Page 57 of Flirt
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As if the soundof the starting gun had split open the sky, the rain unleashed just as the pigs darted out of their chutes. Cameron laughed at the miserable expression on Asher’s face. The poor guy was so far out of his element, Cameron kind of felt sorry for him. Not enough to let him off the hook, but still, a little.
“It’s just rain,” he called over the cheers of the crowd gathered around the makeshift arena. “Now, go win me those cupcakes.”
Paying more attention to Asher than he was to his surroundings, Cameron didn’t notice Nico sneaking up behind him until the asshole grabbed him around the hips and tackled him to the ground. Mud squished between his fingers and rainwater soaked into his jeans as they rolled together, laughing like a couple of idiots.
“Do I look like a pig?” he demanded as he struggled to his feet.
Nico oinked at him, then took off after one of the young pigs. Taking just a second to push his muddy hair back from his face, Cameron turned in the opposite direction to chase down the other pig. He’d almost cornered it, too, when Natalie plowed right into him. They bounced off each other with loud grunts, slipping and stumbling through the slick mud until they both ended up on their asses.
“What the hell?” she demanded.
“You ran into me, princess.”
“Whatever.”
Cocking her arm back, she sent a fistful of mud flying at his face. Before he could retaliate, though, she jumped to her feet and bounded off again, screaming something that sounded like a cross between a yodel and a war cry.
Asher still stood near the gate, drenched from head to toe, shaking his head at all dozen or so grown-ass adults chasing around a couple of fucking swine. He had the strangest little smile on his lips, and a calculating look in his eyes as he tracked one of the pigs from one side of the pen to the other.
Curious enough to abandon his pursuit, Cameron knelt right there in the mud and watched. Asher took a step toward the middle of the pit, then another. He scissor-stepped a couple of feet sideways, bent his knees, took another step.
Cameron couldn’t figure out what the hell he was doing until the smaller of the two pigs came barreling through a group of people, squealing and grunting as it picked up speed. With a final step, Asher froze, waited, then just when it looked like he’d waited too long, he pounced, diving right over his target to land face first in the mud.
Tossing his head back, Cameron laughed until tears mingled with the raindrops running down his face. Dragging himself up from the ground, he stomped through the mud until he was close enough to offer a hand.
Asher just stared at him, face completely blank.
“Come on, Ash. You were a good sport.” He moved a little closer, still offering his hand. “It’s harder than it looks, isn’t it?”
Asher nodded, reaching toward him. Instead of taking Cameron’s hand, however, he slapped a red, vinyl flag against his palm. “Not really, but you’re still sharing those cupcakes.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
By the time thesun had set, the heavy rains had dissipated into nothing more than a hazy mist. Pulling to a stop in front of Cameron’s two-bedroom cottage near the banks of Grove Lake, Asher cut the engine and slid out of his Lexus, grabbing the damp, muddy towel he’d draped over the driver’s seat to protect the leather. Then, he strolled around the front of his car and waited for Cameron to join him.
The moon hung low in the sky, only half-full but unusually large, its rays reflected off the lazy waves of the water. Bullfrogs croaked from the reeds, their voices joining that of the cicadas and crickets to create the symphony more suited for summer than mid-fall. Still, it was kind of nice…peaceful.
A little farther down the street, soft, twinkling lights and bold, bright streetlamps filtered through the trees from the Boardwalk. Music drifted on the air, accompanied by the dull, muted hum of conversation, and interrupted occasionally by raucous screams and jubilant laughter.
Across the lake, more lights glowed from porches of what appeared to be cabins, all lined up in a neat row. “What are those?”
Tossing his own towel over his shoulder, Cameron glanced to where he pointed. “Rental cabins. I think three have full-time residents. The rest usually sit empty until spring.”
Following Cameron into the house, Asher shook his head. “You don’t lock your doors?”
“No one around here does.” He said it as a statement of fact, nothing more, nothing less. “This isn’t Dallas,” he added. “I trust the people who live here.”
True, but not everyone in town lived there. In fact, Cameron had pointed out several people during the day who had come to the festival from the surrounding towns, some even smaller than Mission Grove.
“You should be more careful.”
Cameron neither agreed nor argued. He simply peeled off his wet, muddy T-shirt and tossed it toward a door at the back of the kitchen, along with both their towels. “I’m completely safe,” he finally answered. “Now, stop worrying so much and come wash my back.”
As much as he wanted that, Asher hesitated. Before leaving the park, Cameron had promised his sister that he’d meet her at the haunted house, which didn’t leave them much time to shower and dress. So, while it fucking killed him to do it, he shook his head. He’d waited this long. He could wait another couple of hours.
“If I get in that shower with you, we’ll never make it to the haunted house.”
