More Than Friends?

Chapter 9

"Craig I need to talk to you." I say as I grab the collar of his shirt and pull him away from the fire where he's cooking a sausage.

"Where's Mark?" he says has he stumbles behind me.

"Does it matter? I need to talk to you." I say flatly as I lead him far enough from the others where I can't feel their eyes on us.

"What's wrong? I've never seen you like this before. Are you okay? Tanner?"

"Mark just told me he loves me." the words still shock me as they come out of my mouth.

"No shit. Little Sparky finally decided to grow a pair and tell you." he says as he takes a bite of his sausage that has finally cooled.

"You knew? Why didn't you tell me?" I scold as I hit his arm.

"I thought he'd get over it eventually. He's had this little crush for a while now." he shrugs.

"How long exactly?" I push.

"I don't know like one, two years." He says before shrugging again and taking another bite from his sausage.

"TWO YEARS?!?!" this time I hit what's left of the sausage out of his hand right as he's about to take another bite.

"That's not cool." He says as he points at the sausage now lying on the ground.

"Craig what the hell am I suppose to do?" I say as I lean against a tree and skink down so I'm sitting on the ground. I comb my fingers through my hair in frustration.

"I don't know Tanner, I guess you can stay in my tent tonight so things aren't awkward. But you two are going to have to talk eventually." Craig says a little more sympathetically.

"Thanks." I say as I play with a twig.

"Sure, but Tanner, he's my brother. I understand if you don't feel the same way, just please don't break his heart. He's a big boy, he can handle the truth. You don't need to sugar coat it, and you certainly don't need to lead him along. It will only make it worse." he says flatly before starting towards the others.

"I get it. Right now though I just need to sort it all out in my head, and maybe take a couple of days alone when we get back tomorrow." The twig I'm playing with snaps in between my fingers.

"Fair enough. Now if you want some breakfast come and get it while it's hot." It's like Craig flips a switch within him, returning to his cheerful self.

"I'll be there in a minute!" I call out to him.

"Ahh there she is!" Maxence says as I emerge from the woods. I see Mark sitting on a log across the cooking fire next to Stale. He keeps his eyes down.

I flash my best smile in Max's direction and look at the rest of the guys. "So what are we doing today?" I ask. I don't want things to be awkward our last day here.

"Quarry and beer." Craig and Stale say in unison. This makes everyone laugh, even Mark allows a little chuckle to escape. A wave of relief washes over me when I see this; we might actually make it through the next 24 hours without this blowing up.

***

After breakfast we all change and head to the quarry.

"Let me help you with that." Mikkel says as he quickens his pace to catch up with me.

"Oh no I got it. Thanks though." I say and smile. I know Mark just confessed his love to me and all, but I can't help but notice how cute Mikkel looks.

"I'll take that." he says as he grabs the soccer ball from under my arm. "What is that anyway?" He says gesturing to the fabric draped around my arms.

"It's my hammock, there's a perfect spot by one of the rocks for it."

"You plan on taking a nap?" He asks eyeing me.

"Something like that." I say giggling a little.

"And the soccer ball?" he asks as he spins it around one finger.

"I need to get some extra practice in with the championship this weekend. Plus I'm already missing today's practice." I say, feeling a little bad about it.

"Maybe I can help you out a bit." Mikkel says as we reach the quarry.

"You play?" I ask eyeing him. I never pictured him as a soccer player.

"Not at all." this makes me laugh. "Maybe you'd be willing to teach me before I head out next week?" Mikkel asks as he hands me the ball; his fingers graze mine for a brief moment.

"Sure." I say looking into his blue eyes and biting my lip instinctively.

I walk around to the far edge of the quarry to set up my hammock. In less than five minutes I'm laying down, the sun beating on my already tanned skin as I dive into my book. I'm completely absorbed by the story until a shadow falls over me. I look up and see Maxence standing there.

"Brought you a water." he says as he hands me the cool bottle.

"Thanks." I say, flashing a smile.

"Can you please tell me what's going on." he says leaning against the tree at my feet.

"What do you mean?" I say as I take a sip of my water.

"Mark's on top of the cliff staring at you reading. He keeps talking about how you're playing with your hair. Then Mikkel's over there, laying on the rock staring at you like you're some kind of majestical creature. It's like he's never seen a girl that can read before."

"He probably hasn't." I interject. This makes Max laugh a little.

"You're probably right. Honestly though, what's going on Tan?"

"Max listen, it's something that can wait until later. I don't want to make the rest of this trip shit for everyone. Please let it rest until the time is right." I say with pleading eyes.

"I can respect that." he says looking from Mark to Mikkel, then to me. "Enjoy your book." he says as he slaps the tree.

"Thank you darling." I say as sweetly as possible in my best country accent as I divert my eyes back to the page. I don't want to think about Mark or Mikkel right now. I just want to get lost into another world.

A/N: What would you do if you were Tanner? Would you pick Mark, or Mikkel, or would you choose neither? Let me know in the comments. Don't forget to like if you enjoyed this chapter. Happy reading xx.