“I wouldn’t suggest you do that,” Parker says, but of course she ignores him and walks off.
“Oh wow, she’s serious,” I whisper, watching her strip off her clothes before she runs naked toward the water.
“I guess I should go grab a towel for her.” Oliver stands with a shake of his head; then, a moment later, I hear a splash and turn to look at the lake.
“One thing can be said for that girl. There’s never a dull moment with her around,” Avery says as I watch Lauren’s head appear right before she dives under again.
“Ain’t that the truth,” Jacob agrees as we all watch Oliver make his way down to the water, carrying a towel and muttering under his breath.
“Oh my God!” Lauren lets out a bloodcurdling shriek before she starts paddling wildly toward the shore. “Something touched me!”
“It was just a fish,” Oliver tells her calmly while holding open the towel for her as she runs out of the water and into his arms.
“It didn’t feel like a fish, Oli,” she cries, clinging to his neck when he scoops her up. He starts murmuring quietly to her while carrying her to their tent.
“How much do you want to bet that we’re going to hear them going at it for the rest of the night?” Grant grumbles, and my nose scrunches.
He’s probably right; Lauren might not have taken an actual shower, but she’s now cleaner than any of us. And if that was the only thing stopping Oliver before, he might feel better about it now.
“Well.” Avery pushes up off the ground and looks at her husband. “I’m going to bed, and with any luck, I’ll fall asleep before any of the vocals start.”
“Be there in a minute,” Grant tells her, and she nods before saying good night and making her way up the bank to the grassy area where we set up camp.
“I think I’m going to try to do the same.” I get up and say a quiet good night to the guys, and Tanner gives me a look that says he wants to kiss me but can’t.
After I quickly brush my teeth, I change into a pair of sweats and a hoodie, then get into my sleeping bag with my headlamp and my book, hoping that reading will distract me from the chill in the air. Tanner won’t come to bed until everyone else has called it a night, so I still have a while before I can shamelessly take advantage of him for his body heat. Something I’ve done the last few nights—not that he seems to mind.
In fact, I think if he had his way, we would squish ourselves inside one sleeping bag. My stomach flutters at the idea of him and me actually sharing a bed and having time alone within four solid walls. Really, I’m a little nervous about what will happen when we head back into the real world. I don’t know if we’ll even still like each other. I don’t know how the chemistry between us will translate when it comes to being intimate, and my experience with men is limited to Galvin, so I don’t know how to be with anyone else. And again, Tanner and I don’t know each other well, so I’m really trying to trust my gut, which has led me wrong in the past.
And then there’s the fact that I’ll have to leave to go home.
When anxiousness starts to replace the excitement I was feeling moments ago, I open my book. If I spend too much time dwelling on what might or might not happen, I’ll talk myself out of taking a chance, which I know I’ll regret in the long run, and with this last week as proof that sometimes trying something new can change everything, I don’t want to do that.
“Cybil.”
I spin around in my sleeping bag and then hold my hand to my chest.
“You scared me,” I tell Tanner as my heart pounds under my palm.
“I called your name about five times,” he says; then his eyes move to the book I dropped. “You didn’t hear me. I’m guessing you were at a good part.”
“Yeah.” I pick it up and flip back to where I left off, then dog-ear the page to save my spot.
“So what’s happening now? Did Katharine come around?” he asks.
“You remembered her name?” I laugh, and he stops what he’s doing to look at me and shrug.
“I guess.”
“Well, Edward is not really giving Katharine a choice, and even though he’s all gruff and badass, he’s sweet with her, which is breaking down her walls.”
“Good for him.”
“Yeah,” I agree as a shiver slides down my spine.
“Cold?” he asks. He changes into a pair of flannel pants and a long-sleeved shirt that molds to his body like a second skin.
“Yeah, it feels colder tonight than it has this week.”