101. Chapter One-Hundred
Chapter One-Hundred
Riley
The weirdest dreams come over me when I’m sick, and this is a whole other shitty level of sickness.
My body feels like it’s been taken over by aliens who are really only interested in how to make muscles cramp and how much pain a human can stand before it has to puke up the meagre contents of its stomach.
Stupid fucking aliens.
Get out of my body!
I’m not your plaything!
The shitheads only seem to stop fucking with me whenever the angel comes around, talking softly with sweet, soothing words and taking my pain away with every touch.
She’s made of white light and softness.
And all I want to do is ask her to take me to heaven.
Anything to get away from these stupid aliens.
When my prayers are eventually answered, and my body feels like my own again, I wake up slowly, to find out I’ve been moved into the shade of the trees, and my foot is no longer encased in the cooler. It looks like it’s been bandaged, and socks have been put on both of my feet.
I sit up slowly. I won’t lie. Between the hangover and the effects of that sting, I feel like hot garbage slowly rotting on a sidewalk. But I’m not dead, and it could have been a lot worse if that blonde hadn’t known what she was doing.
“Hey, how are you feeling?” the soft voice of the angel from my dream asks.
I squint as I look to my right, to see the blonde coming my way.
Kian’s trailing after her. Xane and Trick not far behind.
“Better,” I admit.
“We were worried,” Kian adds.
“You were mumbling in your sleep,” she reveals.
“Something about aliens,” Kian says. “You sounded delirious.”
“How long was I out?” I ask.
“A few hours,” blondie answers. “I’m guessing you were already tired.”
I grunt in response to that statement. She probably thinks I’m trash.
What kind of guy gets wasted in a situation like this?
We’re stuck out here, and I made it worse for everyone.
“I’m fine now. We should get moving. Daylight’s burning.”
“You’re not fooling anyone,” Kian says. “We were running back and forth for ages keeping the water hot for your foot, and you’re acting like a nap made it all better. We know it hurt, and it’s still gonna hurt, for days or weeks. Scarlett filled us in. So don’t try to bullshit us.”
Great, now I’m getting blasted by the kid who thinks fruity beer tastes nice.
“Shoulda stayed with the aliens,” I mutter.
Scarlett laughs and then covers her mouth when I look at her.
Her eyes turn innocent. “What?”
I shake my head. “It’s fine. You can laugh. It’s funny.”
She removes her hand from her mouth.
Her smile is bright, and it lights up her blue eyes.
That attraction I felt on the tin-can death-trap is still there.
If anything, it’s gotten stronger.
She’s way more than a pretty face.
She knows how to deal when shit gets rough, and she got everyone else moving when they didn’t have a clue. I would have been writhing around in pain for ages before I was able to tell them what to do to help me. She realized the problem and rushed to act.
Developing a crush on the woman Trick and Kian have been fighting over was the last thing I wanted, but I’m not gonna pretend I’m not impressed.
Maybe Kian didn’t have his head in the clouds when he decided she was meant for our pack.
Time will tell, but I’m a little more on board with that than I was when Xane told me about it.
“Thanks for dealing with these morons,” I tell her.
“Hey!” Kian mutters, frowning at the insult.
She smiles back. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“How okay is he?” Xane asks.
Huh. I wonder if he realizes he trusts her more than me right now.
“He’s past the worst of the pain, but it’s probably gonna hurt to walk on that foot for a while.”
“It’ll be fine. We can still go ahead with the hike to Golden Sands,” I add, pushing myself up and putting my weight on my good foot. “See?”
Xane looks down and crosses his arms when he looks back up at my face.
“Walk, then.”
Ugh. I really don’t feel like it.
But I take a step and instantly hiss.
Yep, it hurts as bad as it did the first time this shit happened to me.
I put my weight back on the good foot.
“You’re not fit to walk to the resort.” Xane’s estimation of my condition is kinda insulting, but probably accurate.
Sighing, I take the problem out of his hands. “You guys should go without me. I’ll slow you down too much.”
“We can’t just leave you here,” Trick says.
“I don’t know,” Kian mutters. “I think we could.”
“Fuck you, Ki,” I curse, reaching out to slap his arm.
“Splitting up seems like a bad idea,” Scarlett says. “It might take a little longer, but I vote sticking together and leaving tomorrow to give Riley some time to feel better.”
“So, we wouldn’t have to leave until tomorrow?” Kian asks, his eyes lighting up. “Sounds great to me.”
“Of course it does,” Xane mutters.
“Yeah, I’d feel better about that than leaving Riley here alone,” Trick says.
“Then I guess it’s at least three votes for sticking together.” Scarlett smiles.
Oh, this girl has a little bit of the devil in her. She had to know those two would follow her lead.
Xane doesn’t look happy. He’s probably thinking about our resources, or lack of.
“Just give me a sandwich and a bottle of water and go. I’ll be fine here by myself.”
“We’re not gonna do that,” Xane says. “But you’re due a sandwich. We did our best to keep everything from spoiling, but we had to use both coolers to keep your foot soaked before. So, we’re down to crackers and chips and tinned snacks after that.”
“Does anyone know how to fish?” I ask, knowing our guys don’t.
Scarlett shakes her head. “I’ve never been fishing, and I wouldn’t know how to prepare one even if someone knew how to catch them. I’ve never been much of a cook.”
Not a dealbreaker. Kinda wish it was.
She’s got to have some flaws I won’t like.
There’s no way she’s as perfect as she seems.
“There probably aren’t too many small fish around with so many baby sharks here anyway. They’ll eat any that get close.”
“Maybe we’ll find fruits in the forest,” Scarlett suggests. “If we don’t, we’ll just have to monitor the food supply. It’s not so bad that we’re gonna starve. We’ve got enough to last a few days.”
“All this talk about food is making me hungry,” I admit.
“Sit down and we’ll get your lunch.” She nods at Ki.
He leaves the group, and I sit back down.
She sits next, and Trick takes Kian’s place beside her.
Her skirt and top look a bit corporate for a hike, but I guess if she was supposed to be here just to interview us, she was trying to make a good impression.
Trick looks uncomfortable in a T-shirt and shorts.
“Hey, is that my shirt?” I squint at him. “Why are you stealing all my stuff?”
He shrugs. “You’re the one who packs like he’s never coming home. Besides, you haven’t changed since we got here.”
“Very funny,” I mutter.
My vest and shorts were nice and clean when I got here, but they’ve been splashed with booze and stained with sand over the last twenty-four hours, and I’ve probably been sweating enough to raise the water level of the ocean we’re sitting next to.
I feel like hot garbage, and I’m pretty sure I don’t look or smell much different.
I’m used to sweating my ass off on stage and feeling fine to walk around in nothing but my boxers afterwards, but this feels different.
Maybe it’s the clarity of being sober, or maybe it’s the presence of a woman I’m trying not to be attracted to. I’d kill for a long hot shower right now.
Xane sighs softly before he sits down at my side.
“Tomorrow it is, then.”
Scarlett seems pleased that he’s on board.
Trick looks relieved that no one’s got any energy to argue.
I’m looking forward to my sandwich.
From now on I’m gonna have to take everything one step at a time.