"You look amazing." These are the first words out of Hunter's mouth when I show up at his cottage just before eight o'clock that night.

"Thanks," I reply, even though I'm torn between simply accepting the compliment and wanting to shake him for continuing to be so, well, crush-worthy. I wonder if he's being extra nice out of remorse about this afternoon.

I'm sure I look fine, and yes, I am a little more dressed up than I was for our boating adventure and swimming, but "amazing" isn't how I would describe my decidedly boho outfit and lightly-applied makeup.

Enough overthinking, I scold myself. I'm not over this afternoon's disappointment, but I'm determined to enjoy myself tonight. This starts now.

"Are you ready for this?" Hunter walks over to the Honda Civic that's parked in the driveway and opens the passenger-side door.

"I should probably ask you that," I admit, trailing behind him. A twinge of guilt has crept into my conscience since accepting Adam's invitation a few hours ago.

"It's fine." He waits for me to get settled in the seat before closing the door. It's hard to tell if he means this and it's honestly fine, or if he's trying to make me feel better about it, but I don't dig any deeper into the subject. He doesn't seem upset with me at least.

Hunter gets in the driver's seat and starts the car. I stretch my legs out in front of me and watch the trees and driveways pass while he steers us along the dirt road. It takes fewer than ten minutes to get to Adam's cottage and park. I keep an eye on him once we've exited the vehicle, trying to be mindful of any shifts in his mood now that we're here.

The universal law of attracting what you think about could be why we only make it fifty feet down the driveway before the first run-in happens. Hunter stops walking. He watches a willowy girl with burgundy hair who stands a few feet away from us. She must be Trinity. I recognize her as one of the people we saw on the shore the day Hunter took me on a lake tour.

She waves at us and steps away from the group she's with before I can steer us in another direction or ask Hunter what he wants to do.

"Is this your girlfriend you told me about?" she asks Hunter as she approaches. "I'm Trinity. It's lovely to meet you." She extends her hand to me.

It doesn't escape my notice that whatever Hunter told Trinity at Paisley's graduation has been recapped in several different ways today, ranging from "seeing someone" to "dating" me and now to "girlfriend." I'm suddenly curious if it's Paisley, Hunter, or Trinity who has it right.

"I sure hope I am." I pretend to giggle and shoot Hunter a coy glance, praying he'll catch on to what I'm up to and won't give us away. "I'm Deni, and it's nice to meet you, too."

Hunter has gone rigid beside me. I don't know if it's because Trinity is his ex-girlfriend and he's still uncomfortable around her, or if it's because he's caught in a lie that involves an imaginary girlfriend, but it doesn't matter. I can help him with this. It's the least I can do after being the reason he's here now, with his ex-girlfriend assuming I'm his current one.

I reach over and lace my fingers with his. "I think we left my sweater and your jacket in the car," I say to him. "We should get those before heading down to the bonfire."

"Right," he replies, following my lead. "We'll probably need those."

"Excuse us for a second," I say to Trinity. I tug on Hunter's hand and begin leading him away from her, toward where we parked.

We keep walking until we're safely concealed behind the car, where Trinity can't see us. Hunter glances down at our still-clasped hands.

"Just go with it," I murmur, quietly enough so only he can hear me. "If you told Trinity you're seeing someone or have a girlfriend, then I'll pretend I'm that person while we're here."

Hunter doesn't say anything right away. The way he focuses in on me, with the slightest crease appearing between his eyebrows, makes me wonder if he thinks I've lost my mind.

"Are you sure?" he asks. If anyone sounds unsure, though, it's him. "I meant what I said before, that I would never use you this way."

The fact that he has morals and seems to want to stick by them, even in awkward situations, only makes me like him more.

"It isn't using me if I started it and asked you to do it," I point out. "I want you to relax tonight and have fun, and not worry about what you told Trinity. Okay?"

What he doesn't know is how much I want to do this, no matter what we told Paisley and each other. If we're going to be friends and that's all, then maybe I can get this crush out of my system by being able to hold his hand and touch him and say sweet things for a night, without the fear of rejection being involved. Would this qualify as me using him? It's tough to say, and tonight isn't when I want to examine my own moral compass. All I want out of life right now is something I can enjoy and be in the moment for, and that doesn't cripple me with panic.

"Okay," Hunter agrees. The two syllables are music to my ears. He lets go of my hand then, but only so he can wrap both of his arms around me. "Thank you. You're incredible."

His hug wakes up my endorphins. When he pulls me in closer and presses his lips against the top of my head, a dizzying rush of feeling courses through me from head to toe. It's a good thing I'm holding on to him by way of hugging him back right now, or otherwise I would have to fight to keep my balance.

This is either the best or the worst idea I've ever had. Time will tell.

Hunter releases his arms from around me. We retrieve my sweater and his jacket from the car, and then head back to the party. He reaches for my hand this time, and so when we pass by Trinity again on our way down to the beach, we're still making a show of our fingers being intertwined.

She's engaged in conversation with someone else and doesn't notice us. The same can't be said for a flaxen-haired guy our age who stands beside her with his arm slung around her shoulders. I'm certain I recognize him, too. He looks right at Hunter, and there's something in his expression and his posture that seems hesitant.

Hunter's hand tenses up in mine, which confirms for me that this is his ex-best-friend and Trinity's current boyfriend. I recognize him because he's the other person I saw on the shore when we were in the pedal boat. Hunter might have had his first break-the-tension exchange with Trinity, but it's obvious this hasn't yet happened between him and his former friend. I need to distract him from whatever is currently running through his mind if our act is going to be convincing.

I stop walking and touch Hunter's shoulder in an unspoken request to get him to stop, too. Then I rise up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek, in plain view of everyone around us.

"You look tense," I whisper to him. "You need to seem relaxed if you want to make this believable. Just be more like you were this morning and afternoon."

Hunter lets go of my hand, and I wonder if he's decided he doesn't want to keep up this charade. But then he loops his arm around my waist and nudges me toward him. He uses his free hand to tuck a wayward strand of my hair behind my shoulder, and then leans in to murmur something to me.

"More like this, you mean?"

His breath tickles my ear, and the hand he used to touch my hair has now found its way to the side of my neck. The unexpected sensation of him stroking his fingers along the sensitive skin there makes it difficult for me to form an answer.

"Mmm-hmm," is what I manage to say after a few seconds of this.

He traces a feather-light line down my neck one more time, then along my shoulder. I don't want to look at him, but he somehow manages to catch and hold my gaze. "Just making sure." He lets his hand drop to his side. "Do you want to find a spot near the bonfire before everyone else goes down to the beach?"

My mind is a jumble of nonsensical words. Grabbing a place to sit near the bonfire is the last thing I'm thinking about, but I let him lead me in that direction while I try to collect my thoughts and pull it together.

Things calm down for a while once we're at the beach. We claim a couple of folding chairs and pull them near the fire, which requires us to stop holding hands while we get things set up. There are more people Hunter knows here, from school and from summers at the lake, and so most of the next hour is spent making introductions and chatting with his friends.

Hunter doesn't introduce me to anyone as his girlfriend, but it seems to be assumed. His arm ends up around me at some point and I find myself leaning into him with my head against his shoulder. We're positioned this way when Adam spots us, and it's impossible to ignore his inquisitive expression or the thumbs-up he gives us.

Acting like we're together to save face in front of Trinity at this party is one thing. But Adam likes to swing by Hunter's cottage without warning and is close by almost daily for his job at the amethyst mine. I've picked up on enough of his personality to predict he'll comment on what he probably sees as a new development. He's likely to hassle Hunter about it without mercy, if the first time I met him is anything to go by. I just hope he's discreet enough to choose a better time to do it than tonight.

Someone brings out an enormous sheet cake then, lit up with candles, and the very loud and off-key singing of "Happy Birthday" to Adam distracts me. My worry about what he might say eases away now that he's focused on blowing out the candles on his cake and laughing about a few of the nicknames some of his friends substituted for his name while singing.

Hunter and I seem to be off the hook for now. Or so I think until Adam finishes razzing a guy I haven't yet met and looks out at all of us. A good-natured grin spreads across his face.

"It's time to liven things up out here," he announces. "Who's up for some campfire truth or dare?"

"Nothing that will get the cops called this time," a male voice yells back. When I turn my head to see who said this, I realize the voice belongs to the guy I saw Trinity with earlier.

"Landon." Adam shakes his head. He looks disappointed. "When did you become afraid of a little lakeside hooliganism? You know this means I'm saving a fantastic dare for you, but we need to get warmed up for that. I have someone else in mind to go first."

Adam's gaze lands on Hunter and me. Mischief sparkles in his eyes, which can't mean anything good.

"Gray," he calls out to Hunter. "Truth or dare?"

For perhaps the first time today, I feel as though I can read Hunter's mind. If he chooses truth, there's a strong chance it will be a question about the two of us. I have no doubt he could make up a believable answer on the spot, but the risk is what might get revealed by way of how Adam asks it.

"Dare," Hunter answers. I sense his reluctance, but silently congratulate him for deciding on what is probably the better option.

"A wise choice." Adam chuckles, and something tells me we just avoided a minefield. "I'll let you off easy since it's the first round. I dare you to..." He pauses and strokes his chin, considering the two of us for a moment. "I dare you to kiss Deni right now. And make it a real one, like how you actually kiss her and not one of those innocent in-front-of-the-family things."

I think my heart forgets how to work for a full beat. My hands still seem to function, though, because I'm clutching Hunter's hand more tightly than I mean to. I loosen my grip and attempt to remain calm. I'm undecided if Adam is doing the devil's work or if he's my fairy godperson in disguise.

"You know I don't do PDA," Hunter tells him.

Wait just one second. Really? I have no idea if he's serious, or if he's repelled by the thought of kissing me, even when it's a dare. This might take friend zone to a whole new level.

Adam rolls his eyes. "I do know, and that's why it's a dare. Live a little for once. I don't think you can even call being asked to kiss her a challenge. Or are you changing your mind and opting for truth?"

Something in me feels reckless tonight, because all I can think about is how this may be the only opportunity I get to kiss him, and I'm going to take it if he's willing to go this far with our act.

I lean in so I can whisper into Hunter's ear. "It's okay. Just kiss me."

He stares at me, saying nothing. I can't read his expression, which means I don't know if I've pushed things too far for him. But then he brings his hand up and cradles the side of my face with his palm. His face inches closer to me, and everything seems to happen in slow motion until I close my eyes and feel the brush of his lips against mine.

I press my mouth to his, softly at first. His other hand comes up to cradle the other side of my face and he focuses his attention on my lower lip until I nudge his mouth upward again. Time and space melts away while our kiss deepens. I'm sure it only lasts for mere moments, but it's enough to make every nerve ending in my body come to life and for a giddy feeling to bubble up inside of me. Forget butterflies. The euphoria each second of our kiss evokes is so much better.

I almost forget we have a captive audience until someone whoops and claps, and it brings both of us back to our senses at the same time. When we break apart and I open my eyes, I'm looking straight into his. There's no mistaking the astonishment I see reflected back at me.

There's something else, too. It takes a second or two for me to identify the emotions I observe on Hunter's face as tenderness, warmth, and possibly even a desire to kiss me again, and it steals my breath away when I do.