4
TATE
“Where were you last night?” Ronan asked as he came back into the bedroom with just a towel wrapped around his hips.
I looked up from my phone for just a second before I dropped my gaze to the screen again. “What do you mean?”
“Last night. I woke up and you weren’t in bed. Did you sleep on the couch?”
“No.”
“Okay…” He kept standing there, waiting for me to say something, but I had nothing to say.
I looked at him again and raised a brow. “I just went to the bathroom.”
“All night long?”
“Jesus, Ronan. Why do you even care?”
“I just want to know where you went. You weren’t here when I woke up early this morning. The sun wasn’t even out. Did I bother you?”
I frowned and put my phone down, stopping the game I was playing because that’s all I could do up here with no service. “No, you didn’t.”
“Was I snoring?”
“No.”
“So you just went to sleep on the couch for fun?”
“I don’t know!” Why was he being so annoying? And why did I have no clue where I slept last night? I knew I left the room and watched Mom and Dad have sex, but after that, I couldn’t remember anything.
Almost as if there was a page missing in my book.
“You’re weird,” he murmured.
I sighed and put my phone aside, and as I was sitting up, Ronan dropped the towel to get dressed. “Ew, Ronan, go change in the bathroom!”
“Look away,” he simply said. There was a teasing undertone in his voice, and it took me a moment to decide whether or not he was being funny or not. He shot me a glance over his shoulder, raising his brow. “Out.”
I rolled my eyes and went out of the bedroom. I had already taken a shower and gotten dressed, and though I didn’t know what Mom and Dad had planned for us today, I was already wearing my hiking boots.
“Morning, sweetheart. Would you like some coffee?” Mom asked as I entered the kitchen. She smiled at me, and I smiled back. Because I hadn’t just watched her get fucked by Dad last night. And I sure as hell didn’t enjoy watching. No, that didn’t happen, and everything was normal.
“No, thank you. I’ll have some orange juice.”
I headed over to the fridge and opened it. we had brought a couple of things from home, but we’d have to go down to the nearest town to get more food soon. Unless Dad decided to just eat at the restaurant.
“What are we doing today?” I asked as I filled a glass with juice.
“Your father wants to go hunt for mushrooms.”
“Seriously?” Ronan came into the kitchen, now fully dressed, and looking annoyed. “That’s the most boring activity one can do on a camping trip.”
“You used to love it when you were younger,” Mom recalled.
“I was a kid back then. I’d rather do something else.”
“Well, you don’t have to look for mushrooms. You can just walk along with us,” Mom suggested.
“I’ll think about it. I might just stay here.”
“To go flirt with the waitress,” I teased.
“I might.”
“Ronan, leave the waitress alone.” Dad walked in, and he was also wearing his boots already. “You’re coming with us. This is a family vacation. That means if one of us goes mushrooming, all of us will.”
Ronan rolled his eyes as he let himself fall back on the couch. “Fine. But if you’re too slow, I’ll walk ahead and get back early.”
“To flirt with the waitress,” I added.
Dad frowned. “No waitress. No flirting. This is a family vacation. There are enough girls back in Whitefish you can flirt with, son.”
I drank my orange juice and then waited for everyone to get ready. Mom made us sandwiches and filled our bottles with hot tea so we could stop and have lunch later, and around ten-thirty, we left the cabin and started our walk into the forest.
I followed the trail with Ronan while Mom and Dad kept going off it to look for mushrooms. Mom had brought a basket to carry them in case she found any, and she announced that if they had enough by the end of the day, she’d cook them for dinner.
I liked mushrooms, so I didn’t mind, but I did like the idea of another burger from the camp’s restaurant.
Dad came back to us more often as the time passed.
“Have you found any yet?” I asked, walking next to him, and letting Ronan go in front.
“A few. Not enough for the four of us.”
“Hm. What’s for dinner if we don’t find enough mushrooms?”
“I don’t know. Spaghetti, probably.”
Ronan and I both groaned.
“That’s the most boring food ever,” he whined. “How about a steak? Or another burger like last night.”
“We’re not eating dinner at the restaurant every night. I told you that already.”
“But spaghetti? Come on, Dad. You don’t want that either.”
I pursed my lips and let Ronan argue with Dad. He’d get him to change his mind eventually. He usually did, but it could take a while.
Das was done talking about food, and he left to walk between the trees and through the scrub to look further for the mushrooms.
“I’ll follow him,” I told Ronan, and he waved at me, showing me that he didn’t care.
I left the trail and picked up my pace to catch up to Dad. He didn’t turn around, but he had heard me come. “I want you to stay in your room at night.”
I frowned, confused about what he was talking. Then I remembered what I saw last night. “You saw me?”
“I didn’t need to see you, Tate. I felt your eyes pierce into my back the whole damn time.”
Crap.
Wait…
“Why didn’t you send me away if it bothered you so much?” I didn’t mean to take a hit at him, but he sure didn’t perceive it that way.
He stopped and turned to look at me, with his eyes dark, and a crease between his brows. “Because your mother would’ve seen you, and I don’t need her to be freaked out by her daughter watching her get fucked by me.”
His words made me stop in my track, and a big lump formed in my throat, keeping me from defending myself. Though, I didn’t want to defend myself. Why would I? I believed there was a different reason why he didn’t turn around and send me away. He could’ve masked it as an accident, and that I was walking by to go to the toilet, and simply caught a glimpse of them.
If he truly wanted to stop me from watching him fuck Mom, he could’ve used that as an excuse, but he didn’t.
Dad continued to walk, and I pursed my lips and crossed my arms, following him through the forest. “I don’t think it’s a good thing to lie to yourself, Dad. Denying things is never a good idea, especially when your feelings are involved.”
I was taken by surprise when he turned back around and wrapped his hand around my throat. His grip wasn’t tight, but strong enough to push me up against the closest tree.
He moved in front of me, with his right hand still cupping my throat. His other hand was above me head and against the tree, and his body was pressed against mine.
I looked up at him, unable to hide how pleased I was standing in this position.
He stared down at me, his face serious and tense. “Stop trying to manipulate me, Tate. It’s not a nice thing to do.”
I furrowed my brows. “I’m not trying to manipulate you. I would never do that.”
“Don’t.” His eyes darkened, and the grip around my neck tightened. I could still breathe, and I felt a thrill rushing through my body at the way he was touching me. “I told you before, Tate, we can’t go there.”
“ Not just yet . That’s what you said,” I told him. I wasn’t able to keep my eyes on his. My gaze dropped to his mouth, and I took in his lips, wishing I could finally taste them. My desires were dark and twisted. I knew that much. But his weren’t much different.
He muttered a cursed and leaned in closer, resting his forehead against mine. I sucked in a breath and closed my eyes, fully taking in this moment.
“Tate, you’re not making it easy for me here.”
“I don’t want to,” I whispered. “I want you.”
He took a deep breath, and I felt his lips graze mine. “I want you too.” He sounded defeated, yet hopeful. “But you know it’s complicated. We can’t go there. We can’t—”
“Let our minds go there. I know,” I said quietly. Lifting my hand, I placed it on his stomach, feeling the hard muscles under his knit sweater. “I just wish we could.”
“I know, sweetheart.”
We were both silent for a while, and when I opened my eyes again, I caught him looking at my lips. He had to deny this. Whatever we had, it wasn’t simple. Still…I wished he would just let me get close in moments like this.
“We have to go. Let’s catch up to Mom and Ronan.”
I wanted to stay here, but I couldn’t keep him here forever. His grip around my throat loosened, and as he took a step back, he smiled gently. “Come on, we don’t wanna lose them.”
I needed a second to gather my thoughts and get my feet to work again, but I followed him shortly after, not wanting to get lost in this forest.
Whatever just happened between us was something I wanted to happen more often. For that, we’d have to be alone again.
I was certain that we’d soon enough find time to ourselves, and maybe then, we could continue what we started.