Page 76 of Rebellious

I scratch my face, pleased that Fenn is finally feeling some payback for all the hell I’ve endured with him and my brother. “I didn’t actually need an hour—”

“I will punch this new, happy Bennett right out. Do not test me.”

In the dark, with only the moon and our flashlights, the island looks pretty creepy.

“Hold my hand.”

I roll my eyes, which Aspen misses since only her hand sticks out behind her.

“You’re not scared,” I tell her, taking her hand anyway. It’s difficult to walk with the bags on my shoulder and Aspen’s hand and the flashlight in the other.

“How do you know I’m not scared? There could be huge water rats living here.” She follows Fenn through the brush.

“What do you think they eat?” he asks, playing into her bullshit.

“Do you really think there’re rats here?” She actually sounds nervous.

“Possibly. But I think there’s more likely to be snakes and turtles.” I glance down at her bare heels in front of me. “I told you not to wear flip-flops.”

Stopping mid-stride to turn around and point the flashlight in my face, she snaps. “Had I thought you weren’t being typical, overreactive Bennett, I would have. I had to prove a point—just like the grocery store incident.”

“What happened at the grocery store?” Fenn seems honestly concerned.

I wave him off. “Nothing. Your sister just enjoys testing my patience with her clothing choices.”

“Fenn, carry me,” Aspen begs, attempting to pull her hand from mine. I know her game. She can get mad at me for critiquing her clothes, but Fenn will have to break my hand before I let go of hers.

“I’m not carrying you,” Fenn scoffs.

“What a great brother you are.” The huff in her voice is cute.

“Just take high steps,” I tease her.

“Shut up, Bennett. I swear if something runs over my foot, I will leave both of you behind without a second thought.”

“Wow,” Fenn clips. “Don’t we feel special.”

I chuckle and sigh in relief when Fenn pushes the last branch out of the way, revealing the sandy area.

“Fucking finally,” Drew calls, standing up as a fire roars in a circle of stones.

“Are you supposed to have fires here?” I ask. I’m not in the mood to deal with getting a ticket.

“How old are you?” Fenn asks with a disgusted look on his face. “Who the fuck cares about a fire? It’s contained. Relax, fun police.”

Sure, I’ll relax as I babysit these two idiots getting drunk around flames. I think I must groan because Aspen whispers, “It’ll be fine. They’ve probably done this a thousand times.”

That’s true.

When we reach the fire pit, I place the bags down, pulling Aspen around and into my arms. “I see you made it safely out of the forest full of trees and possible water rats.”

She looks up, her brilliant blue eyes sparkling in the moonlight. “You’re not cute.”

I take a moment and steal a kiss, my hands drifting to her ass. Every day has become harder to turn her down for sex. It’s not like I’m scared, but I wanted to spend this summer like I would any other summer without rules. I wanted to experience everything in the right order. No cheating and skipping to the best part. We’ve waited this long, what’s a few more days?

“Here,” Drew shoves a blanket at me, “cover that up before we all get horny.”

Aspen pulls back, taking the blanket and following Drew to a spot in the sand. Logs are circled around the fire, giving us a natural backrest. Copying Aspen, I lower behind her, resting my back against the log, and sliding her between my legs. She fans the blanket, covering her legs and part of mine.

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