I laughed. “Thanks for defending my honor, Sam Florek, but she’s not like that anymore.” He eyed me silently, then moved to the bench beside me, our thighs pressed together. I wrapped my towel around my shoulders, very aware of how my skin prickled where it met his. I barely registered the splashes of Charlie and Delilah’s second jumps.
“What’s in your hair?” he asked, reaching for the section I had wrapped in embroidery floss.
“Oh, I forgot that was there,” I said. “I did it to match the bracelet. Do you like it?” When he turned his focus from my hair to my face, I was caught off guard by how stunning the blue of his eyes was. It wasn’t like I hadn’t noticed before. Maybe it was that I hadn’t seen them this close up? He looked different from the last time I saw him, his cheekbones more prominent, the space below them hollower.
“Yeah, it’s cool. Maybe I’ll grow my hair out this summer and you can do it to match my bracelet, too,” he said. He searched my face, and the prickling where his leg pressed against mine became a campfire blaze. He tilted his head and pursed his lips. The bottom one was fuller than the top, a faint crease bisected the pink crescent. I hadn’t noticed that before.
“You look different,” Sam murmured, squinting while he examined me. “No more freckles,” he said after a few seconds.
“Don’t worry, they’ll be back,” I said, looking up at the sun. “Probably by the end of the day.” One corner of his lip rose slightly, but his brows remained furrowed.
“No more bangs, either,” he said, giving the embroidered section of hair a gentle pull. I blinked back at him, my heart pounding.
What is even happening right now?
“No, and they won’t be back—ever,” I replied. I lifted my hand to tuck my hair behind my ear, realized it was shaking, and wedged it safely under my thigh. “You know, you’re the only boy I’ve met who pays such close attention to hair?” I tried to sound calm, but the words came out wearing a straitjacket.
He grinned. “I pay attention to a lot of things about you, Percy Fraser.”
* * *
THE CANADA DAY fireworks were an impressive display for such a small town. They were lit from the town dock, explosions illuminating the night sky and glittering on the inky water below.
“Do you think Charlie’s friends are as cute as he is?” Delilah asked, tossing clothes all over the floor while we got ready. The plan was for Charlie, Sam, and Charlie’s friends to pick Delilah and me up in the Banana Boat at dusk so we could watch from the lake.
“Knowing Charlie, I think his friends are probably all girls,” I replied, pulling on a pair of sweatpants.
“Hmm . . . then I’ll have to go all out.” She held up a red halter top and a black miniskirt. “What do you think?”
“I think you’ll be cold. It can get chilly when the sun goes down.”
She gave me a devilish grin. “I’ll risk it.”
Thus clad—she in club wear, me in a navy U of T sweatshirt Dad bought at the university gift shop—we made our way to the water. We stopped dead as soon as we got to our dock and looked over at the Floreks’。 Charlie and another boy were helping three girls into the boat. I took comfort in the fact that they were dressed more like me than Delilah, in leggings and pullovers.
Charlie brought the boat up to the end of our dock so we could climb aboard and introduced us to the group. Delilah’s face fell when he referred to Arti as his girlfriend, but she quickly collected herself and planted her butt on the bench next to Sam. I sat across from them, my eyes sticky-glued to where Delilah’s leg pressed against his.
Charlie parked just out from the town beach, where dozens of boats drifted on the water and cars lined the shore all around the bay. Charlie’s friend Evan cracked a couple of cans of beer and passed them around as we waited. Both Charlie and Sam declined, but Delilah took a sip, puckering at the taste.
“You won’t like it, Percy,” she said, handing it back to Evan.
I took advantage of the dimming light to study Sam. He was listening to Delilah talk about her summer plans: horse riding in the Kawarthas and suntanning at a resort in Muskoka. His hair was thick and unruly, as usual, and he kept pushing it back only for it to fall over his eye again. He had a good mouth, I decided. His nose was the exact right size for his face, not too small or too big. It was kind of weirdly perfect. I already knew he had the best eyes. His whole face was nice, really. He was skinny, but his elbows and knees didn’t look as stabby as they did last summer. Delilah was right; Sam was cute. I just hadn’t realized before now.