“She hates me,” she explained.
“Oh, I’m most definitely sure that wasn’t because of you, Finley.”
“Yes, it was.”
“No,” I held, “it was because of me.”
Finley furrowed her brows. “Why?”
Everyone broke off into private conversations by then so I proceeded to tell her everything I felt for Cricket, how badly I had fallen for her and how she rejected me.
Finley laid a hand on my shoulder briefly. “I know what that feels like,” she said, smiling at me in understanding.
I squeezed her hand in camaraderie. “Thanks.”
Her hand fell back into the water and we sat there in silence. “Do you still like Ethan?”
“Uh, yeah, I guess I never really got over him. Is that pathetic?” she asked.
“No, I don’t think so. Actually, I was sort of in love with a girl in high school. Her name was Sophie. She was incredible,” I said, thinking back on her.
“What was she like?”
“She had the most awful personality you’ve ever known,” I said, laughing.
Finley looked at me like I was crazy.
“But she was so hot,” I explained. Finley creased her brows in disgust. “Hear me out,” I said. “I used to be totally shallow about shit like that, and Sophie was the ultimate prize. She was beautiful, like, supermodel beautiful.”
“Whatever happened to her?”
“She got caught with drugs and was sentenced to work in an orphanage in Uganda for six months.”
“Sounds like she got what she deserved,” Finley bit.
I thought about the Sophie that came back and how extraordinary she truly became. “She definitely got what she deserved,” I concurred.
The night carried on. Put on fast forward, people got in and out, ate, drank and left. I found a kindred spirit in Finley and thought she was a genuinely nice girl. We were the last two left that night at close to two in the morning when she excused herself. I walked her back to the campsite but decided to turn back and spend a little while longer in the springs while I had the peace and quiet.
The water was beyond warm in the chilly air, and I sank deeply into it down to my neck. I’d felt so lost lately when just months before I had such a definite course set ahead of me. My deadline to invest in my friend’s stock came and went and I had to watch it take off exponentially, making my friend rich beyond his wildest dreams. I wasn’t as jealous or angry about it as I thought I would have been, but it did help that I had millions stashed away for a rainy day just in case another investment came my way.
I felt sick without Cricket’s rocky friendship and thought very seriously about just buying a little house nearby to visit in my future years of life. Just knowing she was nearby would have to be enough for me and I needed to come to terms with that.
I looked up at the deep blue sky scattered with glittering stars and was in absolute awe of the wilderness that was America. I sat up a little, trying to make out the constellations when I felt a nose on my back.
“Eugie?” I asked and he licked the side of my face.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Cricket’s sweet voice rang out like a balm to my soul, making my eyes roll back into my head. “I was just coming for a late-night swim.”
“It’s okay,” I said, sitting up even more, my heart beating rapidly.
Those words were the only I’d heard her address directly to me in weeks. She turned like she was going to leave, and I bolted out of the water.
“Don’t go,” I said, grabbing her forearm gently.
Her eyes followed up my hand and arm to my face.
“Okay,” she whispered.
She peeled off her short robe and sandals and slipped into the water with me. We were deathly quiet for more than ten minutes and I felt so tempted to leave. It was getting awkward, and I never liked to feel awkward with Cricket. I made a move to get out of the water just when she spoke.
“Do you like Finley?” she asked, startling me.
“Yeah, she’s a fine girl.”
Her head bobbed up and down as she stared at the stars.
“She’s quite beautiful,” she said.
“I suppose so, yes.”
“Was she interesting to you?” she asked.
I wasn’t sure where she was going with her line of questioning.
“Cricket?” I asked.
“Yeah?” she said, running her hands over the top of the water.
“Are you jealous I talked to Finley all night?”
Her head whipped my direction. “No!”
“Then why are you so curious?”
She cleared her throat and looked back up at the night sky. “I don’t know.” She sighed.
I ran my hands through my wet hair.
“Thank you for taking care of Eugie for me,” she said, changing the subject.
“He’s been helping me through some stuff.”
“He’s good at that.” She smiled.
I smiled back. “I know.”
She stood up and the water reached just below her breasts, which made me laugh because it met my waist.
“Come here,” she said, walking to the opposite edge of the pool.
I followed her and we peered over the precipice.
“Wow,” I said simply.
Cascading down the mountains, in a stairstep pattern, were dozens of little hot springs reflecting the night sky. They were breathtaking.
“I can’t believe how beautiful this is,” she whispered. “I never tire of it.”
“Agreed,” I said as I looked upon her profile.
Our arms touched briefly but instead of jerking away as I’d expected, she let our skin linger together and the warmth drove me insane. Without looking at her, I pressed my arm deeper into hers. The reflection in the water showed me she pressed her eyes closed and encouraged me. I raised my hand a little and rested it beside hers, the sides of our palms barely touching, before wrapping my pinky finger around hers.
Her breathing deepened, her chest rose and fell faster with each finger I moved over her hand.
“Spencer,” she exhaled, and I could no longer think.
I yanked her away from the edge and pressed her back into the larger rock in the pool. She gasped, and it did things to my stomach. I slowly inched my way closer to her and with each inch, she panted harder.
“Don’t move,” I sighed into her neck.
She frantically nodded and bit her bottom lip.
My mouth gaped open. “Oh, Cricket,” I told her, my voice dropping an octave. “I told you never to do that.”
She released her lip and I found my hand reaching for it. I ran my thumb across its glossy fullness, feeling her warm breath against the pad. I followed the plump line to the crease of her mouth then back.
Her hands reached for my shoulders but I stopped them, earning me another soft gasp. I pinned both her wrists above her head with one hand. With the other, I continued to explore her exquisite mouth before tracing my thumb down the line of her throat. She swallowed, making me smile.
“Your neck is delectable,” I told her, studying it reverently. “Stay still,” I ordered. I bent into the curve of her neck and inhaled. “My God do you smell incredible,” I quieted into her skin, which earned me a soft moan. I stood once more but kept her wrists pinned. “Not another sound, Cricket Hunt, or I’ll kiss you so hard your head will spin.” Her mouth parted in disbelief but she obeyed.
I do believe she wouldn’t have complained if I had, but she was enjoying our game as much as I was.
My free hand found the base of her throat and my thumb pressed between her collarbones briefly before running the length of each. My hand glided up the side of her neck before finding her jaw. I tilted her head up slightly and slowly inched my way closer until my lips met underneath the line of her jaw. I pressed the softest kiss there but delayed a little, letting my breath fan across her sensitive flesh before pulling away again. She exhaled when I did and sagged a little
against my chest.
“Stand up, Cricket,” I uttered against her skin.
She sagged a little farther before supporting herself once more. This was torture for us both, but it was such a good hurt.
I studied her body, trying to decide where to explore next. The flat of my hand found the top of her chest and stayed there while I felt her heartbeat, causing goosebumps to spread across her skin.
I pulled her hands down and let them fall into the water to warm her but then flattened her hands against the rock. “Keep them there,” I instructed.
Both my hands met her hips and I pinched the bones between my forefingers and thumbs before sliding them up her sides, feeling every curve, learning every contour. When I met the undersides of her breasts, I slid them to the side, then up her arms and shoulders before coming back down, lingering at the swell of her breasts and meeting her hips once more.
Her eyes had drifted shut.
I shifted toward her ear. “Answer me this.”
Her eyes fluttered open. “Yes,” she barely breathed.
“Do you like my touch?”
“V-very much,” she answered, sounding almost drugged.
My palm found the back of her neck and I angled her closer to me. I snatched her away from the rock and she breathed in sharply, pleasing me to no end. I sat her in the shallow end of the water, on its natural shelf underneath the pool, and wedged myself between her legs. I let my head fall at the base of her neck and let my lips procrastinate there, resting my forehead into her shoulder and driving myself crazy in the process.
I softly kissed up the base of her throat to the line of her jaw and lingered at the crease of her mouth. As if she were drugged, she tried to move her mouth toward mine but her movements were too heavy and I stopped her.
I chuckled. “No, no, Cricket. We’ll kiss when I say we kiss.” She nodded sluggishly and closed her eyes once more. “And when that happens, I want your tongue with mine. I don’t want to know where you begin or I end.” She groaned softly but nodded.
My lips found her throat again and I flicked my tongue out quickly and tasted salt, making my tongue swell in anticipation of the kiss.
“Cricket?” we heard Ethan call out.
Cricket let out a panicked gasp and pushed me away. She separated herself from me by sliding down the shelf. All I could do was stare at her in disbelief.
“I cheated,” she said, placing her hand over her mouth as if in disgust.
“With who?” I bit, frustrated beyond belief that she was abandoning me yet again.
“You!” she whisper yelled.
“We haven’t even kissed!” I yelled low.
“I’m an awful person,” she said desperately. “I cheated.”
“You are an awful person,” I replied with acid and she began to cry. “But not because you supposedly cheated. It’s because you haven’t really been with Ethan for months now, yet you keep stringing him along. Just like me. You’re cruel, Cricket Hunt. And I’m officially done with you.”
“Wait!” she begged. “Please, let me explain. I’m ready to tell you everything. You have to understand!”
“Not a chance. I’m done with you,” I told her and meant it.
I launched myself from the pool and headed straight for the campsite.
“Where’s Cricket?” Ethan asked me.
“Back there,” I told him. With my heart.
The next morning, Jonah “knocked” on my tent. I sat up and unzipped it for him.
“What!” I howled.
“Dang!” Jonah laughed. “What crawled into your sleeping bag?”
“Your cousin did.”
“What?”
I laughed. “No, I just meant that I officially have decided to get over Cricket Hunt.”
Jonah sat on his haunches. “What happened?”
“Nothing,” I said, yanking my hair at the sides.
“I can see that.”
“Bite me.”
“Yowza. Sounds like she did a number on you. Is that where you were gone to last night?”
“Yeah, I was off getting tortured by your cousin.”
“Now, wait a minute, did she, uh, tell you anything?”
“No! And I swear, I’m recommending you all for the CIA.”
Jonah laughed. “All right, well, I’m taking Ethan hunting with Eugie for breakfast. You want to come?”
“Hell no! I want as far away from him as well.”
“Fine, grumpy.”
He zipped my tent shut and I fell into my pillow, pissed beyond belief. I don’t know how it happened, I was so amped up, but I fell back to sleep.
“Spencer!” someone yelled, waking up.
My heart pounded. I unzipped my tent and discovered a panicked Cricket.
“What?” I asked.
“I’m, uh, sorry to bother you, but everyone went back down to the springs and I don’t have anyone else to turn to.”
“I’m always a last resort for you,” I acidly replied.
“I deserve that, and I’m sorry, but right now I can’t talk about that. Right now, you and I need to go out and search for Jonah and Ethan.”
“What?” I said, my adrenaline spiking. “Why?”
“Because they took their bows to hunt and their rifles to protect and I just heard their rifles discharge.”
“Oh my God,” I said, already sliding my boots on.
I zipped my jacket up and grabbed my own rifle.
“Come on,” I told her. “Where did you hear the shots?”
“In that direction,” she said, pointing southwest.
“All right,” I said, walking.
“Jonah!” I yelled and waited for a response.
“Ethan!” she yelled.
We traded back and forth that way for a good five minutes before we heard two shots. We stopped dead in our tracks before sprinting their direction, yelling their names at the tops of our lungs.
Finally, Jonah yelled back, “Spencer?!”
“Where are you!”
“This way,” he said, blowing his air horn.
We found them and Eugie, their rifles cocked and ready and staring farther southwest from us.
“What happened?” Cricket asked, out of breath.
Ethan looked at her. “Are you okay?” he asked, concern in his eyes.
“I’m fine,” she said, forcing a smile.
“Wolves,” he answered.
“Oh no. Eugie!” she said, calling him to her side. She held his belled collar in her hand. “Stay here, boy.”
“They ran off that way,” Jonah explained.
“Good,” Cricket said, “let’s get back to the campsite.”
He nodded but looked unsure.
We were halfway back to the site when Eugie began growling.
“Eugie?” Cricket said, uneasy.
All three of us cocked our rifles and lifted them.
“Where are they?” I whispered.
“They’re circling us,” Jonah answered.
“Quiet,” Ethan said, scanning the woods around us.
Cricket’s grip on Eugie’s collar tightened and we moved in around her, sheltering her. Eugie growled even louder then started barking. Ethan and Jonah tensed.
“Shh, Eugie,” Cricket ordered.
“Oh my God, there’s five of them,” Ethan said looking around.
I had no idea how he saw, but I knew how dangerous things had become.
“Each of us only has one shot,” Jonah quieted. “Keep them in your sights. I’ve got this one here, Ethan far left. Do you think you could get the alpha, Spencer?”
“Yes,” I said confidently, aiming at the glowing eyes a head above the rest of the wolves.
“Why can’t we try to scare them off?” Cricket said, worrying her lip.
“They’re ready to attack,” Ethan said.
The alpha started stealthily made his way toward me. Eugie began to growl again and the wolf bared its teeth, his snarl grumbling menacingly. Eugie barked an
d the wolf leaped toward us.
My breath held as I aimed my rifle. I fired, hitting him in the chest and falling him midair. Two more shots rang out succinctly. I went to load the rifle quickly to get the other two but they leaped toward us before I could so I swung the butt of my rifle and pegged one in the head, but it did nothing but slow him down and he set his sight on Cricket with renewed fury.
“No,” I breathed and threw myself on top of her.
Eugie ripped himself from her grasp and attacked the wolf.
“Eugie!” Cricket cried.
Jonah batted the fifth wolf with the butt of his rifle as well and we watched as Eugie chased both of them off into the woods, his belled collar ringing as he ran.
“Eugie!” Cricket yelled after him.
“We’ll get him,” Ethan promised. “Come with me,” he said.
Cricket and Ethan followed the bell and Jonah and I fell in beside them.
“They could be so far away already,” she said, worrying her lip again.
“We’ll get him,” I assured her.
She nodded.
We followed the bell as far as we could but out of nowhere the bell stopped abruptly so we did as well.
“No,” she said, her hands going to her head.
“He probably just went out of hearing distance,” Jonah tried to soothe.
“Eugie!” she called out over and over, her voice frantic.
“We should split up,” Jonah told her.
“Okay,” she said, without thinking and following Jonah, leaving Ethan and I together.
Jonah and Cricket went off toward the direction we last heard the bell, but Ethan and I just stood there staring at one another.
“Just follow me,” he said, walking into the left side of the woods.
Silently, we walked, keeping our eyes peeled for Eugie, when we heard the wolves once more. Both of us having reloaded, we crept upon them. Their noses were pressed into something and they were working together to ravage it.
“No,” I whispered running toward them. “No!” I yelled, my heart already shattering into a million pieces.
I raised my gun and shot one while Ethan shot the other and we stumbled upon Eugie, laying on his side, the only movement, the rustling of his fur in the wind.
“No,” I said, falling at his side. I pressed my face into his snout and waited to feel his breath but nothing met my cheek and I almost broke down. My palm went to his side and I felt for a heartbeat but it failed to beat. “Eugie,” I murmured, an overwhelming sadness already inundating me. My head whipped up. “Oh God, Cricket.”
GREED (The Seven Deadly Series) Page 23
