The Hunter In Me

1 - Overgrown

"Some people I know swear something chased them from that old cabin off Belmont." Nolan's voice dropped as he leaned over the table in the noisy diner, arching an eyebrow. "They got so freaked out they bolted right past their car, all the way back to town—never even went back for it."

I scoffed. "Shut up."

"I'm serious! According to them, something big was there, big enough to make the whole house shake when it chased them away. They were lucky to get out, whatever it was probably wanted to eat them." Nolan popped a fry in his mouth.

"Okay. Who are these people?"

"My neighbor's cousin's friend went with his brothers. They used to live here back when they were teenagers."

Snickering, I shook the ice in my glass and took a sip of my sweet tea, wondering if Nolan made that story up, or if he was the gullible one.

He threw a balled-up straw wrapper at me that bounced off my forehead and fell to the floor. "So, I was thinking after dinner, we take the girls there to explore."

I picked the trash up and dropped it on my napkin. "You're nuts, dude. There's no way I'm doing that."

Nolan pushed his empty dinner plate aside with a smirk and glanced at the surrounding diners. "Why not? Are you afraid?"

"No, idiot." I chuckled. "It's just an old abandoned house, but trying to scare the crap out of Emily doesn't seem like a great first date."

"Come on, Bash. It'll be fun! The girls might freak out and need someone to hold." Nolan squared his shoulders, and as the waitress walked by, he shot her a cocky wink.

Smiling, she strode past with a tray of empty glasses, disappearing behind the swinging doors to the kitchen.

"Right, dude, you'd love that. But I don't have to scare my dates into touching me." I grinned.

He laughed, tilting his head toward the restroom, and my heart thumped as I turned to watch Emily and Lauren weave between the crowded tables. When Lauren took her seat beside Nolan, he leered dramatically, and she kissed his cheek before shoving him away with a giggle.

Then Emily scooted into the red vinyl booth next to me, and her sweet vanilla perfume enveloped us. Glossed lips curved up as she said, "Thanks for dinner, Bash."

"No problem! I'm glad your parents let you out for a date."

"I'll be doing whatever I want at college, so why keep me at home for the summer?" Emily shrugged and twisted her sandy blonde hair around her finger.

Lauren leaned against Nolan. "What should we do now? Let's do something fun!"

He cleared his throat and pointed at me. "Bash said he wanted to check out that old house off Belmont."

I rolled my eyes and pressed my lips into a thin line as Emily gasped."No way! The haunted place?"

"We don't have to do that. I'll do anything you want." I rubbed my palms over my legs and tried not to appear too eager. If she wanted to jump out of a plane, I'd jump, but it was probably best to keep some pretense of chill.

Emily's shoulders relaxed as she reached over and laced our fingers together for the first time. I ran my thumb over her wrist, and a pretty shade of pink tinted her cheeks.

"Aw, guys, don't be boring," Lauren whined and turned to Nolan. "I've never been there. Have you?"

"No, but I know some people that went and it's for real. There's definitely something spooky going on."

"I know!" Lauren's screech was accompanied by enthusiastic head nodding. "Some people my parents knew in high school went. They took a Ouija board with them and no one heard from them again."