Free Keeping Her Secret by Sarah Nicolas

asked.
    “I’ve got some ideas,” Dee offered.
    “Don’t you worry,” Riya said. “I’ve got one all ready for her. Just don’t get up early to use the bathroom tomorrow morning, okay?”
    The girls giggled.
    “I knew the moment we met, you’d fit right in,” Dee said, slapping Riya on the back.
    Riya couldn’t stop the grin that spread across her face. It’d only been a week at camp, but Riya’d never had a group of friends like these girls at any of her schools. Of course she’d had friends before—she wasn’t entirely incapable of talking to people, just mostly—but not like this. Not the kind of friends you know have your back, no matter what. Not the kind of friends she’d miss when she moved on again.
    …
    Dewey, the pool lifeguard, blew the whistle signaling the end of the swimming session. Lunch time, finally. Courtney’s stomach growled with impudence. That’s what she got for being late to breakfast. Kids groaned and splashed toward the pool ladders and stairs.
    Bridget, lying next to her on a towel, stretched her arms above her head. Her legs and stomach, like Courtney’s, glistened from a mixture of sweat and tanning oil. She and her friend had gone with a very loose definition of “swimming” during the activity period.
    They’d been assigned different cabins this year, and Courtney found herself missing Bridget terribly over the past week. This was their fifth summer as camp friends, though they never talked during the school year besides exchanging occasional likes on Instagram. Bridget wasn’t super deep or even very nice, but she was easy. She didn’t ask complicated questions or force thoughtful conversation. And, despite her perfect body—with incredible C-cups, wide, swaying hips, and a flat stomach between—Courtney had never felt the tiniest hint of attraction toward her. What she’d told her brother was true, she assured herself as she stared at Bridget’s smooth skin without a single prick of desire. She didn’t like girls.
    “So, you’re going after David this time, huh?” Bridget asked, too casual to be as uninterested as she sounded.
    Courtney shrugged. “He’s cute enough.” Though she’d gotten the same thrill she always got when she managed to snag a boy on her hook, she felt nothing for David himself. No spark, despite squeezing the biceps she’d heard other girls swoon over. “Why?”
    Bridget swept to her feet and started straightening out her crumpled dress. Her gold bikini glittered in the sun. She didn’t look at Courtney. “No reason.”
    “Uh-huh.” Courtney wasn’t buying it. She stood up and stepped into her shorts.
    Bridget pulled the dress over her head. She sighed. “He was on my short list. Which has gotten shorter the last couple of days.”
    Courtney laughed. “I’m not attached. I’ll back off if you want.” She tugged on her pale blue tank.
    Bridget ceased fidgeting with her dress and looked at Courtney, gauging her reaction. “Oh, would you?”
    “Yeah, of course,” Courtney said. “Anything for my camp BFF.” Not that she cared either way. David was a beautiful distraction, but she appreciated his six-pack and dimples the same way she appreciated Monet paintings. She acknowledged they were pretty, but she didn’t experience an emotional response to them. Not like she did with Picasso paintings.
    Bridget beamed, tossing her brunette waves over her shoulder. “Besties,” she sang.
    They began the long walk to the dining hall.
    “Wish you could sit with me at lunch.” Bridget pouted. “Everyone in my cabin this year is so basic.”
    “Me, too. My cabin isn’t any better.”
    “Oh, I heard you have a new nemesis this year.” Bridget perked up at the prospect of gossip. “Gimme all the deets.”
    Courtney groaned a complaint. Why did everyone insist on talking to her about Riya all the time? “Just some girl in my cabin. She helped Delores prank me before she even knew who I was, then I did the same. Now, it