“Okay, fine.” I narrowed my eyes as I thought about what to dare her. I wanted to be sure and put a stop to her crazy dares once and for all. The only way to do that, though, would be to dare her to do something she wouldn’t do. As I looked out at the lake, I grinned. “I want you to go skinny-dipping in the reservoir.”

Without even waiting a beat, she said, “I want you to do the same.”

“What? No. You can’t do that.”

She jumped up and started walking. “You had so much fun pretending to be me. Now’s your chance.”

“That’s not what I meant,” I called after her. I had to jog to catch up. “Look, I’m sorry I pretended to be you. It was just onli— Shit. Kori, wait up!”

Kori led us toward the beach. And by beach, I mean a flat section of land covered with chunks of rock. I watched as she pulled her shirt off.

“What are you doing?” I asked while glancing across the water to where the lights of the town radiated.

“You mean”—Kori turned toward me, but continued walking backward as she unbuttoned her jeans—“what are we doing?”

I stepped over a puddle that was Kori’s shirt. Her Converses.

Her Habituals. The smell of the lake was strong. Water, algae, and rock. But so was her cherry almond perfume.

“It’s freezing in there,” I said even as I pulled my hoodie off, then my boots. The wet rocks felt like giant ice cubes under my feet. “I’m not going. It’s stupid.” And yet, I seesawed my jeans down my legs.

Kori ran in. The thunderous splash of her body hitting the ice-cold water shocked me.

My stomach turned. A part of me felt like I was just thrown in front of a truck with no brakes. Another part of me thought Kori was the truck with no brakes and maybe I could stop her if I only jumped in front of her.

But instead I just stood there in my underwear.

Her repeated screams echoed over the water. So loud it was painful. I understood her screaming kept the cold from cutting her too deep. But the noise held me in its grip, paralyzing me. Her voice seized; her last noise was just a hoarse croaking sound. Then she raced for the shore, water catching the moonlight in the air around her. It may have just been the sobering effect of the icy water bath, but she looked so much more alive than when she’d gone in.

And I felt the opposite.

The feeling only lasted a moment. Enough for me to know it had happened. Then I heard branches snapping and gravel under running boots coming from our left.

“What the hell?” a deep, masculine voice yelled.