Thirty-one
Sam freezes against my body, and for a second, I think I said the wrong thing.
But then he curses and grabs my bra and panties from the ladder. “Someone’s coming. Get dressed.”
Putting on a soggy bra feels like an impossible task, but I quickly realize doing it underwater is the only way to get the fabric to stop sticking to my skin long enough to shrug it into place. By the time I resurface, I know who’s found us.
Alex.
Sam helps me up the ladder and tries to shield me from view as we scramble along the wall with, but Alex’s hoots of laughter when he sees us wake half the forest, I’m sure of it.
“Shut the fuck up!” Sam growls.
“Oh, man,” Alex says, wiping tears from his eyes. “I hope it’s worth it, because James is going to kick your ass!”
“James doesn’t know,” I say. Feeling naked, my arms snake around Sam’s waist, loving the way his stomach muscles clench beneath my hands even though I’m half out of my mind with fear. “I don’t want him to know. Please don’t say anything.”
Alex waves me off. “I’m so drunk, I probably won’t even remember this in the morning. In fact, I’m lucky I didn’t get lost in this fucking forest. You guys have the right idea, though.”
When he strips off his t-shirt, exposing his ripped abs and chest, my nails dig into Sam’s skin. He’s a redheaded, bruise-free version of my brother. Panic sets in immediately.
“Turn around so I can get dressed,” I choke out.
“Nope. I’ve always wondered what you look like under all those clothes. What’s with that, anyway? You’re hot, Sarah.”
Sam’s body clenches tighter than his jaw. Alex thinks he’s getting a show, analyzing what he thinks is a normal body hidden behind his friend in the shadows. When Sam grabs our clothes and moves toward him, I’m sure we’ll be carrying a very bloody, very unconscious Alex back to camp. Mortified, I hang my head and wait for this to be over.
Alex’s wolf whistles and catcalls abruptly die when Sam’s body no longer shadows mine.
“Oh, fuck,” Alex blurts out.
The grim look on Sam’s face when he turns around makes my blood run cold. Standing there in front of them, my hands shielding my wet bra and panties in case they’ve turned see-through in the faint light, I feel my eyes welling with tears I don’t want to shed. I lift my chin and try to meet Alex’s gaze, but his eyes are still glued to the scars on my stomach.
“Now you know,” Sam says. “And you will keep your mouth shut.”
The two of them drop back into the shallow stream on the other side of the wall and Sam reaches up to help me down. No sooner do my feet hit the ground, Alex lurches forward to yank me into his arms. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell us?”
“I thought you guys knew,” I mutter, trying to put distance between my bare stomach and his. “How could you not with all the crap he did to James?”
His massive shoulders and strong arms keep me in place. “Your dad did this?”
Who else? I want to ask, but Sam is clearly not enjoying the sight of his mostly naked girlfriend in the arms of another guy. He clears his throat and Alex backs away.
“Here,” Sam says, and hands me my clothes. “We should get back before James wakes up. Where’s Kelly?”
“I left her puking by the lake,” Alex says as I shrug on his sweatshirt. “Forgot all about her when I saw you guys sneaking off. Guess I should go find her, huh?”
We stare at him.
“Going,” he says, balling up his t-shirt. He hesitates, glancing at my stomach again even though it’s covered. “You know you can call me anytime, right?”
“Thanks,” I say, right as Sam glares at him and says, “She’ll call me first.”
“I care, too, you know.” Alex’s frown morphs into a lopsided grin. “Hey, did you know I was her first kiss?”
Drunk as he is, Sam’s menacing step forward is all the warning Alex needs. He raises his hands and backs away. “Yep. Definitely going.”
Sam says nothing while he yanks on his own clothes, oblivious to my mouth hanging open. “Alex” and “caring” are two words I never would’ve put together. And even more strange…I believe him. At least he wrapped it up with a predictably disgusting comment about the kiss I’d like to forget. When Sam takes my hand and leads me into the trees, I shake the craziness out of my head.
Up ahead, I hear Alex stumbling and cursing his way through the underbrush. He seems to be going in the right direction. Maybe that’s all Sam needed to hear, because he stops me next to a big tree and stares at the ground.
His dark eyes are barely visible in the flashlight’s dull beam, but I don’t need to see them to feel their force. He runs a hand through his hair. “I get why James kept you away from us now. I can’t stand the thought of you going to Alex instead of me. I want to be that person for you.”
I touch his arm. “You are that person. And it’s not like he was serious. He’s Alex.”
“Doesn’t matter. And it’s not Alex, it’s me. I can’t control it.” He steps closer, cupping my cheek in his palm. “Every time my dad left for a deployment, he’d make me promise to take care of my mom. He loved her so much, the thought of something happening while he was away killed him. The last time he left…”
Sam’s voice breaks and his eyes close. I wrap my arms around his waist and bury my face in his neck.
“I get why my dad felt that way, now,” he whispers.