Crossing the Line

Chapter 10: At Odds

“You what?” he asked shocked. I sighed and looked to the horses.

“Crys is already on my case because she saw the box you gave me the other night. She already thinks I have a… boyfriend. If I can say it’s Eric, she won’t think it’s you,” I explained quickly. He sighed and ran his hand over his face.

“I don’t think I’d be… comfortable with that,” he said softly.

“How do you think I feel when Crystal explains every detail of your dates to me obsessively every day,” I said heatedly. My teeth clenched and a stubborn tear escaped my eye. I looked away from him and shifted my weight. He held my cheek, bringing my eyes back to his.

“You’re the one who wanted me to go with her,” he replied sternly. I looked away as more tears escaped me.

“I know,” I said quietly. He sighed and kissed my head softly.

“Holly… you’ll do what you have to, but that doesn’t mean I won’t get jealous,” he said softer. I looked at him and scrunched my eyebrows.

“If I haven’t said it enough yet, I love you. I wouldn’t do anything if I didn’t have to, but I think… we need to take a break,” I whispered. I wiped my eyes before I went and sat next to Alyssa again. Tristan didn’t come back. Alyssa smiled at me and immediately frowned.

“Have you been crying?” she asked worried. I shook my head.

“Mystic just stepped on my toe,” I lied. She shrugged and dropped it. I looked over when Tristan came back. Tristan only stared into the fire for the most part. He ignored me for the rest of the dinner. That threw me off a lot, and it took a lot out of me to try and look like I was having a good time. Finally, I was able to recede to my tent. I was sharing one with Alyssa. After I changed into shorts and a tank top for pajamas, I went to get a drink of water. I slowed when I started getting closer to the cooler. Tristan was talking to Eric.

“… I heard you like Holly,” he said matter-o-factly.

“Yeah, she seems nice and funny, and she’s hot too,” Eric smiled. Tristan didn’t smile.

“Yeah yeah yeah, she’s got a banging body, I know, but that’s beside the point. She’s going to say yes to you, but I swear if you hurt her I’ll have your head,” Tristan said heatedly. I looked at him surprised and found myself stepping up.

“Tristan, why… what are you doing?” I asked still surprised. He looked over at me and locked his jaw.

“Looking out for you,” he stated simply. I balled my fists and clenched my teeth.

“I don’t need you looking out for me. I can handle myself,” I said crossing my arms. He turned on his heels and left. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. I smiled softly at Eric.

“Sorry… about that. He’s a bit… overprotective,” I shrugged. Eric shrugged as well and put his hands in his pockets.

“It’s cool,” he smiled. “I was… just going to ask you if you wanted to go out with me sometime.” He explained. I could see Tristan near the trees out of the corner of my eye. He was watching blankly. I smiled at Eric and nodded.

“I would love to,” I smiled. I grabbed a water bottle and stood close to Eric. “Well, I’m going to head off to bed now. See you tomorrow.” I smiled. I hugged him longer than necessary before I walked back to my tent. I knew it was wrong but I wanted Tristan to know how I felt. I wanted Eric to crawl under his skin like Crystal did to me. I smiled and told Alyssa about the encounter. She beamed and talked about it until I fell asleep.

The next morning, I woke up earlier than most of the employees. I sat on a log near the fire and stared into it blankly. I don’t know how long I stayed there, but suddenly everyone was up and moving. Soon, Eric was sitting next to me. I smiled and flipped my hair back.

“Hey, want to go for a walk before breakfast?” Eric asked sweetly. I nodded and he helped me stand. He didn’t let go of my hand right away as we started walking, but strangely enough, I didn’t mind. We walked out of view of the campsite before he stopped and turned to me.

“Were you… okay last night? You looked a little… upset,” he asked worried. I rolled my eyes and sighed.

“I just… got in a fight with my sister’s boyfriend,” I explained vaguely.

“Oh… wait, Tristan?” he asked. I nodded guardedly. “He seems a bit… edgy out here.” Eric shrugged. I laughed. He was being edgy. I hugged him and smiled.

“Yeah, he’s not really big on nature. Thank you,” I smiled.

“For what?” he asked, smiling.

“Cheering me up,” I shrugged, tilting my head at him. He leaned forward and touched my lips with his briefly. I looked at him shocked. “Why-why did you do that?” I asked frazzled. He shrugged and smiled.

“Because I really like you, and I have for a while now,” he smiled. He frowned when he looked at me. “I’m sorry, did I make you uncomfortable?” he asked. I smiled and shook my head.

“No,” I smiled. “You didn’t.” He took a step back and blushed as he smiled softly. I pecked his cheek. I tilted my head and smiled.

“Your shy… that’s so cute,” I smiled. “We should get back to the campfire.” I said looking back. He was soon walking alongside me on our way to the campsite. Everyone was still moving around. I sat on the log and Eric sat next to me. Eric made me feel… my age; I smiled as we ate our breakfast. Tristan shot me confused looks. I mouthed ‘we need to talk later’ to him and he nodded discreetly. Today was the last day we were going to be here.