Shark Out of Water (Grab Your Pole, #3) by Jenn Cooksey Read Free Book Online

I get the feeling that if push comes to shove, his allegiance will be with Tristan.”
    “Yeah, that makes sense. What about MaryAnn?” I asked, thinking that she could be volatile, with her being captain of the varsity cheerleading squad and maybe the most dialed in person at school, plus she’s really good friends with Tristan too, but she’s also going out with Camie’s cousin. Oh shit…Derek. He’ll side with Camie no question, but apparently Melissa has chosen neutrality so where does that put Brandon? See? I knew this was gonna turn into a giant cluster…
    “Well, that’s the interesting thing…she doesn’t know.”
    “What do you mean? Like she hasn’t made up her mind?”
    “No, like she literally hasn’t heard. Actually, no one has. Well, I mean if they have, they’re not talking about it.”
    “Huh. What’s that about?”
    “Well, like I said, Mike came to me and said he knew something was up, but he doesn’t want to know what it is, so I’m thinking neither Camie nor Jeff have spouted their venom to anyone outside the circle which I find both interesting and hopeful.”
    “It’s interesting for sure…” Huh. I’m gonna reserve my hopeful opinion until Tristan and I get back, but if they’re both keeping quiet to the masses? Well, I’m just not sure what to make of that. The fastest and easiest way for someone to come out ahead in a situation like this would be to gather as many supporters to their side by telling key people what happened, and you’d think Camie would wanna be doing that right about now, so, I don’t get it.
    “Your turn…how’s he doing?”
    “He’s…” I sighed and looked out at the water. He was there, just sitting on his surfboard where he’d been for almost two hours, alone and still unmoving. “…grieving.”

Chapter 4
    Thursday, Week 1

    The fine art of complete avoidance ~ Tristan

    Walking onto campus Thursday morning, there were few things I knew for sure. One, I had two confirmed allies, neither of which was my best friend, the guy I’d always felt was closer to me than any brother who’s related by blood could be. That’s some serious shit for a guy who’s spent countless hours being lonely; wishing that just one of his parents’ other children had survived.
    The fuckin’ shittiest part of all this is that Jeff knows . He knows what being alone is like for me and what it meant for me when I found Camie.
    I love my parents. I truthfully really love them and I’m beyond grateful to them for giving me life. I know I can count on them, talk to them about anything, and that they will do or give me anything I need or ask of them if it’s within their power to give. But, it’s not within their power to give me someone who I can share myself with…someone who loves me for me. If you’re not an only child you might not understand this, but having Camie, being a part of her life is, for me, being a part of something bigger.
    And you might ask why it isn’t the same for Jeff, why he doesn’t have this deep-seated need to be with someone. But in addition to me, Jeff’s always had the confidence of his relationship with Kate and an honest to God future with her, and I’ve watched him with envy be on track to build his life on that rock-solid foundation since we were little kids. I’ve always known that one day, the two of them will have a life together that I won’t fit into and if I don’t find my own “Kate,” I’ll be alone. The prospect of which is depressing and ultimately, scary as all hell.
    That might sound funny coming from a guy who’s never even had a girlfriend up until a few months ago, but that wasn’t because I didn’t want one or for a lack of trying. But, here’s the thing; it’s really fuckin’ hard to grow up knowing that true love exists and seeing what it looks like in the faces of your parents and two best friends, which in turn means investing anything real in a relationship that you know has no potential for