July 2

Loon Call Island, Lake Rosseau, Muskoka

Greyson snuck out at close to six o'clock this morning. I already miss his warmth in the bed on my porch. I love sleeping out here, but it was a little chilly last night. Wrapping the large knit blanket around me, I wander back into the open living room and kitchen in my cabin to brew coffee.

I notice Hud, sprawled across the two sofas he's pushed together. The large, fluffy duvet is pushed down to his hips. I set the coffee to brew, then run and jump on him, snuggling deep into the soft cushions and wiggling my way under his arm.

He smiles without opening his eyes. "Morning, Ellie."

"Morning, sleepyhead."

"Sleepyhead? I'd bet my left nut it's not even seven yet, right?"

I can't help but giggle at his ridiculous comment, cuddling closer, rubbing my freezing cold feet against his warm legs. He jerks as my cold skin comes into contact with him but otherwise lets me use his warmth. "Maybe."

He shifts his head until his lips press against my temple, nose in my hair, his eyes still closed. "Talk to me, Elle, how did you and Grey go from it's complicated, and you don't know, to a full public display of affection?"

I sigh, "I had no idea he was planning to tell anyone, let alone everyone last night. I wanted to tell you officially first, but well, here we are."

I snuggle deeper into his loose embrace, resting my forehead against his warm shoulder. He rubs my back gently, warming me up before squeezing my shoulder. "It's okay. I knew it was only a matter of time till you figured it out, plus Grey's been pretty zen lately, and he's never that well, chill, I guess."

"Yeah. Anyway, enough about Greyson and me. I can tell you all about it later. Tell me, what's up with you and Jules?"

I feel his smile against my skin, "Wouldn't you like to know."

"I would, actually, that's why I asked you goof." I roll my eyes, knowing he can't see me with his eyes closed, but he knows my reactions too well and he tightens his grip on me.

"Don't roll your eyes at me, Ellie," his fingers dig into my ribs, ticking me. I squeal and try to escape, but he's got me. My arms are trapped against my side, and he's hooked one big leg over mine. Left with only one option to escape his strong grip, I bite him on his shoulder. Hard.

He yelps in surprise, twisting playfully until I'm facing away from him, spooned back against him. He relaxes, settling back to a sleepy state, his head pressed against the nape of my neck. I'm content to lie here and drift off again, wrapped in his warmth.

I wake up a short while later to Jules sitting on the counter, sipping coffee. She looks a little sad, watching us with a strange expression on her face.

I hadn't even thought about whether she would be upset to see Hudson and me like this. I've shared a bed with him hundreds of times, I just don't think about those things when it comes to him or the other boys, really.

I rub Hudson's arm to wake him up and slide out from his embrace. He groans, eyes still closed, "Sure, now you leave when you're not a freaking block of ice. I see how it is. Using me as your personal furnace."

I smack him with a pillow, laughing as I walk towards the coffee maker, pouring two more mugs and offering to top Jules up. "Morning, Jules. How did you sleep?"

She smiles shyly, holding her mug out. "I slept well, what about you guys?"

Hudson groans. "I'd still be sleeping if my little ice cube of a best friend hadn't woken me up at the crack of dawn."

"Don't mind him, he's grumpy in the mornings. Don't mind me either; I just came in about thirty minutes ago when Greyson snuck out. I was freezing outside." I mentally check the time on the microwave, well an hour now I guess, but who's counting.

I take Hudson his black coffee, waving it under his nose. He sniffs exaggeratedly, making a fuss over it. He drags himself up into a sitting position, pulling the blankets up to his hips, resting against the cushions of the sofa and drinking deeply, burning his tongue. "Shit."

"Literally every time Hudson. If you want to drink it immediately like that, then add milk."

"Milk is for the weak." This time, he blows on the hot liquid, before attempting to drink again.

I turn to Jules. "You're up early, at any rate, I didn't think I'd see you till ten or eleven." Typically Jules is a total night owl. I'm basically the only morning person in the gang. Greyson tolerates mornings, and Hudson tolerates me in the mornings, as long as I'm happy to stay curled with him while he continues sleeping. Wes and Logan would rather I smother them in their sleep than wake them up. The same goes for Brodie and Theo, really. Other than that, I usually end up hanging with our parents in the mornings.

"It's so quiet here, I think the lack of city noise actually woke me up." She giggles as she says this and Hudson and I both grin even as she continues, "Even at my cottage, since it's such a small island, the water is always crashing, making noise."

"Well, we have a day of water activities planned, swimming, cliff jumping, sunbathing, wakeboarding, waterskiing. We'll head over to Hudson's for a bit and use the water tramp and sailboat if you like later."

I take a long sip of my coffee, mentally rolling through the options. Between all the families, we basically have every single sport or water activity covered.

"We'll meet Greyson, Ryan and his sister, Sar, Theo, and we can also grab Mads if you like, then head to Brydons bay after breakfast. Speaking of, let's go get some, and we can move sooner rather than later."

Two hours later, Hudson pulls up to the dock so Ryan and Sarah can jump in his big boat. We'll be pushing the maximum capacity today once we have Mads, but we have enough life jackets, and Greyson is pleased because I'll sit in his lap up in the bow seats, making more room for others.

Since I'm wearing a bikini with only thin ties at the back, my skin is pressed directly against his warm chest, and I love it. His arms are wrapped tightly around me, one hand linked with mine, and with each rocking motion of the waves, his jaw brushes my temple. It's blissful.

Mads is all squeals and smiles when we pick her up, causing drama deciding where to sit. Theo moves up with us, avoiding her. She was after him all last year, and he's still wary of her, rightly so. Mads loves boys; in fact, she is absolutely boy crazy. She's also fairly bold, not shy about kissing someone or playing the games I try so desperately to avoid at parties.

She pokes her head through the open windshield and gives me a squeeze, leaning over to hug Greyson awkwardly next. "So you guys really are, like, a thing now? Cool." Greyson stiffens ever so slightly as she looks us over, curiosity glinting in her eyes, but settles again as I stroke his leg.

Despite his best efforts, she also manages to get her arms around Theo, who pats her shoulder quickly before he sets her away from him.

Mads settles herself down in the back with Jules chatting happily. Greyson whispers in my ear, "Hear that, Elle? We're like officially a thing now. How long till the news spreads do you think? This ought to be an interesting afternoon," he says, glancing at Theo.

"Depends how fast she can text. My bet? Twenty texts per minute, she's a master of T9 predictive texting." Theo's snide comment only makes me laugh, since I don't really mind the news being out now that our close friends know.

"You should know, you were her subject of interest to text about last year." Greyson's laugh makes Theo glower at him, flip him off, then tip the brim of his faded Toronto Maple Leafs baseball cap over his eyes, dozing for the rest of the boat ride. When we pull into the bay, it's empty, which surprises me. Grey nudges Theo with his foot, "Anchor, man."

Theo tosses the anchor in with a splash, checking it before stripping to his board shorts and diving in. When he surfaces, Hudson and Ryan are hot on his heels.

"Go, I'm probably only good for one climb, maybe two. So, go blow off some steam with the boys, and we'll swim over when we're ready." I kiss his cheek and untangle myself from his embrace.

With another quick hard kiss and a playful smack on my butt, he strips and dives in after our friends.

Jules and Mads stare at me, open-mouthed. Sarah giggles. "What?" I can feel myself blushing from the tips of my toes all the way to my hairline.

"Nothing," they say sweetly, in perfect unison.

We spend the next hour chatting over nothing really, well I'm just trying to keep Mads off the gossip warpath. We talk about Vi and her news from summer which I share with them, Mads tells us all about her new boyfriend Craig, he's nearly eighteen or will be in December, so he's a month older than Greyson.

"There's something about older men, girls. They seem so much more like men, rather than boys. Don't you think?" I roll my eyes mentally at this.

"He's still in high school, Mads. Calm down. You make it sound like you're dating someone's dad." Jules laughs lightly as she bumps Mads with her shoulder.

Mads sniffs, "Fine, let's talk about your younger love interest then, Jules."

"Oh my God, Mads." I groan. "Hudson is literally four days younger than her. Give it a rest."

Jules doesn't waste any time throwing me under the Mads bus. "I'm not even the person of interest here, Elle is. Honestly? We all thought you and Hud would get together. Like, as much as I like him, it feels a bit weird. Like we're somehow cheating on you. Plus, he said he isn't interested in anything serious, or long term. I just get the feeling he's waiting for something else."

Jules laughs, tucking her long, sleek black hair behind her ear. Even after she threw me to the gossip wolf, I can't stop myself from remarking how lovely she is. Blessed with a stunning mom, with a unique blend of Asian heritage, and a Canadian father, Jules' appearance is striking, in a word. I can easily see why Hudson is attracted to her.

I choke on a surprised gasp at her words, as I sip from my water bottle. "What?! Why does everyone keep saying that?"

She tosses the length of her hair over her shoulder, nudging it out of the way for the hundredth time, covering her lips as she giggles. Mads continues her rant. "Well, last year you and Hud were most likely to get married in the social section of both our school yearbooks. To each other. You're like the buff, dark and sexy Ken and teeny, angelic Barbie. Then, he is literally always touching you, holding your car door open, every door for that matter. The way you two always dance, like you're glued to one another, the way you laugh with him, it's crazy how in sync you are. He moves, you move. You're happy, he's happy. You're sad, he's trying to make you happy. I mean he started riding to have more in common with you. Seriously."

"Plus, that kiss from my party was so hot, Elle. Steam factor fifteen on a scale of one to ten."

Jules' face falls. "Kiss? What kiss? You kissed Hud?"

Sarah raises an eyebrow at me, but doesn't stay anything.

I glare at Mads. She was the one who put me in that situation in the first place.

Sometimes I wonder if she tries to stir the pot on purpose. I wish Vi were here; she deals with all of this so much better than Jules and I do.

I reach over to squeeze Jules' shoulder. "It wasn't a big deal, Jules. A friend of Mads' put me on the spot in this stupid kissing game and Hudson didn't think I'd ever been properly kissed before. He just didn't want some stranger to be my first kiss, and I'm grateful for that. Honestly, it was just a friends thing. I promise. Hudson and I have been friends since I was born, we do everything together."

"I don't see you getting on hockey skates to make him happy. Are you sure it's not some, like, unrequited love kind of thing?" Mads smirks, the light in her eyes gleaming mischievously. I can tell she's enjoying this, just a little.

A familiar sense of anxious pressure builds in my chest. I don't want anyone's opinion on my friendship with Hudson. It's our friendship, our decision how we are with one another. We've always been able to just be free with one another. I rub my knuckles up and down my breastbone, hoping the pressure will distract me. "Look, not that it's any of your business, but I'm learning to waterski with him this summer, so no, it's not weird that he started riding. We do things to stay close, to have fun. It's not a big deal. Honestly girls, get over it."

Sarah's hand is soft on my shoulder, rubbing gently, obviously sensing my discomfort. "It's okay, Elle. You can be friends with whoever you want, however you want. You shouldn't be made to feel bad about it. You and Hud are best friends, we get it. Plus, you're with Grey and honestly, a blind person could see how nuts he is over you. And vice versa." Sarah's voice is soft but firm, effectively putting an end to Mads' line of gossiping.

I smile gratefully at Sarah, trying to cover my own feelings of stress and discomfort. I hope she can see how thankful I am for her intervention. I just want to get out of the spotlight, and away from the girls for a moment or two. "Now, how about we talk about literally anything else? So, how's your job, Mads? You like teaching the kids to sail?"

Mads reluctantly lets me steer the conversation away from the boys. "It's fine. I'm just going through the motions so Dad will feel better about instilling some work ethic onto me. It's not like I plan to work for a living or anything."

Sarah rolls her eyes. "Don't you want to be independent? I'm going to provide for myself before I even consider settling down with a man. That's just me though."

"That a girl, Sar!" She's super independent, enjoys the idea of boys but prefers to do what she likes first and foremost. I admire her so much for it. There are so many of the girls I got to school with, that despite going to one of the top, ambitious schools in the country, only want to hook up with some legacy brother school boy to secure their futures as a Mrs. Some-jock-hot-shot-or-other.

Sarah peels off her t-shirt and cutoff shorts, "I'm roasting, let's go in. Who's climbing up with me?"

"Count me in," jumping on the excuse to avoid sitting around gossiping, I grab one of the waterproof disposable cameras I keep around all summer long. It's on my list to take as many pictures as possible, it's a literal obsession.

Dipping my toe in the water, I take the camera and slide off the boat's stern. I give myself a moment under water to calm my nerves, releasing small bursts of breath that bubble around me, simply absorbing the quiet.

The boys hit the water with a loud crash, one after the other just as I surface. Greyson swims for me directly, pulling me into his arms and kissing me lightly on the lips. When I nudge him away, conscious of Mads and Jules watching us, his concerned gaze meets mine. "You okay? Ready to climb?"

"In a minute. I just need a minute." I'm so tense, my jaw feels stiff as I speak.

Mads and Jules jump off the bow, shrieking with laughter.

Greyson pulls me back towards the stern platform caging my body between his and the boat. "You want to talk about it?"

"No, it's honestly nothing. Just some gossip that I let get under my skin."

Greyson's warm fingers stroke the side of my neck, kneading, soothing and I feel the pressure start to ease. He continues the slow, steady rhythm.

Resting my head on his shoulder, I watch as Theo darts towards Sarah, taking her by the arm, practically dragging her to the cliff, leaving Ryan to deal with Mads. I see Ryan laugh at Theo's retreat, but I know he doesn't mind. He and Mads know each other already from the club, they sail and golf together or something, so they get along fine.

We float silently. I savor the feel of his warm skin against mine, the slow, slightly hypnotic stroke of his hand on my neck.

Sighing, I watch my friends. I can't hide here forever.

I know Mads has done the climb before, but she's putting on quite a show for Ryan, which he's loving. Ryan apparently loves to play the hero and has just enough of his own dramatic flair to appreciate the same trait in others.

"I'm ready, if you want to go."

"Hell yeah, I want to go. I get to put my hands all over you as we climb, have your sweet body wrapped all around mine as we jump. What's not to love?"

"You're such a perv." I splash him lightly, the laughter cracking through the remaining tightness in my chest.

"No, I'm such a guy. Race you there!" His quick, crooked grin spreads across his face before he ducks under water and kicking away from the boat.

I manage to pull myself up onto the platform and dive off, catching up, but not quite beating him to the cliff. "Not fair, you had a head start."

Eventually, Greyson makes it to the top and pulls himself up before pulling me up after him, much as he'd done the first time. Hudson and Jules are right behind us, making their second climb.

When Hudson pulls himself up over the edge, he and Greyson lift Jules up together, each using one arm to brace her. She squeals when she's dangling in the air, that moment just before her butt hits the ground. She throws herself into Hud's arms immediately, and I wink at him. He grins back at me, tossing me a small what's-a-guy-to-do kind of shrug.

Greyson pulls me into the shadow of the trees, taking a moment to kiss me while the others are distracted, helping Mads and Ryan.

"I've been wanting to get you alone since I left you in bed this morning." His teeth graze my jaw, scraping down my neck before he boosts me into his arms.

"Mhmm?"

My bare skin scrapes the tree's bark as he pushes me back against it, lifting my legs around his waist, leaning forward against me to brace my weight. The contrast of his soft lips, tongue, and hands is heavenly compared to the rough tree bark at my back. I shiver in his arms, but all too soon, he's putting me down with a whispered, "To be continued."

I feel like a fish out of water, sucking on air to catch my breath, dizzy.

As he takes my hand in his, I marvel at the difference in the sizes. His hand can hold mine completely, even if I made a fist, I imagine he could wrap it in his one hand. His size doesn't intimidate me though, I know he'd never use it against me.

Sometimes, I wonder exactly what it is that draws him to me, what draws me to him. He's been so intense all day, and for some reason, I feel like I'm only getting to preview small snippets of him.

Very different snippets.

The demanding and possessive Greyson, the gentle Greyson, the playful Greyson, the uncertain Greyson, the angry Greyson, then the sad Greyson. I wonder how many more sides there are to him. It feels like trying to solve an abstract Rubik's cube, without a color code. Especially when he doesn't share the reason behind his moods.

I need to find a way to remind him about his promise to let me in more, rather than let him distract me with his kisses and physical attention. Just can't keep my brain straight when he gets his hands on me.

My friends' shrieks and laughter pull my attention back to the group.

"We are not jumping from any point higher than this, right Sarah?" Jules grabs her new friend's hand, screaming a little just before they jump. I barely manage to snap a picture of them before they hit the water.

Mads follows us up to the top and, following Ryan's lead, takes a running start, jumping fearlessly. I click the camera rapidly, trying to capture everyone.

Hudson and Theo sprint forwards, leaping far into the air and twisting as they fall, rotating several times. I manage to snap a picture of them, which I hope won't be too blurry.

Greyson takes the camera from me, holding it out in front of us with his long arm. He turns the lens towards us, cranking the small dial.

With his free hand, he tips my face up to his, kissing me and snaps a photo. Then, he boosts me up into his arms, taking one more picture of us right before he jumps.

I still scream, but this time in excitement, not in fear. When we crash through the water, I'm better prepared and actually have air in my lungs. I grab Greyson under the water and press my lips to his. He pulls me with him to the surface, our lips still touching. Our friends cheer, teasing us.

Smiling at Greyson and hearing the sounds of my friends' laughter behind me, I try to capture the happiness in this moment, imprinting it into my mind.

- - -

How many other all-girls/all-boys school readers do we have here?

Do you remember cliques and gossip being a problem in your schools? I do, to a certain extent! Luckily, a group of good friends can make all the difference, and most of us can say goodbye to all of that drama as we head to university!

Thoughts on the relationship with the girls? On Elle's friendship with Hudson? Do you think guys and girls can be just friends?

Xx Toria