Chapter 6
CHAPTER
SIX
“Ryan, what the fuck? Did you see that?” I whisper, gripping his arm. Shock courses through me as my breathing accelerates.
“See what?” he responds harshly, as if I’m seeing things.
“The RV just moved!” I say through my teeth, looking at him incredulously with my mouth ajar.
“Babe, it’s just the E. Sometimes you can hallucinate.”
I look at him, horrified. “What do you mean, Ryan?!”
Clearly annoyed, Ryan responds, “Everyone looks to be high on ecstasy; the girls must have slipped it in your first drink. Jared offered it to me while you guys were having your fun.”
Narrowing my eyes at him, I respond with disbelief, “Ryan, I’m not hallucinating!” My tone rises with more emotion. “The RV rocked back and forth just now!”
No one is even paying the slightest attention to us, since both couples are fucking entangled in their own sexual gratification.
“Something or someone is in there.” I elbow Ryan, my voice desperate for him to believe me, but he’s too transfixed on Georgia getting fucked in the ass by AJ.
“What in the hell would you suggest I do about it?” Ryan asks, his voice laced with an irritated edge. “I’m starving, and I plan to stay and wait for the burgers, Inspector Gadget.”
“Based on their moans, they’re almost done,” I say jokingly, attempting to clear the tension between us.
My body is still vibrating, but seeing the RV rock gives me an increased sense of paranoia.
Ryan clasps my hand, weaving our fingers together, and leads me to an empty chair near the fire. He sits down and wraps an arm around me, drawing me onto his lap.
We brush against each other softly, the feeling eliciting small moans, and we get lost in each other, our lips crashing together as we heavily make out.
I’m not sure how much time passes, but I feel a tap on my shoulder and open my eyes, turning toward whoever interrupted us.
AJ stands there in a black tank top and lounge shorts with slip-on sandals.
“Do you guys like cheese on your burgers?” he asks, using a spatula to point at each of us.
Ryan answers for us. “Yeah, that sounds good, man.”
Jared is over by the grill, drinking a beer and keeping an eye on the burgers. We get to our feet and head over to them.
“The girls went inside to freshen up and get some toppings. They’ll be out in a minute. Can I get you guys a beer or some water?” Jared offers.
“I’ll take a water,” I state instantly.
“A beer for me,” Ryan answers in a hoarse voice.
Jared leans down next to the grill, and I spot a huge Yeti cooler as he grabs the drinks and passes them to us.
I slam the water back in one go; my mouth was so dry. AJ is back to flipping the burgers.
“Do you guys live around here?” Ryan breaks the silence with small talk.
AJ chuckles. “No, we live up north; just thought we would do some exploring while we are off for winter break from school.”
“Where do you go to school?” Ryan inquiries.
AJ points the spatula at Jared’s sweatshirt. “We all attend UF and heard this place was great; we weren't expecting it to be so dead, though.”
“What about you guys?” Jared questions.
“We live in Orlando and wanted to check this place out while we are on vacation from our jobs. Ryan is really into the whole camping thing.” I let out a short laugh, since it’s an inside joke between us.
“Who owns the RV?” Ryan nods over to it.
AJ replies, raising his hand, “That would be me. I’m into the whole camping thing, too.
” He playfully winks at me, and for some reason, it makes my skin crawl.
There’s just something about him that makes me hyper-aware of his persona, and it makes me nervous.
After he plates the burgers, I stare over at him, and he licks the spatula, regarding me intently while cleaning the grease off with his tongue.
I make an effort to keep my face neutral, but fail.
Diverting my attention from him, I notice a foldable table, so I get to work on setting it up.
Ryan and Jared must be hungry because they immediately jump in to help.
As soon as we get the last chair in place, the girls come barreling out of the RV with toppings in Styrofoam bowls that they lay on the table.
“Were you guys fucking in there again?” Jared asks, grinning.
My face flushes with heat and embarrassment at the memory of what just transpired between us.
Cora giggles. “I don’t kiss and tell.” She adds a gesture of pretending to zip her mouth shut.
Ryan clears his throat, steering the conversation elsewhere. “The burgers smell amazing.”
My stomach grumbles just thinking about them melting in my mouth. Georgia plates everyone a bun and a burger. “Help yourself to whatever toppings you want. Sorry there are no sides.”
“This is more than enough,” I retort as I hop over to the cooler. “Do you mind if I grab another water?”
“Help yourself!” Georgia exclaims.
I sit back down next to Ryan and load my burger up. I’m absolutely famished. The burger is thick, and the juices slide down, soaking into the bun and all over the plate. Casting a glance in Ryan’s direction, I notice he’s already halfway done with his, not bothering to breathe.
I take a large bite of mine and close my eyes, the delicious flavors and heat hitting my tongue. I let out a delighted “Mmm.”
As I chew, I feel the toughness of the meat, and it isn’t as tender as it looked. It’s taking me longer to eat and swallow it. I look over at everyone else, and they’re practically shoveling theirs in. Jared obnoxiously licks all his fingers as he finishes.
“Babe, you really outdid yourself. That was one of the best burgers I’ve ever had!” Georgia calls out to AJ.
Ryan chimes in, “It was really good, man, thank you.”
AJ nods with an ominous look in his eyes that I’m sure Ryan didn’t catch. “You guys should come over tomorrow night, too.”
“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Ryan shoots back, stroking his stomach.
Leaving half of my burger on my plate, I fill myself up with my remaining water. Ryan stretches his hand over to my plate and picks up what’s left and devours it. We’ve been together long enough that this is what always happens when we eat, if I have anything left over.
“I’m exhausted. We’d better head back if we are going out to the lake tomorrow,” I inform Ryan, yawning.
“You’re right, it’s getting late. Let’s clean up and then head out.”
“You guys are going to the lake tomorrow?” Cora probes.
“That’s the plan, a whole day of fishing,” Ryan replies as I hit his arm with my elbow teasingly.
“What are you fishing off of?” Jared curiously asks.
“We brought our kayak,” Ryan tells them.
“Nice, well, if you catch something, we’ll make it for dinner,” Jared suggests, again attempting to confirm that we’ll be back tomorrow.
“That sounds great!” Ryan responds.
We throw our plates into the trash bag hanging from the side of the RV. As I’m putting mine in, I hear a scratching sound.
“What was that?” I shriek, jumping backwards and bumping into Ryan.
Cora bursts into a fit of giggles. “Oh, that’s just our cat; I’m sure you’ll see her around this week.”
My gut churns as I nod, glossing over it because that makes sense.
“We sure love pussy, don’t we, Cora?” Jared laughs, lifting one of his eyebrows.
“Can’t get enough of it.” She tilts her lips into a sly grin as she looks his way.
Georgia erupts into a fit of laughter, clutching her sides.
I shake my head, not understanding the inside joke, and look at Ryan, ready to leave.
Ryan shakes the guy’s hands, and I give a little wave to the girls, and they wave back. Cora even blows me a kiss.
Shoving my hands in my pockets from the cold, Ryan and I fall into sync walking.
He turns on a flashlight that one of the guys must have given him, luckily, because you can’t see shit out here, and we forgot ours.
Something scurries off to the side of us, making us both jump and crash into each other.
We both start laughing at once until tears stream down our faces. “You’re so on edge tonight,” Ryan announces.
“Ryan, we don’t even know these people.”
“Look, I know you’re doing this for me, and I love you for that, but you have to understand, campers are just friendly people who like to swap horror stories or just stories in general.
They are a cool group, just give them a chance.
You don’t have to be suspicious of everyone.
I’m not like you. I’m a social butterfly that has to stretch his wings. ”
Exhaling defeatedly, knowing he’s right, I say, “But I only want to spend time with you.”
“We are going to be with each other every minute. It'll be nice to have some company. Plus, you didn’t look like you hated it.” He grins wickedly over at me.
A smirk curls my lips as I tilt my head side to side at him. “It was the E, nothing more.”
“Bullshit, I think you’ve always secretly been into women.”
“I’m into you.” I clutch onto his arm, and my gaze meets his.
“I thank every star in the sky for that.” He swoops down and kisses me as one of his hands steadies the side of my face.
“I’ll be more open tomorrow,” I promise him.
“That’s my girl,” Ryan tells me, and as we get near our truck, he undoes the tent, gesturing for me to go inside. We fall over each other as we clamber into it, still feeling the effects of the alcohol and drugs.
After situating ourselves on the mattress, we stay up into the night laughing about nearly everything.
In the back of my mind, my stomach turns at the thought of being vulnerable. These people are not what they seem.