Page 50 of Eye of the Hurricane
We sneak out of the tent for us both to use the bathroombefore we go to sleep. On our way back, I hear what sounds like a moan. I turn to Ares, holding back a laugh.
“Who do you think it is?” I ask. He scrunches up his nose in disgust.
“I’m sure it’s Audra and my brother,” he says with a dramatic gag. I hear it again but this time, it’s familiar in the worst way. My mouth pops open in shock. I tug on Ares’ arm and cover my mouth to stifle a laugh.
“Oh my god, that’s Luna!” I whisper-yell. I step on a branch and half expect everyone’s heads to peak out. I don’t particularly care now, though. I no longer feel like we’re the juiciest hookup from tonight.
“Luna and Ravyn?”
“Obviously! They were kissing when we got back here, remember?” He unzips the tent and lets me go in first. He follows close behind and climbs onto the bed.
“So Luna dates women?”
“Luna doesn’tdateanyone. Luna hooks up with women. And men. Non-binary people too, if you care.” I shrug. He stretches his arm behind his head, showing all of his abdomen. I have to drag my eyes from his body.Come on, Kat.
“You know my fingers were just buried inside of you, you don’t have to pretend not to look at me.” His words send a reel of flashbacks through my mind. I’m stunned for a moment without a single response because all I can think about is how it felt to be with him.
“Like I said, dirty mouth,” I say, pointing to him. I climb onto the air mattress next to him and tuck my head into the nook of his shoulder. It takes almost no time to drift off to sleep.
Chapter 15
Ares
I wakeup being drowned in all things sunshine. Literally and metaphorically. Tents don’t offer much in the way of shielding you from the morning sun. I also happen to be laying in a pool of golden strands and creamy skin. I don’t mind it one bit—matter of fact, I can’t think of a better way to go.
I take a moment to admire her quietly. Every single freckle on her face perfectly accents the soft pink of her cheeks. Her bottom lip is fuller than her top one. You’d never notice unless she was a foot away from your face, but she has the faintest patch of freckles just above her top lip.
I feel like I could paint her entirely from memory, down to the tiny details. I brought canvases for exactly this. Just in case inspiration should strike while we’re out here in the woods.
I slip out from under Kat, careful not to wake her. I grab a blank canvas, my paints and brushes, and sneak out of the tent. Ravyn is already awake and sitting in one of the chairs. I take a small detour to talk to her.
“I heard you last night, nasty,” I tease. She scrunches up her nose.
“I heard you first, slut,” she tosses back. I gasp, pulling a hand to chest. A beat of silence passes before we give each other a high five followed by a mix of “nice” and “hell yeah”.
Ravyn and I have been best friends since elementary school. Before Audra moved to Doves Harbor, it was just us. Roman had Beck and he and I were in the awkward stage where we didn’t like each other much. Ravyn was the first best friend I ever had that wasn’t my older brother. The greatest thing that ever happened to me was finding out Ravyn is a lesbian. Alright, maybe that’s a little dramatic. But finding out we could talk about girls? That was definitely the cherry on top of an already great friendship.
We wrap up our small talk and I make a stop by my car to grab an easel before making my way to the water. At first, the plan was to head to the lake. But when I realized how not private that would be, I decided to head for the pond—the one we skinny dipped in last night.
I set up my work station by the shoreline and fill my cup with water from the pond. For the first time in forever, I don’t feel at a loss for inspiration when I sit down in front of the canvas.
At some point,the gentle morning sun turned into aggressive afternoon sun. Maybe a better person would realize the passage of time and go back. Me? I figure if thatmuch time passed, I might as well finish working in the details of my portrait of Little Miss Sunshine.
I get too swept away in freckles and lace details to hear someone approaching.
“Thought I might find you here,” Katherine calls out from behind me. I know it’s her by the Louisiana accent I’ve come to adore. “Is that me?” she asks, stepping closer. I turn to face her.
She’s better than any art I could ever make. Hell, she’s better than any art I’ve ever seen.
She’s got on a yellow strapless sundress and of course, matching yellow heels to go with it. Her hair isn’t down and done like usual. It’s up in a messy bun tied behind her head.
“Did you walk all the way over here in heels?” I ask, stuck on the way the thin post is sinking into the ground as we speak.
“Is that me?” she asks again, ignoring my question and taking another few steps. She’s standing right behind me now, staring at the canvas.
“Is it okay that I painted you? Are you mad?” I hold my breath without even realizing as I wait for a response.
“You know girls dream of being painted, right? We don’t have any problems as long as you keep painting me looking that good. If you start painting my bad angles, we might have a problem,” she says, narrowing her eyes and jabbing a finger in my direction.
