Camp Antler Point

Chapter 16

Lucas's tongue slipped between Amy's lips like a snake slithering into a mouse's burrow. The warm, moist muscle brought with it the taste of the omlettes they'd eaten earlier.

In a word, it was disgusting.

Amy backed away from him, pushing against his chest with her hand as she shook her head.

He reluctantly pulled away from her. "Too soon? I don't mind taking things slow if you want."

His fingers were still on her, curled into the back of her shirt like a tick clinging to a deer. She hadn't wanted his touch or that kiss. Or any of this.

"I'd actually rather not do this."

"Yeah, I guess this is probably a bad time, huh?" He smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry. I guess there'll be plenty of time for us to do that later, after we're out of this mess."

He wasn't getting it. They never did.

"There won't be a good time. I'm not interested in this sort of thing with anyone."

His eyebrows crinkled together as he thought over her response. "Let me get this straight. You're not interested in dating. Like, not at all. Zero."

Maybe this time she'd get lucky. Maybe someone would understand for once.

"Exactly! It's not that I don't like you, Lucas. I just don't feel that way about you, you know?"

"Then why the hell did you lead me on?" His face flushed as his voice took on a sharp, accusatory edge.

So much for him understanding.

Before she could respond, the sound of sneakers crunching through twigs announced Carson's return. "Are you guys okay? I thought I heard yelling."

"We're fine," Lucas growled. "Aside from some people clearly not caring about other people's feelings."

"Oh, I don't care about your feelings? You're the one who forced yourself on me!"

Lucas threw his head back and laughed. "You said you wanted it."

Amy folded her arms. Who did he think he was, trying to twist her words? "I said I wanted to hear your idea for how to get warm, not for you to shove your tongue into my mouth."

"What on earth did you think I was talking about? I've been trying to spend time with you since we got here, and if it wasn't for Mr. Third Wheel over there we could've had some real fun by the lake."

Carson stepped between them. "Dude, drop it. She said she's not interested, and, in case you've forgotten, we've got more important problems to deal with than you not being able to understand a two-letter word."

"Hang on," Amy said. Her voice cracked with unshed tears. "Did you only ask me to hang out with you so you could try to get me to have sex with you?"

And here she'd been thinking that despite all the horrible things that had happened at camp, she'd at least managed to make a couple friends. What a joke that was. A sick, twisted joke.

"Not the only reason. I wanted to get to know you, too. It's not every day you see someone badass enough to try to save a drowning kid without a second thought." He shook his head, wincing as he accidentally jostled his broken arm. "I thought you were cool."

She waited for him to continue, to say he still liked her as a friend despite her not reciprocating his feelings or, at the very least, to apologize for what he'd done.

He refused to meet her eyes, silently glaring at the ground.

Carson cleared his throat to break the awkward silence. "Guys, we need to get out of here in case the moose comes back. It looks like it was sticking pretty close to the road judging from the hoofprints I saw, so we're going to have to make a detour."

It was going to be a long walk.