Just as my eyes connected with Anthony Beck’s, I realized I was still half-naked. Shit. I dropped down to scoop my clothes up, covering myself.

“Dude, what is it?” Another male voice came from the dark mouth of forest. Quarterback hero, Adrian17. “Bears?”

Anthony flashed a wicked grin. “Well, yeah, sort of. They are bare.” His eyes stayed on me until Kori shook the wet tips of her hair out on him. “Hey! Shit, that’s cold.”

I used the distraction to tug on my clothes.

Kori pulled up her jeans and asked, “Got any beer left?”

“Not as much as we had an hour ago. Where’ve you been?”

I shot her a look. She’d known they were there? But before I could accuse her of orchestrating this whole embarrassing encounter, I remembered it was my own bright idea.

“Skinny-dipping. Obviously.” She shoved her feet into her shoes, cramming the heels down. She had on only her jeans and a black lace bra.

“Jesus, we thought someone was getting pulled apart by a mountain lion,” Anthony said as he pulled a still shirtless Kori against him, briskly rubbing her damp body with his palms.

I swallowed, feeling a sudden dull weight in my stomach. More than ever, I wished I’d been the one to go running into the water. Instead, I averted my eyes from Anthony’s hands on Kori’s body as I zipped my jeans.

“You’re freaking insane,” Adrian said with admiration. “Not even on the hottest day in August would I go in there.”

“Afraid of the shrinkage?” Kori asked with a wink.

“Honey, you would wish for a little shrinkage,” he said, grabbing his crotch. “Freaking Loch Ness Monster, baby.”

My eyes cut from Anthony’s lingering hand on Kori’s bare back to the ground as I picked my path through the rocky beach.

We followed Adrian to their campfire. About a half-dozen other people were there. Juniors, all of them. A blond girl eyed Kori and her bra. She didn’t look happy to see either. But, as with most people, she would spend her evening watching Kori as opposed to ignoring her.

After Kori slipped her shirt on, finally, she fished a beer from inside a cooler and handed it to me.

I looked over to where Anthony was picking up a guitar. He strummed on it a few halfhearted times. His fingers moving slowly and deftly across the strings caught my eye and I couldn’t look away. I found myself slipping into the sound long before it progressed into the intro to “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol.

Kori’s head popped up. “Ooh, I was telling Serena what a rock star you are! Sing for us!”

I couldn’t help but notice the way Anthony’s eyes got all twinkly when Kori spoke to him. He shook his head, and I noticed his cheeks were flushed. He gave a modest cock of his lip. “You first.”