Chapter 50
JADE
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THE SIGN READS: Closed After Dark.
It’s a good thing Hope and Levi didn’t make the trek for nothing. Daisy and Celi are missing too.
Only nine of us wasted our time.
“Alright, guys, so I know it says closed.” Josie steps in front of everyone, cloaked in black from head to toe, a hood drawn low over her head. “But, drumroll please.”
Dean taps a rapid drumroll on his thighs.
Josie smiles proudly. “We’re sneaking in.” She pulls the strings of her hood, tightening the material around her face.
Why am I not surprised?
The first tell-tale sign should’ve been when Josie snuck us into the fairground through the side gate instead of the main entrance.
Everything is shut down for the night. Only light comes from the pale moon above, casting long shadows over the dry, stacked bales of hay. The maze is dark and silent, its entrance swallowed by the night.
“What? No.” Hannah is the first to object. “Are you serious, Josie? We’re adults. It’s dark. It’s closed. We’re not doing this.”
She crosses her arms, straightening her posture, and shaking her head, slipping into her best “mama” stance.
I’m with her.
This is a terrible idea.
Josie swings the flashlight around in her hand. The light stops at Hannah.
“It’s not like we’re going to vandalize anything. We’re just having a little fun.” Josie zigzags the light over Hannah’s body.
“Fun until we’re arrested and charged.” Hannah picks up a crumpled flyer from the ground and tosses it in a nearby garbage can.
“And I’ve already spent the night in jail this month.” Hart stuffs his hands in his pockets, as if he’s afraid that if he takes them out, they’ll be all over me.
Now, that sounds like fun.
Josie rolls her eyes, pulling the strings of her hood. “Dramatic much. We’re not robbing a bank.”
“Sneaking into a closed maze does seem kinda sketchy.” Natalie tried to stay at the RV and finish her book, but Josie wasn’t hearing it.
“Oh, please. It’s just a hay maze. Worst case, we get a ‘please leave’. So worth it.”
“I’m in.” Harper steps beside my sister.
“Hell yes.” Dean wraps his arm around her and pulls her close. “That’s my girl.” He kisses her, and Bronx punches his shoulder. “Would you believe that before I found her she would never break a rule?”
Josie flashes the light at him. “Would you believe that before she never broke a rule, she broke all the rules?”
Josie and Harper were best friends before Harper’s rock star dad passed away, and she retreated into herself. Dean brought that spark back to her, just like Hart brought my spark back to me.
“I’m in, but I’m not going with those two.” Bronx steps across an invisible barrier between the “in” and “out” crowd. “They can’t keep their hands off each other.”
“We gotta get this bucket list done,” Dean grunts in a deep voice.
“We’ll split up. Half of us will go through the entrance. Half will sneak through the exit. The first group to finish the maze wins. Think of it like a midnight challenge.” Josie flashes the light at the entrance, then the exit twenty feet down.
“Not everyone has agreed.” Hannah fidgets with the sleeve of her jacket.
Josie looks at me. “Jade? Hart? You coming? It’s your guys’ bucket list.” She leans her head back and groans. “Why are we all so dramatic tonight? If we weren’t standing out here arguing, we’d already be halfway finished.”
“We’re in,” I say before I change my mind.
Breaking the rules, not my thing.
Breaking the law, it’s usually a hard no.
But who’s going to stop us?
I feel Hart’s hand on the small of my back, and the heat stirs my insides, reminding me of all the naughty things we did this afternoon. We cross that invisible line.
Josie smiles, a spark of triumph in her eyes.
“Couples take the exit. Singles take the entrance.” When no one moves, she adds.
“Also, I was told that security will chase us, tackle us to the ground, and charge us if they find us trespassing, so when you finish, sneak out, and we’ll meet by the gate we came in. ”
“Josie!” Hannah hisses, but low as her head surveys the area.
Josie presses her fingers to her lips. “Shhh. They were on rotation, but you guys took so long deciding, I’m sure they’re back on patrol now.”
Hannah stomps to the entrance, mumbling, “I can’t believe we’re about to break a bunch of laws over a hay maze.”
“It’s a bucket list challenge and therefore very important.” Josie waves the flashlight dramatically. “Ready?”
“Not at all,” Hannah mutters.
“On your marks,” Josie continues. “Get set...and...go!”
The night comes alive as the group splits in two directions, scattering like marbles on a tile floor. Josie, Hannah, Bronx, Wyatt, and Natalie bolt toward the exit, laughing and quietly shouting in the dark.
“Losers buy donuts in the morning.” Dean turns, cupping his mouth, and Harper yanks his jacket.
“There’s no time for trash talk,” she says.
“Make it two dozen!” Bronx doesn’t slow, charging toward the exit like kids let out for recess. “You’re going down.”
“Not a chance,” Hart shoots back.
I laugh. “Grumpy Hart laughing and having fun. Plot twist.”
His hand finds mine, fingers sliding between mine, and a rush of warmth spreads through me, knowing this is my person.
“Looks like you’re rubbing off on me.”
“Have you met me? I’m the opposite of fun.”
“Maybe together we’ll tear this maze up and have a blast doing it.” He flashes me a grin I can barely see in the moonlight.
“This is definitely a terrible idea.” And exciting and wild and illegal.
A noise breaks the silence, and I turn my head to catch a shadow moving.
Security.
I smack Hart’s arm and point at the silhouette. In a flash, we’re running, and he herds us all past the threshold and into the blackened mouth of the maze. We don’t stop running until we’re breathless around the first corner.
I press my back to the cool side of a hay bale, trying to stifle the laugh that’s bubbling up my throat.
The familiar smell of chopped hay fills my nostrils, and darkness wraps around us like we’ve stepped into a cave. The night presses thick between the hay walls. My eyes fight to adjust slowly, and outlines start to form: his shoulders, the ground, and the curve of the next corner.
My hand is caught up in Hart’s.
Warm.
Strong.
Familiar enough to make my pulse trip over itself.
“That was close.” He squeezes like it’s a secret we’re sharing, and maybe it is, sneaking into a maze we definitely shouldn’t be in.
“Shh,” I whisper, though I’m grinning. “If security finds us.”
“They’ll have to catch us first.” His voice is low and cocky.
The flashlight on his phone shines through the maze.
“No. Put that away.” I slap my hand over the glowing beam. “If security sees it flashing about, we’re busted.”
He slides his phone away. “Alright, boss.”
“You’re bossy.” My quick, snarky comment flies out as if it’s a week ago, and we’re having a face-off at town hall.
I flush. “Sorry. Habit.”
He chuckles, a delicious sound, and wraps his arms around me, dragging my body flush against his.
“Don’t apologize. I miss our sparring.”
“You do not.” My fingers grip the flannel of his shirt.
“I do. I love your sharp tongue.” He dips down, and the kiss steals every thought I have.
“Alright, lovebirds,” Dean hisses, and I’d forgotten we weren’t alone. “Enough. We have a race to win.”
“Yes,” Harper hisses, low since we’re still near the entrance.
“Yes,” Hart and I say.
“Come on, this way.” Dean takes the lead, like he knows the way.
“I hope you’ve upgraded your navigating skills since we were kids.” Hart ribs his brother.
“I don’t know how you two aren’t going to murder each other. You’re both so damn bossy.” Dean’s steps are fast enough to make us jog to keep up with them.
My eyes strain, every corner a shadow that could be anything.
“Who designated you leader anyway?” Hart’s hand remains solid and steady as we move.
“Because I’m older and wiser.” Dean takes a sharp right without hesitation.
“You’re the middle kid.” Hart pulls me just enough to guide, never enough to drag, and when I’ve had enough of that, I skip forward and tug him.
“Exactly, which means I’m the oldest and the youngest.”
“It means you’re an idiot.”
Our shoes crunch on the hay as we barrel forward, only to slam into a dead end.
Harper smacks Dean’s arm. “So wise one, how did we end up here?”
“Wisdom runs in my veins.”
“So does your ego. My turn.” Harper turns and grabs my hand. “Follow us.
Dean growls, and I hear him mutter, “I love this woman.”
Harper jerks left, and I mirror her.
The guys scramble to keep up, or they’re giving us a head start. Either way, it’s fun. The maze twists sharply, dark, and hay flies as we skid around corners.
Every step is a gamble.
Then—BAM!
We crash straight into something.
Hay scratches my hands. My face hits rough burlap. I spring backward, and my back smacks the ground with all my weight behind. The sting is instant. My body screams in protest.
“Ahhh!” Harper lands beside me, rolling over the ground.
My fingers slide over dirt and loose hay as I glance at the thing hovering above us like a monster. It’s a scarecrow.
“You good down there?” Dean’s voice floats above us, smug and just a little too amused.
Harper groans. “I think my butt is broken.”
“Such a brave little adventurer, taken out by Stan the Hay Man.”
“You could help me.” Harper raises her arms to Dean.
“I could.” He crouches beside her. “But I’m still processing the part where you charged into the darkness like some hay maze hero and got clotheslined by a stuffed shirt. A pile of sticks in jeans.”
“He came out of nowhere,” she groans.
His grin is wide. “And he walks away unscathed, while you’re over here like a turtle on its back.”
She scowls at him in the dim light. “You’re enjoying this.”
“I am.”
“Enough to waste time and lose?”
“We’re not losing.” He hoists her up. “But you’re not leading.
I shove some hay out of my face when Hart stands above me. “Hi there.”
I let my head fall back on the ground. “Hi.”
“Whatcha doing down there?”