I should never have kissed him. My mouth is suddenly dry, my hands fidgety in my lap. That kiss brought it all back after I was completely over him. But in my defense, the kiss shouldn’t have mattered. I wasn’t supposed to see him again. I’m only in town for two weeks, and it would have been easy enough to avoid any parties where I thought he might turn up. And he’s definitely not supposed to be here.
Why is he here?
Amber begins speaking, and I force myself to focus. “Why don’t I start? You all know I’m Amber Gray. I’m a grad student at ASU. I’m studying forestry in school and plan to be a park ranger when I graduate.”
She turns toward the couple, smiling.
“I’m Ben,” the guy says. “I’m here because she’s here.”
The girl giggles. “I’m Mallory. I need a hundred volunteer hours for a scholarship, and my dad saw this advertised at our church.”
Eyes turn my way. My throat closes as Anthony slips off his sunglasses, his brown eyes saying he could tell everyone plenty about me. I focus on Amber. “I’m Mai. I’m starting college in the fall—microbiology with an emphasis on the environment. I thought this would be an interesting project.”
There. That was good. I look at Grant. His nod steadies me.
“I’m Grant. I’m majoring in sustainability, starting in the fall.” He shoots me a wide smile. “Mai and I are old friends. I always thought we’d blaze trails together.”
Mallory giggles again.
“Mai and I are…old friends, too,” Anthony says. His pause is just long enough to make it sound like there was more going on than friendship. I snap my gaze to his. What is he doing? His smile widens, like he knows exactly what he’s doing. “I’m Anthony, by the way.”
“We went to the same high school,” I explain to the group.
“Did you both know you were going to be here?” Amber asks.
“Coincidence,” Anthony says.
I narrow my eyes. “Really?”
His dimple deepens. “She might have mentioned Community Cares the last time we saw each other. When was that, Mai?”
A flush burns me from the inside. He knows exactly when it was. “No idea,” I say pointedly. “Feels like high school was such a long time ago already.”
“You’ll have to find time to reminisce later,” Amber says. She claps her hands as if that’s the end of that. But my brain is still scrambled, and it’s a fight to keep my focus as she launches into the project details. “We have a lot to do, starting with a quick orientation. As you all know, this is a two-week project, three hours every morning. To create the least amount of disturbance for the public, we’ll work six days this week so the trail can be reopened next Friday. Please wear sunscreen, hats, and gloves, bring water, and dress as requested on the project site.” She directs that last comment to Anthony. “We’ll be closing off a bootleg trail and grooming the trail we want the public to use. As part of our volunteer service, we’ll also do some clean up.”
“Will you sign our volunteer forms?” Mallory asks.
“I will. You’ll get credit for every hour you complete. Since we only have a few hours each day before it gets too hot, we need to make the most of that time, starting now.” She stands. “Any questions?”
I look at Anthony again. I have a question, all right.
When no one says anything, she grabs her pack and pulls it over her shoulder. “Let me show you the equipment shed and we’ll go over how to use the various tools.”
She leads us to a room at the far side of the visitor’s center. It’s more garage than shed. There’s all kinds of gardening tools hanging from hooks and stuffed into giant tubs. I’m not sure what most of it is. Is a hoe the flat one or the spiky one? And more importantly, why is Anthony here?
“I forgot,” Amber says. “We’ve got a new supply of trail signs in my truck. Grant, lend me a hand? We’ll need a wheelbarrow.”
“Of course.” There’s a row of four wheelbarrows, two of them full of rock. He grabs an empty one and follows Amber out the double door. Mallory is close behind. “It’s stuffy in here. We’re going to wait outside.” She grabs Ben’s hand and leads him out.
The door closes behind them, leaving Anthony and me. Alone.
Heart racing, I turn to face him with a glare. “What are you doing here?”
Chapter Six
Anthony
As hot as it is outside, I think it’s hotter in here. Or maybe it’s the heat coming off Mai. She’s not happy to see me. Then again, I’m not happy to be here. It’s this attraction that won’t let go. It’s got me so twisted up that I’m willing to do anything to get over it—even a volunteer project. When I woke up this morning, way too early, I was hoping I’d see her and feel…nothing. Instead, just standing close to her is like a jolt to my chest. “I’m here earning volunteer hours,” I say.
“For surf school?” She raises her eyebrow in that snooty way she has. Good. The more annoying she is, the better.
“I’m doing my civic duty. Saving the planet—all that.”
“Anthony, please. What are you really doing here?”
I snag her gaze with mine. “What if I said unfinished business?”
Her cheeks flush. “Anthony.” She shakes her head. “It was a good-bye kiss. That was all.”
“It didn’t feel like a good-bye.” I step closer.
She puts her hand on my chest, stopping me. Can she feel how fast my heart is beating? She’s like a foot on the gas, revving me up.
“It was an impulse. A bad one.” She’s flustered—pushing the collar of her shirt up and then pulling it away as if she can’t breathe.
“Yeah, it was,” I say, and I think she’s surprised I agree. “But it still happened.” I pull off my cap, dropping it on the table behind me. Makes me think of my dad saying, Cooler heads prevail. I don’t feel much cooler. I face Mai again, wishing I were better at putting thoughts to words. “I don’t want to feel like this.”
“Like what?”
“Like there’s still something between us.”
Her eyes widen. “There isn’t.”
“Then why did you kiss me?”
She flushes deeper.
The words come, rough as gravel. “And why do I want you to kiss me again?”
“I’m not going to.”