But when “Skinny dip!” comes screaming out of Beth’s mouth—like a knife through the night air—I’m not sure which is worse: the prospect of there being a body in the lake, or my naked body being in the lake. The beach is never pitch black. That’s what they don’t tell you in books and movies. The moon lights up the lake like a spotlight overhead, and washes the color out of everything like an old black-and-white movie. Best-case scenario, the whiteness of my yet-to-be-tanned skin blinds everyone. Worst case—I sneak a glance at Aiden, but he hasn’t moved off of his spot on the blanket. Since trekking back from the dunes, we’ve returned to our original spot on the beach. He’s stretched out on the blanket, his eyes closed, and I’m lying on my stomach, sketching a picture of the beach, so I can prove to him how artistically inept I am. Every few minutes he’ll open an eye and sneak a peek at it. When he hears the s-word, his eyes open.

The coin is still lying on the blanket and I pick it up, rubbing it between my fingers.

“Whatcha got there?”

Instinctually, I grip the metal tighter between my fingers.

“Olivia?”

I open my palm, revealing the shiny circle that’s forcing me out of my safe little world this summer.

I take a deep breath and drop the quarter into my other palm. “Heads, we climb the dune again.” I let out a nervous laugh. “Tails … we skinny dip—” It doesn’t even sound right coming out of my mouth. Like that time my Oma announced we were having a “circle jerk” at a family picnic, when my aunts and cousins and I were sitting with her in a circle of lawn chairs. She was … slightly confused about the term. Gross.

Aiden’s eyes are on the coin as I flip it above our heads and it comes back to rest in my hand. I turn it onto the back of my palm and hold it there, not wanting to see what my fate is. I look out at the water and back at my hand and let out a shallow breath. Here we go.

Aiden’s voice cuts into the quiet night air before I have a chance to reveal it. “It’s too cold for that shit.” He stands up and pulls his shirt over his head, revealing an eyeful of skin. “Let’s just swim. Save the skinny-dipping for after the Fourth when it isn’t a polar bear swim.” Aiden reaches his hand down and I take it before he hoists me up. “You in?”

The coin is still sandwiched between my hands. I reveal the shining bird and smile. “I’m in.”

AIDEN