Page 82 of Holiday on the Rocks
“You scared me, I didn’t hear you coming.”
His brow popped up. “You never will. You remember hunting with me?”
“You track like no other.”
He took a step closer. “While I hunted because my old man wasn’t one to ensure we had food in the house, I knew I could get what I needed.”
I nodded as he stepped beside me, then paused and leaned against a tree.
“What do you need, Allie?”
My temperature shot up five degrees and he leaned in closer, so close his lips were just inches from mine and his breath was on my face. I opened my mouth but only an odd little squeak came out. Yup, that was all I had.
“I can almost feel your heart beating right now.” I stood frozen as his lips brushed against mine. “What I can do to you with a few words, nobody else can.”
With Clint here and Levi saying words that were burning my skin, I was attempting to figure out my mood about any of this. Happy? Sad? Ready to bolt? Yeah, my moods don’t just swing anymore, they appeared to bounce, recoil, pivot, fluctuate, oscillate, and occasionally pirouette.
I was almost in a trance as he continued to speak in a husky whisper. “I don’t give a fuck who’s in that house. I’m coming to you tonight.”
His gun dropped to the ground before his hands went to the base of my neck. He tilted my head up before his lips were so tenderly on mine the forest melted away leaving me soupy.
Could he be thinking of more, like after Colorado? Sure, we’d agreed to closure and that was where it ended, but was there a possibility of more?
He pulled away and rested his forehead against mine for a moment when Evan’s voice rang out in the distance. “Everybody, go!”
He picked up his gun, gave me a nod, and walked off as I stood with WTH running through my mind like the two-hundred-meter dash at the Olympics.
As I leaned my head against the tree in front of me with a swirly brain, I didn’t think I could take the past out of the past. That was where it was supposed to be forever. The untamed and wild Levi and Allie love story had to stay buried; it couldn’t be anything but in the review mirror.
Right?
I mean I had loved Clint. Maybe I still did a little? He was a steady guy. He had his future all figured out and now he realized he wanted me in it. If I had to trust someone again, he was a fairly safe bet, right?
Well, that is true for the most part. Clint wanted to move things forward, but when things move forward, it means throwing all your trust into the hands of one person. And that’s like bungy jumping off a bridge with only that little cord keeping you from being squished and dead. Logically you know there’s an overwhelming good chance it will keep you safe, but what if it doesn’t? It would be impossible to live through that shit.
I peeked around the enormous tree in front of me and saw nobody. I moved to the right as Rachel tore through the trees after Kristina. I put my gun up and got Rach in the back and a second later hit Kristina in the arm.
This was a little more fun that I’d anticipated. I jogged through some evergreen trees before I was pelleted twice in the back. I whipped around to see Royce take off, but Lexi was in my sights. I aimed, fired, and got her right in the ass while she let out a scream. Once she saw me, she waved her weapon in the air.
“I’m gonna kill you, Allison!”
“Clearly not with a gun!” I had to admit she was a scary bitch at times. You couldn’t let her cute look fool you. She may appear like a lady, but she could fight, pull hair, and break bones. She’s like the total package that got fucked up through shipping and handling.
I trudged through the snow and hid behind some thick shrubs as quiet as a frickin mouse. I held my breath until she passed.
“Pppst.”
I looked up to see a rugged smile looking down at me while he extended his hand. I bit my lip to conceal my smile as hunting memories filtered in.
In high school I’d gone deer hunting with him multiple times. While “normal” deer hunters had tree stands, Levi lacked the funds for that. So in the summer he got some plywood from the Surburban True Value Hardware Store on Robert Street’s dumpster, and we dragged it into the woods where he screwed it to a solid branch and that was where we’d sit in silence for hours. I’d read a book or just stare at him as his eyes awaited any movement in front of us.
Did I mention we never once left the forest without a deer? The boy had mad skills.
I climbed up a few branches when he reached down, got my hand, and pulled me up beside him. While there was no plywood for our asses today, the branch was big enough to be fairly comfortable. From our high perch we had a wonderful view, and I already saw Evan and Kristina sneaking around.
Levi pointed, and I took two shots and got them both as he chuckled.
From our location above, we pulled a full-fledged jelly ball attack on our housemates for ten minutes while colorful language and frustration floated through the forest like fairy dust.
