Chapter 15
My mind is still at the bottom of the lake, floating there with the cum Linden spat out after I came in his mouth.
Every step is unsteady, my knees wobbly like Jell-O as we leave our hiding spot.
Passing through the vines feels like traveling through a portal back to the real world, the mix of bright sunlight and babble of voices catching me unprepared.
I rub a hand over my temple, only now noticing how reckless we’ve been, how easily someone could have discovered us.
But no one did.
I should be scared or relieved, yet a shudder runs down my spine when I chance a look back over my shoulder. Somehow, this belated realization makes it a thousand times hotter.
“That was risky,” Linden echoes my thoughts when he returns from a short detour to the water, where he subtly cleans his swimming trunks. I still can’t believe he came just from blowing me. My ego preens at the memory like an especially colorful peacock.
“Do you regret it?” I murmur, even though none of the other beachgoers are paying us any attention.
Linden’s lips curve into a small grin at my question, his gray eyes gleaming.
“No.”
I laugh, surprised by the mischievous answer that sends a shudder down my spine.
We’ve made it almost back to our spot when I notice that it’s abandoned. Wondering where everyone else went, I shield my eyes from the sun and check the water for familiar faces.
“There you are! I’ve been looking for you everywhere!”
I jump at the sound of Sasha’s voice carrying over—it’s too sharp, too frantic—and my stomach dips on instinct.
She’s running toward us, turning the heads of several visitors, some of them cursing when her feet spray sand on the nearby towels.
She doesn’t seem to care, stopping in front of us with a huff, both hands braced on her upper thighs, panting.
Her cheeks are flushed from running in the sand, sunglasses sitting crooked on her nose, short blonde strands flailing around her head like a wild halo.
She must have lost her snapback while running.
“Everything okay?” I ask with a frown, quickly flipping my cap around and pulling it down over my forehead. It makes me feel safer, as if that will hide any signs of what Linden and I just did. But my voice is too thin, almost suspiciously casual against her agitation.
“Where were you?!” she snaps, still breathless, her eyes wild.
“Jesus, we just went to get some ice crea—”
“Save it,” she interrupts me as she grabs my arm to haul me toward the path leading away from the beach. “Olli and your buddy Davenport—they’re in serious trouble.”
That’s all it takes. My pulse is kicking up; I’m already jogging along, Linden fast on my heels.
As we duck into the scrub fringing the beach, the babble of voices fades, leaving only Sasha’s harsh breathing and the low crunch of pebbles under our feet.
They dig into my bare soles like a thousand tiny needles.
I’m afraid of what I’ll find in the parking lot—maybe Olli at Seb’s throat with some of the Kappa Nu brothers involved? Olli has a history with them; an ugly argument got him a lifelong ban from their frat house last Halloween.
The first thing I notice is Seb’s fury—although I don’t see him.
I hear him.
His raw yell vibrates deep in my chest before my mind can make sense of his words.
Then I spot him, fists clenched in some guy’s shirt, slamming him against a tree with enough force to make me wince from a few yards away.
Two of his frat brothers are shouting at him, tugging at his shirt, pulling at his arms, but Seb is as unmovable as a rock, a human wall of anger.
“You bastard! You tried to kill them!” he yells over and over.
“What the fuck?” I breathe out, but my words are lost in the buzz of voices.
“That fucking asshole tried to drown a bunch of kittens!”
My head whips toward the sound of Olli’s voice ringing above the chaos. He’s off to the side, clutching a dripping bundle of clothes pressed to his chest. His face is contorted in a mixture of rage and disgust. My stomach drops as I desperately try to catch on.
“Who? Davenport?!” Linden blurts out beside me, and my first reaction is no, that can’t be. Because Seb, my anxious best friend—not the tatted-up social media version of B-Tech’s star quarterback—couldn’t hurt a fucking fly.
Unfortunately, that very same person is currently about to beat the hell out of a stranger.
“What? No! That piece of shit over there! We ran into him when he tried to drown them in the lake!” Now that Olli steps closer to us, I realize he isn’t holding a pile of clothes but four tiny kittens instead.
They’re drenched from head to tail, trembling against his chest with closed eyes.
The paper-thin meowing makes my heart squeeze.
“Fuck! We need to get them warm and dry, now!” Linden springs into action beside me, holding his hands out to Olli. “The car—Olli! Keys!”
“I could—” I offer, but I’m cut short by Sasha’s yell.
“Micah! A little help, maybe?!”
I swivel back to where Seb is still pinning the man to the tree. Sasha has joined the effort to pull him away. Honestly, after what I just learned, I’m tempted to turn my back and put my hands over my ears until Seb is done. But I don’t want my best friend to get into trouble.
“Seb,” I call out, jogging up to the small huddle. Only now do I see the stranger’s face, equally twisted by rage. Gray hair sticks out under a worn trucker cap, sweat glistening on his nose and chin as he swings an elbow up, trying to break free.
“Let me,” I growl when the Kappa Nu guys block my way. I shove them aside, and they promptly take this as the perfect opportunity to flee the scene, leaving us behind without a second glance.
“Seb!” I shout, lunging forward and grabbing him around the waist. I have several inches and pounds on him, but the anger makes him stronger. The air around us is thick with the smell of lake water and sunscreen, Seb’s cologne mixing with the stench of the other guy’s sweat.
When I finally manage to wrangle Seb away from his target, he’s shaking against my chest, still thrashing in my arms like a young bull.
“Seb, stop! Stop, man!”
He’s nearly jerking me off balance, my bare feet slipping on the gravel. His foot lands on mine, and I groan as pain radiates through me. Still, I tighten my grip around his stomach, dragging him back inch by inch.
The moment the guy is freed, he spits at us, his round cheeks flushed and fury edged deep into his face.
“You’re gonna regret this! I’m gonna call the fucking cops on your punk ass!” he yells, stabbing his finger into the air.
Seb roars, trying to lunge again. “You do that, fucking scumbag!” he hisses, while my stomach drops at the mere mention of police involvement.
“Seb, it’s enough now! He isn’t worth it!” My arms burn as I haul him farther away, each step a fight, while Sasha blocks the guy from following us.
I don’t dare leave her out of my sight, but after another string of expletives, the guy storms off toward the parked cars.
“What the fuck was that about?” I demand when I finally dare to let go of Seb.
Cursing softly, he stumbles a few steps away, his fingers instantly scratching at his forearms as he paces up and down in front of me.
“He tried to kill the kittens! Like…he had this sack—and he put them under water! Ol—Yardley and I heard them screaming! Screaming, Micah! And when I confronted him, he got all in my face about how he could do with his property what he wants.”
I swallow hard. It doesn’t take much to recall the pitiful meows, bile rising in my throat.
“Like…right there? On the beach? How did no one else say a thing?” I ask, appalled that no one else would step in.
“What? No! It was around that bend, between the rocks,” he explains, pointing to where the sand gives way to grass and scrubs, leaving no room for sunbathing.
In the evenings, local high school kids gather on the big rocks along the shoreline to drink and smoke, while in the early morning hours, a group of retirees usually casts their fishing rods.
Frowning, I scratch my head. “What the hell were you two doing there?”
But before Seb can answer, Sasha rejoins us, phone held triumphantly in the air. “Got the license plate,” she announces with a big grin. “Just in case we’ll need it.”
“Do you think he’ll actually call the cops?” The thought makes me queasy even though I know I did nothing wrong. Seb, on the other hand…his family probably has an army of lawyers at their disposal, but the last thing he needs is another problem on his shoulders.
“Pfff, let him,” he huffs, his fingers still shaking when he reaches up to interlace them behind his head, staring up at the sky. He’s trying to come across as unbothered, but his chest is heaving.
Sasha shrugs. “No. Animal cruelty is a crime in Vermont, so I’m pretty sure the only one in trouble here is him. Also, from what I remember, Davenport was extremely calm and collected and did nothing wrong.” She winks at us, and my shoulders sag as relief washes through me.
“Thanks.” I nudge Seb’s shoulder with mine. “Come on, man. Let’s save your kittens.”
Seb exhales, long and rough, then stuffs his trembling hands into his pockets.
“Let’s.”