Two Can Keep a Secret

3- Match Maker Quinn

     The breeze is a nice contrast to the sun beating down on my shoulders. It smells like lake water and Luke's new cologne. All around me there's chatter and laughter from boys and the sound of splashing as they fall off the tube that they attached to back of the boat.

"Julie." I feel a poke to my shoulder. I open my eyes and push my glasses onto my forehead. Luke stares down at me, a shy smile on his face. I sit up straighter than I was before, getting the sense that Luke is about to ask me something. "So I met a girl at UMich," He says lowly, hoping he doesn't get the attention of the other boys.

That gets my interest. I gasp loudly, immediately wanting to know more about Luke's mystery girl. "What's her name?" I ask Luke as I pull out my phone. I go to Instagram, getting ready to slightly stalk her. If my best friend is going to date someone, I gotta scope her out a little.

I can't tell if Luke's face is red because he got slightly sunburnt or because of the girl, but I assume it's the latter. "Keep quiet okay." Luke grabs my wrist, pulling my phone down from my face. "They don't know yet and I'm not quite ready to listen to all the teasing." Luke jerks his head in the direction of the other boys who are all gathered around the back of the boat.

Jack and Alex are in the tube together, holding onto the sides as Quinn, who's driving, speeds up. The tube inevitably flips and Jack and Alex get launched into the lake. The boat comes to a stop so that the two can get back on.

I look away from the back of the boat and back to Luke. "Are you guys like official? Or is it just a crush?" I question Luke with a whisper.

He tries not to smile but he fails. "We started dating a month ago," he says with dilated pupils. I find myself feeling incredibly excited for him. Luke deserves to feel happy, and I hope this girl can keep him this happy. "Her name is Maria. I met her just walking around campus actually," Luke recounts their meeting. He looks off at the house with a small smile etched onto his face, no doubt thinking about when they met.

I raise one of my eyebrows. Luke stares at me dumbfounded, muttering a 'what?'. "Tell me more! How exactly did you meet her 'walking around campus'?. What does she look like? You can't just drop this bomb on me and not elaborate Lu." I raise my voice a little, making Luke put his hand over my mouth. We only get a look from Quinn since he's the closest, but he doesn't say anything.

"Be quiet!" He scolds me with a whisper yell. I bite his hand lightly, making him yelp and pull it away from my mouth. I poke him to remind him of the pressing conversation. "She's actually really pretty." He ducks his head and his ears go red. He pulls out his phone and shows me a picture of her.

He wasn't wrong. She's gorgeous. She has a dimple in one of her cheeks, a cute small nose, and beautiful curly hair. "Woah," Is all I say when he shows me the picture. He starts nodding and looking at the picture longingly.

"Juliette! You haven't gone on the tube once." I hear a whiney voice interrupting our conversation. Nolan stands at the back of the boat, pouting. I roll my eyes heavily.

"Excuse me, I'm going to go once to pacify my brother. When I get back you're telling me everything." I turn back to Luke, going him a pointed look.

I get up, discarding my Jean shorts and leaving them on the seat. I march over to the back of the boat and start getting in the tube. "Wait a minute, don't you want someone to go with you? The extra weight will make it more fun when it flips over." Nolan stops me, holding a hand on my waist.

I open my mouth to protest but Quinn beats me to it. "Trevor will go with her!" Quinn practically yells, earning the attention of everyone on the boat. My eyes find Trevor who just now joined the conversation. He was looking at some pictures they took on Cole's phone.

I narrow my eyes at Quinn. He definitely saw that look I gave Trevor earlier. How could I be so stupid? Now Quinn will be playing match maker all summer. Quinn just smiles like a shithead.

    "Uh, I mean if she wants me to?" Trevor interrupts the very painful silence. He's staring at me, expecting an answer.

It feels like my throat closes up. Why am I nervous? I never get nervous, especially around Nolan's friends. "Um, sure. I mean you don't have to." I try to make it seem nonchalant but I'm pretty sure I just sound stupid.

"Okay?" Nolan says beside me. He steps off to the side, eyes flickering between me and Trevor. Now Nolan suspects something. Wonderful. My brothers are usually pretty protective over me, even if it is someone they know. But I'm more worried about Finian hearing that there's 'something going on' between me and Trevor, even though there's not. Fin's extra protective.

Trevor gets on the tube before I do. I start to step out of the boat but stop, getting scared that I'm going to fall into the water. "Um, help?" I call out. I don't care who helps, I just don't want to fall in.

Trevor scoots a little in the tube and grabs the side of the boat, bringing the tube closer. He holds his other hand out for me to take. I grab his hand gratefully and step into the tube. Once I'm seated in the tube, I let out a breath of relief.

Quinn starts to boat up again and just like that, the silence goes away. I'm not stupid, I could see the looks the boys were giving each other. I remind myself to smack Quinn later.

"Don't go too fast Quinn!" I call out, hoping he hears me. But it's too late because Quinn takes off full speed. Almost immediately the tube flips. I grab Trevor's arm out of fear, not even realizing it.

I'm submerged under the water, my cheeks puffed up with air like a little kid. I kick my way back up to the surface, sputtering when I get up. Lake water does not taste good.

"Trevor?" I call out, putting my hands out. I can't see anything because my hair is in front of my face. I shove it out of the way and rub the water out of my eyes.

"I'm here," I hear him say with a small laugh. I back up into him before I see him. His hand brushes my side lightly. I turn around to look at him.

The water reflects onto him nicely, highlighting his sunburn and freckles. His neck and face is glistening due to the water droplets on his skin. The boat is a little bit behind him, we'd only have to swim a little bit to get to it. He doesn't move though.

Something brushes my foot. I immediately kick at it and let out a scream. "Something touched my fucking foot!" I grab onto Trevor's shoulders, pushing myself up and away from whatever touched my foot.

"It was probably a fish," Trevor hums, grabbing my sides fully now. He looks down into the water between us. I make a squeaking sound and Trevor looks up. He has a glint to his eye as he starts to smirk. "You're lucky it didn't bite you," He says so casually like it's normal for fish to bite humans.

"What?!" I scream, flopping around like a madman. Things under the water (which I can't see) touching me is scary enough, let alone biting me? No fucking way.

Trevor is laughing at me loudly. "Calm down, I was just joking. It won't bite you." He squeezes my sides to get my attention. I stare at Trevor with wide eyes, making him burst out laughing again.

"Don't laugh at me, that shit actually scared me!" I yell, jokingly smacking his chest. I still let out a laugh too, picturing how I probably looked.

"Zegras, stop touching my sister and get back on this boat!" Nolan's yelling interrupts our little interaction. Trevor's grip loosens on my waist and his smile falls a little. I remind myself that my overprotective brother and teasing friends are watching and start to swim away from Trevor.

When I reach the boat, Luke pulls me up. He has a playful glint to his eye and a raised eyebrow. I'm definitely about to get interrogated about Trevor.

Quinn is so dead.