19. Leo
Chapter nineteen
Leo
Never have I ever had sex in a hot tub.
Finger down.
Never have I ever had shower sex.
Another finger down.
Never have I ever fallen head over heels for my twin brother’s ex-girlfriend.
I flinched. Unfortunately… finger down.
I should be packing bug repellent and stuffing trail mix into my backpack like a normal person.
Instead, I was sitting on the edge of the bed watching Cherise attempt to fit half the contents of a CVS into her tiny pink backpack as if we were prepping for a weeklong survival trek and not a one-hour waterfall hike.
She held up a Ziploc bag full of… sugar? Or at least I hoped it was sugar.
“Please say that’s sugar?”
“Mind your business,” she said, not even looking at me. Cool as ever. She zipped it up and slid it into the side pocket of her bookbag.
“Okay, but why?” I leaned back on my hands. “Are we bartering with jungle creatures? Bribing mosquitoes? Starting a bake sale halfway through the trail?” I paused. “Or… is it not sugar?”
She huffed out a laugh, still not facing me. “It’s sugar, and it’s… for emergencies.”
“Emergencies where you have to bake cookies in the wild?”
She turned, finally, eyes squinted, and her lips twitched, trying not to laugh. “You wouldn’t understand. Sugar solves problems.”
“Right. That’s why first responders always carry cupcake frosting in their trauma kits.”
She flung a small packet of electrolyte powder at me without warning. I caught it—barely— and set it on the nightstand.
I don’t know what it was about her, but everything she did made me feel… off balance. Either I was kissing her or getting roasted into oblivion. Sometimes both. Weirdly...I loved every second of it.
She crouched by her bag again and added another item to her stash.
“Is that a… plastic poncho?”
“In case it rains,” she says.
“It’s 80 degrees outside.”
She shrugs. “It could still rain, Mr. Science.”
I shook my head, grinning despite myself. “You know, for someone who claims to hate outdoors, you’re oddly prepared.”
“I like options,” she says, standing up and brushing imaginary dirt off her lavender biker shorts.
She looked so proud of her bizarre little inventory, I kind of wanted to high-five her.
Or kiss her.
Nope.
Definitely not the time for that.
We needed to stick with the plan. Pack our bags and head out to meet back up with the group so we won’t be late. No impromptu make-out sessions, no matter how bad I wanted to.
She stretched up on her tippy toes and tried to yank her water bottle from the top shelf. My eyes zeroed in as her top lifted just enough to show the soft curve of her waist, smooth skin, and all. I looked away before she could catch me staring… Again.
It was getting harder to wrap my head around this ending when we got back to Atlanta. I’m starting to wonder if this “pretend boyfriend” act was going to leave me more bruised than it’s worth.
I walked over and grabbed the water bottle for her before she struggled any longer. She looked up at me with a smile. That same smile that could brighten the darkest of my days. “Thanks, Goliath.”
“You’re welcome. I guess this height is good for something.” I threw back a cheesy grin.
She hoisted her backpack over one shoulder and made her way to the door. Hips swaying with every step. “Let’s go, boo.”
I smirked and followed suit, trying my best to play it cool and not totally lose my shit over the fact that she just willingly called me boo without an audience to pretend in front of.
I WAS HER BOO!
Okay… not working.
Cherise was, in fact, a walking emergency, and sugar might not be enough to save me.
***
Savannah held up her selfie stick.
“Now say, don’t go chasing waterfalls,” she instructed.
We all repeated it. Some with enthusiasm. Some (Cherise) with murder behind her eyes.
Savannah clicked a few photos of our “before hike” group. Serious ones, and ones that included bunny ears, peace signs, protruding tongues, and middle fingers (again… Cherise).
Savannah then trotted off toward Greg, who was slathering so much sunscreen on his face that he looked like a mime.
Chelsea looped her backpack straps over her shoulders and muttered, “Kill me now.”
I snorted. “It’s just a short hike.”
She narrowed her eyes at me, then shot Cherise a look. “So how long is this again? I need to mentally prepare.”
“It’s an hour tops… you’ll survive,” Cherise responded with an eye roll.
“You can do this, Chels,” Grace added. “It will all be worth it once we reach the waterfall! I heard it’s beautiful.”
“Oh, it is.” Savannah piped in. “Greg and I have seen it three times already.”
I could practically feel the hellfire radiating off Cherise.
We started up the Twin Falls trail, and honestly? It wasn’t bad at all. Lush green everywhere. The smell of damp earth. The soft, distant rush of water. This was my first hike, but it won't be my last.
About twenty minutes in, Savannah was already begging for a water break. Everyone scattered to shady spots.
Cherise, however, beelined straight toward Chelsea.
They huddled together behind a cluster of ferns with a suspicion I could only describe as up to no good.
Chelsea glanced over her shoulder, spotted me, and jumped so hard that I'm sure she gave herself whiplash.
“What are you two doing?” I asked, stepping closer.
Both of them froze.
Cherise snapped the cap back onto the sunscreen, the Ziploc bag of sugar in her other hand.
My brow furrowed. “Cherise… why is your sunscreen now granulated?”
“If you must know, we’re conducting a small-scale revenge operation,” she answered.
Chelsea nodded rapidly. “Very small. Very necessary.”
“…Revenge?” I echoed.
Chelsea sighed. “Look, back in high school, Savannah—” she tried to explain, but Cherise slapped a hand over her mouth.
“That is not your concern.” Cherise finished. “All you need to know is she earned this— Ew, you nasty Bitch.” Cherise shrieked as she snatched her hand from Chelsea’s mouth and wiped what I expected to be Chelsea’s saliva onto her sister's arm. “You fucking weirdo.”
Chelsea cackled maniacally.
Cherise cleared her throat and crossed her arms, focusing her energy back on me. “Are you in? Or are you going to be a snitch bitch Ben?”
“A snitch bitch what?”
“A snitch bitch Ben,” Cherise repeated slowly as if I didn’t speak English.
I just stared at her.
“Ride along? Kevin Hart? Damn, do you own a TV?” Chelsea unhelpfully butted in.
I had no idea what Savannah did. I also had no idea why Cherise always dragged me into her chaos. But God help me, now knowing what Cherise had been through in the past, and the way she stood there all fire and vengeance… If anyone fucked with her, I’d burn down a village if she asked me to.
I raised my hands in surrender. “If she’s your enemy,” I said, eyes locked on Cherise, “then she’s my enemy, too.”
Her grin was wicked. “Excellent,” she said, twiddling her fingers together like a mad scientist.
Chelsea fist pumped the air.
***
“Leo,” Cherise whispered, clutching her sugary concoction. “Go distract her.”
“How am I—?”
“Figure it out,” she hissed, then crouched low and slipped along the tree line. Clearly, she’d watched too much Mission Impossible.
I took a breath and approached Savannah, who was adjusting her ponytail.
“Uh… so… Maui’s nice, right?” I asked.
She brightened. “It’s gorgeous! Greg and I want to move here part-time once he closes on—”
Behind her, Cherise swapped the bottles so fast she could’ve moonlit as a street magician.
“—and honestly,” Savannah continued, “this sun is doing wonders on my skin. It’s been really glowy lately. It has to be the island air.”
Oh, it’s about to glow, alright.
Cherise reappeared beside me, smoothing her hair innocently.
“Okay, everyone!” she called. “Don’t forget to reapply sunscreen! Protect that beautiful skin!”
Savannah lifted her bottle and slathered a HUGE handful across her arms, chest, and neck.
Then—
She frowned. Rubbed harder. Then glanced at the bottle’s contents.
“Is this… Gritty?”
Chelsea coughed violently to hide her laugh. Cherise straight-up grinned.
“Maybe it’s an exfoliating sunscreen?” Cherise suggested sweetly, eyes sparkling.
Savannah shrugged and smeared on even more. “Whatever works!”
I had to look at the sky to keep from laughing.
As we hiked deeper into the trail, chickens darted across the path—wild, loud everywhere.
“Look at all the little Heiheis,” Tessa beamed. I looked around at everyone else who looked just as confused as I was. Good, wasn’t just me this time.
“The chicken from Moana?... Anybody? Ugh, tell me you have five kids without telling me you have five kids,” she murmured as she slapped her hand over her face.
Miles grabbed her hand. “Great, babe, we are officially the old couple of the group now, great job. Ruining our cover.”
She laughed and slapped his shoulder.
Chelsea took selfies with the chickens.
Milo nearly stepped on one by mistake and yelped like a girl, causing Logan and Eric to bend over laughing.
Savannah?
Slap.
Scratch.
Slap slap.
“Ugh! These MOSQUITOS!” she yelled, smacking her arm again.
Chelsea and Cherise fist bumped behind their back.
“No one else is getting bit?” Savannah slapped her leg as she glanced around at everyone else who was perfectly content.
“Maybe they can’t resist how sweet you are?” Cherise teased, and Chelsea snorted.
That was all the ammo Savannah needed. Eyes turned to slits, she pointed her perfectly manicured finger at Cherise. “I swear if you had anything to do with this, I’m going to—”
“You’re going to what?” Chelsea cut in inches away from Savannah’s face, looking her up and down with an I’ll beat your ass glare in her eyes.
Shit, it’s about…to go…down.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, pull the claws back in, ladies. I’m sure they're just attracted to your perfume or something, no need to go pointing a finger,” Layla said, attempting to de-escalate the situation. “It’s an easy fix, I have bug spray. Here, you can have some.”
She rummaged through her bag and tossed the bottle to Savannah. Savannah caught it, popped the top off, and proceeded to spray. And spray…. And spray.