The-Lucky-List-Rachael-Lippincott

want to help me with it?”
He nods, reaching out to take it from me. “What’d you get?”
I hold out my arm and he takes it, his fingers lightly holding my wrist.
“A sunflower,” he says. e corners of his mouth tick up into a smile as he gently pulls the glove
over the tattoo and tapes it down. “Just like your mom’s garden.”
“Just like it,” I say, holding his gaze for a long moment.
He exhales and lets go of my arm, spinning the roll of waterproof tape around on his finger as he
looks away. “I just… I don’t know. It was more than just that. I always felt like you were pulling
yourself away from me. From us. Always finding problems and making excuses, always pushing me
away when I wanted to get closer.”
“I definitely was,” I say. His eyebrows arch up in surprise at my admission. “And I’m sorry. I think it
was really hard for me to be open and real with anyone the past three years. You, Kiera, my dad. Myself,
even.”
He stops spinning the tape, his face thoughtful as he looks at me. Finally, he holds it out to me.
“You’ll prove it to me? This weekend?”
I reach out and take it from the open palm of the boy I’m meant to be with. “Absolutely.”
Kayaking is a complete mess in the best possible way.
Sending twenty kids out, half of whom have never kayaked before, for two hours of barely
chaperoned fun is bound to be.
Jake tries to kill everyone the whole time, ramming into people’s kayaks at full speed, until Blake
manages to knock the paddle out of his hand, stealing it and leaving him stranded in the middle of the
lake.
I want to cheer, but since I’m trying to put some distance between us, that would probably not be
the best idea.
Kiera coasts to a stop next to me, grinning as she watches him try to hand paddle his way back to
shore. “All right, I’ll admit it,” she says, glancing over at me. “My summer FOMO aside, Blake is… pretty
great.”
I nod, my gaze meeting Blake’s just past Kiera’s head, the smile on her face making my skin burn
more than the afternoon sun.
I’m afraid to put into words exactly what I think of Blake, but I know “pretty great” isn’t enough.
I swallow and look away, at Matt paddling in circles around Jake, and set o aer him to help,
knowing that it’ll have to be.