I look up at Reese, and she glances down at where I’m still sprawled on the ice. The cold is slowly working its way through the suit and starting to burn my ass, but I’m too tired to get up just yet.

“I wish we’d visited Gran some. It might have changed our lives back when we were feeling our worst,” she says with a sad smile.

I shrug a shoulder, eyes moving back over to the gathering. “Or we may have been douchebags who judged them instead of appreciating the different way they live life to their own fullest.”

Hale crows as he scores a goal, and her smile spreads tenfold. When her smile starts to slip, I study her a little more carefully.

“It’s going to be hard to return to the real world,” she confesses so quietly I almost don’t hear it.

“But we do have to return,” I remind her, even though I don’t want to think about it.

Without looking at me, she nods slowly. “Have you and Kai talked about that? Hale won’t let me bring it up.”

“It’s not like he doesn’t know,” I tell her, unable to admit that I haven’t been able to talk about it.

I don’t want to ruin the fun we’re having. I feel freer than I ever have, and I’ve laughed more this past week than I have in my entire life.

He’s kept me too exhausted for us to even attempt having sex again. Instead, we’ve spent most of the week on one adventure after another…

Great. I’m back to being more like a friend, even though we’ve had sex now.

“I want to do something that’s going to make him remember me when the inevitable end of this trip comes about,” I tell her a little more somberly. “So far, he’s the one who is making this all extremely memorable for me. I’d like to return the favor.”

She grins almost sadly. “I know the feeling. Sex just doesn’t feel like enough repayment, and eventually, sex won’t be enough of a memory to last.”

“That’s not what I meant,” I dutifully point out.

“The Wilders are going to buy the cabin,” she adds very abruptly. “Greta talked to me about it the other day when she ran into me and Hale at the diner.”

I’m not sure why my stomach clenches, or why it suddenly seems real, when we really did come down here with the intentions of most likely selling the place. After those first few days, I didn’t expect to have any hesitation.

“Even if we did hold onto it, it’d just sit empty. We wouldn’t have time to visit it very often, and eventually it’d fall apart. Like Hale said, homes need someone to live in them. She’s going to give it to Nila,” she explains.

Exhaling harshly, I ignore the pang in my chest. It’s stupid to have any reservations at all.

I have a life.

I have a home.

I have responsibilities.

I have an entirely different world I have to return to.

“They belong here. We belong there,” I murmur to myself, almost as though I’m convincing myself of that fact.

“It’d be stupid to even consider making a life decision because we met two hot guys who make us laugh,” she states like she’s piling on more reason and logic, playing down her own feelings.

She’s been a goner for a while. She seems to forget she swore she wasn’t going to get too attached.

Hale skids to a halt in front of us, and he wiggles out of his suit, smiling the whole time. Reese’s entire face lights up as she stares at him with her dopey grin.

“I can edit the video for you,” she offers, shrugging a shoulder. “I have some new software I’ve been wanting to try out,” she adds, playing down her skills and experience.

Reese usually takes every opportunity to brag about how good she is at that sort of stuff, so I find it cute how humble she’s being.

“Really?” Hale asks with his grin only growing. “That’d be epic. I’m not all that good at it.”

Watching how hard Reese has already fallen makes me take a bigger step back. Maybe it’s better that we’re not all over each other.

Because I’m not as strong as Reese.

My heart doesn’t open and shut as easily as hers does.

Not everyone is cut out for casual sex.

Wild Ones Tip #909

Only some animals hibernate during the winter. That doesn’t include the Wild Ones.

Chapter 15

KAI

*******

Where the hell is she?

She should have been here four hours ago.

“Still no sign of them?” Hale asks on an impatient huff as he looks around.

“No,” I tell him, pretending I’m not just as fucking eager to see Piper as he is to see Reese.

He looks pathetic.

I don’t want to look pathetic over a girl who isn’t going to be around much longer. I guess it doesn’t matter what I want, because I’m not far from looking as pathetic as him.

Tags: C.M. Owens The Wild Ones Romance
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