I STAYED AT the campfire long after everyone went to bed. The embers were dying down. I didn’t know why I’d stayed.

It wasn’t as if I was deep in thought.

Just the idea of going back to my cabin felt… lonely. So lonely.

And after this morning… this afternoon…

What Marlo said…

I honestly just wanted a hug, wanted someone to tell me everything was going to be fine. I needed a friend.

“Still up?” Marlo’s voice had me jumping a foot, nearly into the embers.

I put my hand to my chest in a vain attempt to comfort my racing heart. “Could you walk louder?”

“I called your name twice before I sat down.” He stoked the fire from his seat next to me.

The warmth of his body reached out to me.

The way he restrained himself as if he was seconds away from snapping, perhaps out of anger, lust, or just all of the above.

Campfire smell filled the air, smoke billowing in my line of vision as we sat in tense silence.

“Why?” he asked. One word. No further explanation.

“Why what?” I licked my lips and watched as the smoke grew tiny tendrils that wrapped themselves around the charred wood.

He dropped the stick and rubbed his hands together. “Why are you still up?”

“I—” My voice caught. It caught with things left unsaid. Things I couldn’t say. Things that were real when spoken out loud because when you say words out loud, your ears hear, your heart believes them. It’s like manifesting your truth.

And I wasn’t ready to do that with mine.

“You have no reason to trust me,” he began.

His deep voice caused goose bumps to erupt all over my skin. I rubbed my arms back and forth with my palms and waited for whatever else he was going to confess. I was an addict for his truth, scrambling with my hands, digging through the dirt to seek it out, to uncover the treasure. Because I knew there was nothing more beautiful than a person’s truth.

It was why I was petrified of mine.

Because it was ugly.

It was so damn ugly.

Alone.

Afraid.

Alone.

Afraid.

Worthless.

Unlovable.

I shook as the words bounced around in my head, quivering with the need to get them out, to tell Marlo I couldn’t remember a time when I hadn’t been afraid.

To tell him that my favorite place — even if it was just for revenge — had been in his arms.

“It’s getting late.” He stood and held out his hand.

I took it.

He was director, after all.

And the staff had a curfew too. I mean that curfew was two a.m., but still I knew I had to get up early and attempt to teach choreography without baring my soul.

I almost laughed at the thought.

That was a little bit like saying I was going to act without emotion, wasn’t it?

He dropped my hand when I stood.

He moved it to my back.

I took a few steps, and then the pressure on my back forced me to turn. I gave him a sideways glance as we kept walking away from my cabin.

Toward his.

I almost dug my heels in.

Almost laughed at the same time.

Did he really think that, after this morning, I was going to get naked with him? I was ready to yell at him, to scream at myself.

To throw rocks into the fire and run away when he opened the cabin door and ushered me inside.

A lamp was lit in the corner.

He had two beds.

I frowned.

Both were made.

Two. Beds.

Why was I fixating on the number of beds?

He pulled his shirt over his head, kicked off his pants. I tried not to stare at every inch of sinewy muscle that flexed in my direction, but the only way not to stare was to poke my own eyes out, and I enjoyed what I saw too much to look away.

He ran his hands through his thick hair and then nodded to the other bed. “Sleep.”

“In here?” I gaped at him. The guy was crazy.

He yawned as if I bored him. “Yeah, Ray, in here, in your own bed. At least then you won’t be alone.”

“How did you know I didn’t want to be alone?”

Now the smirk was back. “Because you chose sitting around a dying campfire and possible bear attacks over going back to your cabin at one in the morning.”

Valid point. “Wait, there are bears?”

“Nature.” He spread his arms wide.

My mouth went dry at the sight of his tight eight-pack and low V that I hadn’t even had time to process yet as it dipped into tight briefs that made his ass look amazing.

My God, I am sexually harassing him in my head!

I am just as bad as Jackson!

Worse!

“Right.” I cleared my throat and did a small circle. I was about ready to jump in with my clothes on when a fresh-smelling cotton shirt was tossed onto my bed.

“Sleep, Ray.” He crawled into bed and lay on his back.

I quickly stripped out of my clothes, kept my bra and underwear on, and pulled his white shirt over my head.

It smelled good.

Like him.

Fresh.

I hadn’t realized I was still smelling it until I heard a chuckle from his bed. I grabbed a stray pillow and slammed it down onto his face.

It just made him laugh harder.

So, I hit him again.

And again.

“That’s it.” He jumped up, gripped me by the waist and threw me over his shoulder, stood and walked me back to the twin bed, then threw me onto it.

I bounced up and nearly knocked him in the head before I was pinned to the mattress.

My breathing slowed.

His eyes flickered to my mouth.

Then away.

“Sleep,” he said, his voice cracking. “I’ll just be over here taking care of all the pillows in case you decide to hold one over my mouth mid-sleep.”

I rolled my eyes. “You wouldn’t even know you were dead.”

“Good to know. I’m thrilled I invited you into my cabin. Make sure the cops know I was a giant dick so they don’t put you in prison. I mean, you have a legitimate reason to want to murder me.”

“I do.” I turned on my side as he crawled into bed.

Moonlight flickered through the window near his feet.

“Hey, Marlo?” It was almost too quiet.

“Yeah, Ray.”

“Are you on human-growth hormone?”

He burst out laughing. I decided that I liked that laugh so much more than the sexy scowl. I liked every angle I saw. From the angsty drama kid to the guy who ran because he genuinely enjoyed it to the dancer who wore his heart on his sleeve. I loved it all.

I loved his layers.

I loved his voice.

I needed someone to put the pillow over my face. Immediately.

“Can’t say anyone’s ever accused me of HGH.” He turned to face me. “No. I’m just the product of what happens when you don’t peak in high school.”

“I peaked in high school,” I said more to myself than anyone.

“No.” He said it as if it was true. “You haven’t peaked yet.”

“Excuse me?”

“You haven’t peaked yet,” he said slowly. “Trust me, when you do, you’ll be unstoppable.”

“I have boobs,” I said dumbly.

“Yeah, nice ones too,” he said in a sing-song voice. “Many a man would sell their souls just to drown between them, but not what I was talking about, Ray, and you know it. You’ve always been beautiful.”

“Thank you… I think.” I frowned and lay back down.

“Night, Ray. Try not to overthink this conversation to the point where you look like hell in the morning and can’t teach your class.”

“Ah, asshole’s back.”

“Asshole never left.” He put a pillow over his head as if I annoyed him.

And I smiled because I found great satisfaction in the fact that I probably did.