navy shorts as yesterday; it looked like they might fall off his narrow hips at any moment. I waved at him, and he raised his hand and then dove off the end of the dock and paddled toward me. He was in the water in front of me in under a minute.
“You’re fast,” I said, impressed. “I’ve taken swimming lessons, but I’m nowhere near as good as you.”
Sam gave me the crooked grin, then hauled himself out of the water and plopped down next to me. Water dripped off his hair and ran in rivulets down his face and his chest, which was almost concave in form. If he was at all self-conscious about being half-naked next to a girl, I wouldn’t have known it. He pulled on the strands of embroidery floss I was working on.
“Is that my bracelet? It looks great.”
“I started it last night,” I told him. “They don’t actually take that long to make. I should be able to finish it for you tomorrow.”
“Awesome.” He motioned to the raft. “Ready to collect your payment?” Sam had agreed to show me how to do a flip off the raft in exchange for the bracelet.
“Definitely,” I said, taking off my Jays hat and slathering copious amounts of SPF all over my face.
“You’re really into sun safety, huh?” He picked up the hat.
“I guess. Well, no. It’s more that I’m not into freckles, and the sun gives me freckles. They’re okay on my arms and stuff, but I don’t want them all over my face.” What I wanted was a creamy, unblemished complexion like Delilah Mason’s.
Sam shook his head, baffled, then his eyes lit up. “Did you know that freckles are caused by an overproduction of melanin that gets stimulated by the sun?”
My jaw dropped.
“What?” he said. “It’s true.”
“No, I believe you,” I said slowly. “It’s just a really random fact for you to know.”
He grinned. “I’m going to be a doctor. I know a lot of”—he made air quotes—“？‘random facts,’ as you call them.”
“You already know what you want to be?” I was blown away. I had no clue what I wanted to do. Not even close. English was my best subject, and I liked to write, but I never really thought about having a grown-up job.
“I’ve always wanted to be a doctor, a cardiologist, but my school kind of sucks. I don’t want to be stuck here forever, so I learn stuff on my own. My mom orders used textbooks for me online,” Sam explained.