Keeping Her Secret (3 page)

Riya caught sight of Courtney before anyone else noticed and silently watched her make her way through the crowd. Bugs flitted in and out of the smoky air.

Colt’s friend David, a huge football-player type with brown hair and brown eyes, offered Courtney a water bottle full of something that looked very much like vodka with a splash of juice. She shook her head. As a rule, she didn’t drink. Too many calories and fuzzy mornings made it not conducive to ballet excellence.

“Hey, Courtney,” Riya said, meeting her gaze from underneath a veil of thick, dark lashes.

A thrill shot through Courtney’s stomach at Riya’s quiet confidence and, in that instant, she kinda hated her for it. How dare she make her feel that way after all this time and in front of all her friends? Nobody else had that effect on her. It wasn’t fair that Riya, who’d told her she had no feelings for her minutes ago, could.

She’d said Courtney wasn’t her type. Whatever that meant.

Courtney clenched her jaw. She had to regain control, to reclaim her status. She smiled, saccharine sweet, at Riya.

“Are you signing up for the talent competition?” she asked. “I remember how lovely you sang when we were kids.” Courtney also remembered how shy Riya was about singing in front of people, how she and Colt would have to beg her to sing for them in the privacy of her own living room. No way she’d sing in front of everyone.

Riya’s gaze fell to the ground for a second, before rising to meet Courtney’s. “You remember that?” she whispered.

Courtney shrugged like it meant nothing. Like she hadn’t heard Riya singing in her head as she drifted off to sleep for months after Riya’d moved away.

A soft mauve blushed Riya’s cheeks and the tips of her ears. Courtney couldn’t help but watch it spread across her skin. Riya shook her head slightly. “I need to focus on staying in shape for volleyball this summer.”

Colt bumped Riya’s shoulder with his elbow. “Come on, Ree. You’d be great. Might even give Courtney a run for her perma-title.”

Riya raised her eyebrow at him, so he explained. “She’s won every year since we started coming here.”

“
We’ve
won,” Courtney corrected. “Colt plays piano while I dance. I can’t win without him.” She felt an unfamiliar need to divert attention away from herself. Riya’s eyes focused on her too much, too often.

“They have a piano here?” Riya scanned the bonfire clearing as if she’d find evidence of one.

Colt nodded. “For the music classes. It was covered by a tarp in the cafeteria, in the corner. But I also brought a keyboard, for extra practice.”

“Nice.”

“I could play for you, too.” He turned the full force of his considerable charm on Riya. Most girls agreed to do anything under his gaze. “Do a little Demi Lovato or Ellie Goulding?”

“I’d like to see that!” Trey said.

It was then that Courtney noticed how close their friend stood to Riya, smirking and staring at her for an unnecessarily long time. He brushed her arm or shoulder at every possible moment. Trey couldn’t take his eyes off of her.

As if he had any chance with her, even if she didn’t like girls.

Trey was okay looking and funny, but Riya was beautiful in such a rare kind of way. She’d inherited her mother’s thick, dark hair and incredible bone structure and her father’s quiet strength. Her lush lips demanded attention. White men like Courtney’s father would call her “exotic,” a word Colt said was meant to be complimentary and dehumanizing at the same time. But it was somewhat true. Riya’s kind of beauty was captivating and untouchable.

Riya chewed her lip, considering Colt’s suggestion. Before she could answer, Colt’s eyes lit up with the look that always accompanied his “genius” ideas. An uncomfortable feeling crawled into Courtney’s stomach. Her little power play was about to backfire.

“We could do it together, all three of us.” His gaze switched excitedly back and forth between Riya and Courtney. “I’ll play, Riya sings, Courtney dances. We’d be unstoppable.”

Courtney’s heart pounded. That would mean spending countless hours over the next four weeks alone with Riya and Colt. Unacceptable. “You and I are already unstoppable,” Courtney mumbled.

Riya’s advancing smile retreated. “Oh, I wouldn’t want to intrude on your tradition. Or ruin your chances.”

The tension in Courtney’s shoulders softened.

“I’m with Riya,” Trey said, nudging her arm with his own. Again. “She should do her own performance. If she’s as good as y’all say she is, she might just dethrone the queen.”

“That’s not—” Riya began, but Colt interrupted her.

“It’s settled, then.” He grinned at both of them. “Just like the old days when we put on shows for our parents. I’ll play for both of you.”

Trey’s crooked smile stretched wide across his face. “What’s a little rivalry between old friends, right?”

Delores, the twins Courtney could never tell apart, and their tiny blond friend offered cheers of encouragement.

Riya refused to meet anyone’s gaze, training her eyes on the empty space to the right of Courtney’s hip.

“Right,” Courtney said. Should be a piece of cake. Courtney had practiced every day since she was four. Though Riya had tons of natural talent, she’d taken pains to hide it, suppress it even. Courtney had nothing to worry about. So what was with that nervous tickle in the pit of her stomach?

“Sure,” Riya muttered, not sounding sure of anything.

“It’s about to start,” Trey said with boyish enthusiasm. The entire mood shifted.

“What’s starting?” Riya asked, following Trey.

He turned to tell her about the upcoming silly skits, where Bob Fazio and the other staff made absolute fools of themselves. Courtney’d loved the whole thing when she was a kid, but now it seemed so stupid.

Everyone migrated toward the fire like moths to a flame and, suddenly, they were in a Taylor Swift music video for a song about summer nights. Campers laughed and flirted and licked marshmallow guts from their fingers as the fire sparked and flared in the background.

The new junior counselor, Jacob, stood in a line of counselors, his muscled arms tense across his chest, a scowl on his face. Dane shoved him forward.

Courtney hung back. Despite the amazing weather, her perfect outfit, and her newly established truce with Riya, she couldn’t get into the camp spirit.

It took Colt all of three seconds to zone in on her mood—or lack thereof. He joined her, still standing in the same spot where she’d challenged Riya to the talent show. They stood side by side, watching everyone from twenty feet away.

Well, Courtney mostly watched Riya.

“I thought you two talked,” he said. It sounded like an accusation.

“We did.” Courtney swept her hair up and swirled it into a bun at the crown of her head, then dropped her hands, letting gravity slowly unravel the strands.

“And?”

“She said she didn’t like me. I mean—you know, that way. She called the kiss a childish mistake.” Courtney didn’t admit she wasn’t sure if Riya still liked her in
any
way. She’d changed so much in four years, while Riya had only grown kinder. Better.

“Isn’t that the exact same thing you told me?” Colt asked.

Courtney nodded. “Yep, it was a mistake.”

Colt made a noncommittal sound, cocking his head to the side. Courtney watched him from the corner of her eye for a few seconds. His jaw moved in a familiar way; he was literally chewing on his tongue.

“What?”

“So why aren’t you happy?”

He wasn’t asking a question. He was making a point.

Having a twin meant there was someone who knew your every thought. Most of the time—like when she snuck out of the house or had forgotten her lunch—it was great. But other times? It was total crap.

“She’s amazing,” Colt said without the admiration that usually accompanied such a phrase. He was making another point.

“She always was.” The words fell from her lips like a river rushing into a waterfall.

“She’s nice, smart, funny.” Colt spoke with an almost clinical air. “She manages to be cute and hot at the same time, which is basically witchcraft, if you ask me.”

Courtney nodded with caution. This felt like a trap. “Yep. What’s your point?”

“My point is, big sis: What’s not to like?”

“I don’t like girls.”

“Maybe not.” Colt shrugged and turned to face her, bowing his head to peer directly into her eyes. “But you do like Riya Johnson. Or, at least, you did.”

The hair on the back of her neck rose to attention. Courtney tried to slide her hands into her pockets, but they only went as deep as her second knuckle. Damn girl pockets.

“I don’t like
any
girls,” she insisted.

“Why not?”

His question caught her completely off guard. Girls never had to defend
not
liking other girls. It was the other way around; girls who liked girls had to explain themselves. It simply wasn’t done. Especially by girls who traveled the kinds of social circles she did, where there were always whispers about the family who suddenly sent their son away to boarding school or the college-age daughter who brought her “roommate” to every benefit and function.

Her mind flashed to the welcome talk, when their thighs had been pressed together and the heat of Riya’s skin had scorched her awareness until that small space became the only thing that existed in the world.

Colt raised a blond eyebrow.

“Either way, it doesn’t matter. She said she doesn’t like me. So everything’s okay now.”

“Court, every bonfire we’ve ever had here, you’ve been out there.” He pointed to the jumble of kids gathered around the fire. “Working the crowd, practically forcing every single boy to fall in love with you. Tonight, you’re standing alone, sulking, staring at someone you swear you don’t care about. That’s all I’m saying.”

With his mention of her staring, she sought out Riya’s dark head and found it, silhouetted against the rising flames. The jocks surrounded her, everyone beaming as she told a story with wild gestures. Trey stood on her left, close, and laughing hardest of all. Blood rushed to Courtney’s cheeks, heating her skin.

“Seriously, Court. You’re not being yourself. Figure it out.”

Courtney pulled her shoulders back and raised her head. “Nothing to figure out. Everything’s perfect.” She sashayed into the crowd, winking at the first boy who checked her out.

Chapter Four

Riya clenched and unclenched her jaw as she walked back to the cabins with everyone else. Six hours in this camp and Riya had pissed off her first crush and apparently signed up for her worst nightmare, but at least Colt was happy to see her. And that Trey kid seemed nice.

How had she let her parents talk her into this? She’d wanted to go to volleyball camp again, but they’d argued this was her last summer to have fun. They worried she was too serious and it was only going to get worse once she went to college, studying pre-med while—hopefully—playing college ball. There was no arguing with her parents, who were literally
the
experts on what students needed. Every year, they worked at a different school system, building or overhauling special needs programs.

At least she didn’t have to help them move everything to Charlotte. Again. No matter how many times she moved, the actual act of unpacking and setting up the house always seemed like an impossible task. So much tedious work only for it to be undone in a year or two.

The group diminished as they walked, first by half as the guys took off in the opposite direction, then again as a few girls from G7B veered toward their cabin. Finally, Dee, Riya, and Courtney walked together. The other girls from their cabin had already headed in.

The silence hung thick in the air, more palpable than the humidity. Dee glanced at Courtney like she was a vampire, ready to attack at any second.

Courtney opened her mouth to speak a couple of times before finally getting words out. “You shouldn’t lead him on.”

“What?” Riya and Dee chimed at the same time.

“Lead who on?” Riya asked, trying to think if Dee had been flirting with anyone.

“Trey,” Courtney said, meeting Riya’s gaze for a fraction of a second. “He’s a nice guy. Don’t lead him on.”

Riya tripped over an imaginary pebble. Her brow creased. “What makes you think I’m leading him on?”

Courtney rolled her eyes. “Come on, you two were flirting all night.”

“And?” Riya asked. “He’s cute and funny and I like talking to him.” While she spoke the truth, she also relished the opportunity to show Courtney how well she was moving on without her.
See how much I don’t need you?

“He’s my friend. I don’t want him to get hurt. And, well.” Courtney cast a glance at Dee. “I don’t want to…”

“Whatever you’re thinking, just spit it out.”

“You like girls,” Courtney whispered.

Dee pressed her lips together so hard they turned white and threw her hands up in the air. “This chick!” was all she said.

A small, single laugh rumbled Riya’s lips. Dee sure had a way with words. Then another laugh escaped as she fully understood, the realization halting her steps. Poor Courtney. She really was so confused. About absolutely everything.

Courtney folded her arms across her chest, and her chin jutted out in annoyance. She spun, facing Riya. “Don’t laugh at me, I’m just trying to save my friend embarrassment. You shouldn’t be playing with his emotions like that.”

Riya’s cheeks warmed with a powerful flush. She wondered if Courtney could see it in the scattered light cast by the moon and building lights. But Riya was used to this. She’d faced assumptions like this a dozen times over the last couple of years. It, unfortunately, came with the territory.

“Courtney, I’m bi,” Riya explained.

But Courtney gave her a blank look, and her head twitched. “Bi?”

“Bisexual.”

Still, Courtney stared open-mouthed.

“She dates girls and boys,” Dee finally clarified for her. Riya felt a rush of gratitude for her new friend. She’d told her the same thing earlier in the afternoon, and Dee simply nodded like Riya had said she liked to eat pizza.

“That’s a thing?” Courtney’s perfectly smooth brow creased.

“Have you been living under a rock?” Dee asked, not unkindly.

Courtney shook her head and twisted her lips. “Kinda. I guess I thought there were lesbians and straight girls and then there were girls who made out with other girls at parties to get guys’ attention.”

Riya bit her lip to keep from laughing again. “That’s a totally different thing.”

Courtney placed a hand over half her face, shaking her head. “I’m not an idiot, okay. It’s just… We—I don’t know anyone who is…” She waved her hand, and Dee supplied the words.

“LGB or T?”

Courtney shrugged. “Sure. None of that.”

“It’s fine,” Riya said, really wishing the conversation could be over. Very much out of the closet, she usually didn’t mind talking about her sexuality. But Courtney’s full attention made her squirm. She didn’t even mention that, statistically speaking, Courtney probably knew several people who weren’t het. “Now you know.”

Riya resumed their walk back to the cabin and the other two joined her.

Courtney still looked confused. “Do you date them at the same time? Like can you date a girl and a guy?”

Riya shook her head as she took the first step up to their cabin. “If I’m with someone, I’m with only that person. If I’m dating a guy, kissing someone else is still cheating, no matter their gender.”

“Straight people don’t have a monopoly on monogamy,” Dee said, then shrugged. “Or playing the game, either.” She swung open the door to their cabin and burst out laughing. “Looks like revenge came swift for you, newbie.”

Riya pushed past her into their cabin and followed Dee’s gaze to discover her duffel bag strung to the ten-foot-high wooden rafters with the same twine they’d used to tie her bunkmate’s bed.

“How am I supposed to get that down?” Riya gaped at the scene. There were no bunks underneath her bag, not even close. No chairs or tables she could pull over and climb up. The other girls in the cabin prepared for bed but paused to glance at the bag and giggle or shake their heads.

“Who the hell did this?” Riya demanded.

Courtney had gone still and silent behind her. Riya turned to find those blue eyes staring straight at her.

“You’re number four?” Courtney’s voice was incredulous, accusatory, and fearful.

In an instant, all the clues clicked into place. The expensive luggage. Courtney’s group of friends who were so obviously the popular and rich kids. Discovering they had been assigned the same cabin.
Dethrone our queen
, Trey had said.

“And you’re the queen bee,” Riya said.

Courtney scoffed, and Riya could practically hear the unspoken
duh
.

Her heart thudded in her chest. She’d pranked Courtney without even knowing it. And Courtney had pranked back without knowing the identity of her victim.

Shots had been fired. What had Riya started? She felt dozens of eyes on her back as all their cabin mates realized what was going on. The skin on her neck itched.

“How did you even get that up there?” Riya asked, scanning the room again in case she’d missed something.

“I have my ways. Who did you think you were pranking?”

Riya swallowed, looking to Dee for help, but not finding it. “A, um, rich bitch?”

A slow, sly smile inched across Courtney’s bubble-gum-pink lips. “Well, you got that right.” Her left hand went to her hip, and she clicked her tongue once. Then she declared, “Oh, this war is
so
on.”

But then Riya realized something far more unsettling. For the next four weeks, Courtney Chastain, the girl Riya couldn’t glance at without drooling, the first person to have ever broken Riya’s heart, would be sleeping inches underneath her. There’d be no avoiding her, no matter how hard she tried. Riya swallowed and pressed her shaking hands tightly to her thighs.

“You look scared, number four,” Courtney taunted. “Worried you can’t take the heat?”

Riya’s mouth went dry.
The prank war
, she reminded herself. Courtney was talking about the prank war. No other kind of heat.

Her mind kept flashing to the image of Courtney curled up beneath her bunk. She wondered if Courtney still slept on her left side, waist bent, left arm tucked under her head and right arm curled against her chest. Her golden hair would fan out over the pillow, and her face would relax until she resembled an artist’s rendering of a sleeping angel. Then and now, Courtney was always the most beautiful when she wasn’t trying to be, when she thought no one was watching.

Courtney stared at her, waiting for a reply, but Riya’s mind had lost all capability for human speech. Her former best friend and first crush had mutated into a super-hot mean girl, and they had to spend the next four weeks practically sharing a bed.

Luckily, Dee jumped in. “Prepare yourself, princess.” She rested her elbow on Riya’s shoulder, leaning in to her. “You don’t know who you’re messing with.”

When Courtney had been staring at her for a solid five seconds, Riya stretched a smile across her face through sheer force of will. Words remained elusive, so she nodded.

Courtney smirked.

Dee dropped her elbow and used it to nudge Riya’s ribs. “I know where we can borrow a ladder to get your bag down.”

“Sounds great.” Riya’s voice cracked over the words. With considerable effort, she turned away from Courtney and gave Dee her full attention. “I’ll follow you.”

…

Courtney woke up to her pillow vibrating. It took a few seconds of sleepy confusion to remember she’d
placed her cell phone under her pillow with the alarm set. She slipped a hand underneath and turned it off, then extended her arms above her head in a luxurious stretch. The wire mesh above her bent ever so slightly, and yesterday’s events came rushing back.

Riya Johnson.

Of all the bunks in all the summer camps in all the world, why did she end up in this one?

So much for the prank war being a distraction. Now Riya would occupy even more of her head space. She didn’t need another reason to think about Riya all the time, but she couldn’t back down from the challenge. What would people think? Courtney Chastain never backed down from anything.

As quietly as possible, Courtney grabbed her brush, some clothes, and her toiletry kit before slipping into the silent bathroom. The peace of the mountain morning before anyone else stirred calmed her. She shimmied into green tights, removed her pajama top, and slipped into a heather gray sports bra. As soon as she snapped every elastic seam into place, a soft sound behind her made her spin in place.

Rubbing her eyes and carrying a jumble of clothes and shoes, Riya stumbled into the bathroom wearing a loose tank and elastic shorts that barely covered the important parts. Her thick black hair stuck up at all angles with the left side flattened against her head. Her eyes drooped almost completely closed.

She was halfway to a stall before she noticed Courtney. Riya jumped back half a step. “Uh,” she said, glancing sideways at the bathroom exit, looking like she wanted to make a run for it.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Courtney asked. She wasn’t waking up early to dance specifically so she could avoid Riya, but she’d considered it an unintended perk.

Riya swallowed and stared at a bathroom stall door. “I was going to go practice my serves?” It sounded like a question.

“Serves,” Courtney echoed, trying to make sense of it. She took Riya in with a lingering once-over. Normally, Riya wore slightly baggy clothes, so Courtney hadn’t noticed how powerful her body had become. Her skinny childhood legs had filled out with a considerable amount of muscle, her smooth, brown skin stretching over formidable thighs and shapely calves. Courtney became hyper aware of her shirtless state and snatched her dance tank, slipping it over her head.

“Like, volleyball?” She remembered Riya coming home from school late every autumn because of volleyball practice. She also remembered keeping the phone in the basement with her while she danced on those days, impatient for her call to come over.

Riya nodded. “Volleyball.”

A couple seconds of silence was more than either of them could stand.

“Well, I’m done here, so it’s all yours,” Courtney said.

At the exact same time, Riya said, “I got a scholarship.”

Courtney had started to move toward the door, but curiosity stopped her. “A scholarship?”

Riya nodded and met Courtney’s gaze for a second before becoming super interested in the bathroom sink. “A fancy private school. We can’t afford tuition without it, so I have to make sure my game doesn’t slip. Four weeks without practice could mean the difference between my also getting a college scholarship and…” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m telling you all this. You don’t care.”

Courtney was surprised to realize that she did care. Or she was curious. It was hard to tell sometimes. “What happens if you don’t get a college scholarship?”

Riya shrugged. A thick lock of hair tumbled down to shield the left side of her face. “I guess I’ll have to take out student loans. I want to do sports medicine, so it’s going to take a while. You know my parents will help where they can, but…” She trailed off.

“Yeah.” Courtney understood. Even as a kid, she’d been aware of the financial differences in their families. Riya’s parents were educational consultants. They’d followed their passion. Courtney’s parents, on the other hand, had followed the money. And the power.

Courtney thought of her own situation and the impossible prospect of Juilliard. Her parents could definitely afford the tuition, twenty times over, but they wouldn’t support anything besides their pre-arranged life plan for her. If only there were scholarships for rich girls to study dance. Yeah, right.

Riya’s rich brown eyes flashed to Courtney’s, and she bit her lip. “Are you going to dance?”

Courtney’s eyes widened. “Hm?”

“Is that why you’re up so early?”

“Oh. Yeah.” Courtney’d almost forgotten.

“You’re an incredible dancer, Courtney.” The way Riya said it, with so much raw honesty and not a trace of self-interest, made Courtney’s heart squeeze tight inside her chest. Riya gave compliments in their purest form, with no ulterior motive or envy. Courtney couldn’t do that. It wasn’t in her.

The genuineness of her own smile surprised her. “Thank you.”

Riya nodded and turned toward the bathroom stall.