Page 318 of Boots, Bucket Lists & Bad Ideas
My hand slips into his in that perfect way, and I fall into step beside him, our shoulders brushing.
I expect to find everyone crashed for the night. We’re usually a group that goes to bed early and rises early. But instead, they’re clustered around the fire, blankets haphazardly draped over their shoulders, mugs in hand, laughter spilling into the quiet.
“There they are!” Josie Leo’s to get feet, way too bubbly after a day like today. “Scavenger hunt. Ten minutes.”
53: ROUGH BARK
HART
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AGREEING TO INCLUDE them in the bucket list hadn’t meant jumping straight into their next unhinged misinterpretations.
But every single one of them is fucking ready to go. I’m ready for bed. Ready to pull Jade into my arms, and—
“Team up. Go find the weirdest stuff you can, within the campground and without stealing.” Josie flashes the flashlight at everyone. “The winner doesn’t have to do a presentation at the town meeting.”
At least the rules are simple.
“What page is this bucket list challenge?” I drop my bag of dirty clothes on a nearby lawn chair.
“Number twenty—” her voice trails off, looking at our book, ,but not to find the challenge, but rather to distract herself from not giving us a straight answer.
“Twenty what?” I ask, knowing damn well there’s nothing inside that book that could be deciphered as a scavenger hunt.
And I get the feeling, she knows that too.
“Twenty-three?” Is she asking me?
“I think twenty-seven,” Dean interjects.
“Or was it twenty-one?” Bronx throws in.
“It’s none of those.” At this rate, bed is sounding closer to a real option.
“Ready, set, go!” Josie sprints away, taking away my chances of hitting my tent early.
Not that it’s early.
“How the hell do they have this much fucking energy?” I growl. “They’ve been acting like a bunch of teenagers this whole week. How are they not exhausted?”
Jade slips her hand into mine with a grin. “You invited them to our bucket list.:
“This isn’t part of our bucket list.”
She shrugs. “But you can’t prove that. They can interpret any page however they like.”
“This is bullshit.”
She laughs. “Agreed, but this is your fault, and since we’re paired together, I think we could make this fun.”
Anything with her is fun. Even restless roaming at midnight.
Is it midnight?
Shit, I don’t know.
“Let’s go to the trail you followed me down the other morning. I’m sure we can find something weird there.”
