I narrowed my eyes. “Not helping.”

She shrugged and backed away toward her husband, who was almost done assembling the tent in a matter of minutes. “Just because it’s not what you want to hear, doesn’t mean it’s not helpful.”

My cheeks burned as I was left there to blow up the three sleeping pads by myself. She was right, of course, but that didn’t make it easier to hear. I was being selfish. Especially considering I was the one always encouraging Oliver to talk to me—to get past the surface level. Now here I was, closing off. It wasn’t fair.

Thinking about his face from this morning, when I’d asked him not to tell his friends about us, made me queasy. He’d mentioned how excited he was for me to meet them multiple times. It was like bursting a bubble.

Before I could dwell on it too much, another car pulled into our camping site.

Nerves flew around my stomach as Oliver stepped out of the driver side door and lifted his arms overhead to stretch. His long-sleeve T-shirt rode up slightly, revealing his lower abs. The same ones I had traced in bed. Running up to him and throwing my arms around his neck sounded like the most natural thing in the world. Instead, I sat frozen.

The other passengers spilled out of the car.

First was a serious-looking guy covered in tattoos with dark features and his hair pulled back into a bun. Harrison was exactly how Oliver had described him. A girl in a bright pink and orange fleece pullover popped out of the back seat. Her rust-colored hair spilled over her back, and she wore the most approachable smile. She must be Lila.

“Hi,” Mattie said cheerfully before she, Lila, Harrison, and Giles went into a flurry of greetings and introductions.

Oliver hung back, scanning the campsite before his eyes fell to mine. He shot me a questioning smile, like he still wasn’t sure where we stood. I scrambled up and approached the group.

“This is my sister, Frankie,” Mattie said, saving me from having to introduce myself.

“Hi,” I greeted.

“Hi,” Lila beamed. “We’ve heard so much⁠—”

“It’s great to meet you,” Harrison interrupted, pulling his girlfriend in close to him.

Lila glanced from him back to me. “Oh, right, yes. So nice to meet you.”

“Hey,” Oliver said, lifting an eyebrow at me.

“Hi.” I gave an awkward wave like I hadn’t just woken up in his bed this morning with our naked limbs entangled.

He smirked and gave a small eye roll while shaking his head. He clapped his hands and moved back to his car, popping open the trunk and handing Harrison a bin of supplies.

I thought about approaching him, saying something to break this building tension. But when Lila started asking Mattie and me a million different questions, I chose to instead use my conversation with her as a welcome distraction.