Wild Man (Wild Men Book 1), page 7
“Mom, I’m not dressing up…”
She hugs me hard. “The timing may be off. That’s all I’m saying.”
Tears clog my throat as she holds on a second longer.
“I know it’s not fair,” she says. “I’m so sorry, honey. Just…if you’re going to go, have fun, but be safe. Okay?”
I nod. “It will be all right, Mom.”
Chapter Seventeen
Skylar
Nighttime reminds me of my father’s drunken tantrums. So, normally being outside at night could throw me into a panic attack. But it’s a full moon, and that helps. Plus, the warmth from the bonfire makes everything feel a little safer.
And the truth is—I can’t stay away from Colton Wild.
Even though I know I have to. Our lives depend on me listening to my mother. This is no time to be rebellious and do normal teenage things like ignore your mother’s warnings. This is the time to pay attention to every single thing she says and make sure you follow them.
I know it, and my brothers know it. I overhear one of the guys asking Nick for his last name. Nick stumbles over it. He almost says McDonald. But then, he recovers.
“Rosewood,” he says casually like he’s been saying it his whole life.
I know the stakes are high. I know I can’t get close to anybody right now. Maybe not for months.
And yet, here I am.
Because I’m drawn to Colton the way I’ve never been drawn to anyone.
I make myself sit far away from him at the bonfire and try not to make eye contact, but I can’t stop sneaking looks at him. He’s the brightest light I’ve ever seen. He’s charismatic, and friendly, and real. All the other kids gravitate toward him, and he’s nice to everyone.
So much so that I find myself getting jealous of the other girls. I push that ridiculous feeling aside. Colton and I are certainly not a couple, and besides, he’s not even flirting back with anyone. He’s just being friendly.
But despite my best efforts to remain neutral, he has the ability to make me crazy with lust. Even when he’s teasing me.
“Hey, Sparky,” he calls out at one point.
I stick my tongue out at him. “Last I checked, my name was Skylar.”
He chuckles. “Okay. Sparky Skylar.”
“Jackass,” I mouth as I glare at him.
He winks, those baby blue eyes of his sparkling with wickedness. I wish I could storm over to him and kiss that smirk off his face.
Wait, what? I can’t believe that thought just crossed my mind. And I’m not even drinking.
One of the kids snuck some beers out of his RV, but Ben and Nick would never let me get drunk. Not that I have any desire to; all I desire is sitting across from me, shadows from the flames of the bonfire dancing across his face. His blue gaze finds mine again, and I don’t look away fast enough.
The corners of his mouth tip up, and I know he’s caught me staring.
The girl next to him is talking to him, but he hardly even answers her. His gaze stays on me, and when Nick and Ben tell me they’re leaving, I know I don’t want to go with them.
“Let her stay with us,” Iris, the girl next to me, begs Nick. “We’re going to stay up all night and talk about boys.”
My brothers look at each other, clearly having a silent conversation. There are two other girls left at the bonfire, plus me. Colton is chatting with two guys on the other side of the circle.
“We won’t get into any trouble,” I assure Nick. “We don’t have anywhere to go.”
“Let her stay,” Ben says. “She deserves one good night, right?”
Ben grabs the remaining beers and proceeds to empty them into the trash. “No more alcohol for anyone,” he says firmly.
“Remember our rules,” Nick says in my ear as he hugs me. “Be careful who you trust.”
“How could I forget?” I say to him. “I’ll be fine. I promise. Good night.”
“You have your own key?” Ben confirms.
I hold it up to show him.
He and Nick leave then, and I’m alone at the bonfire.
For the first time since we went on the run, a rush of happy adrenaline zips through my veins.
Things are fun at first. Colton and the guys joke around with each other as Iris and her friend, Amy, tell me about the boys they have crushes on back home. They don’t ask me any questions, which is just fine with me.
But then the girls insist on a game of truth or dare. My hands immediately go clammy. The truth is not something I’m necessarily even allowed to share, and the precarious situation my family is in has blurred the lines for me between right and wrong anyway. I’m learning that telling the truth isn’t always the way to go, and sometimes a lie can flat-out save your life.
I’m lost in my own world when I hear my name being called.
I turn to look at Iris. “Excuse me?”
“You want to go first?” she asks me, her blond hair blowing in the light breeze.
“No,” I say quickly. “You go ahead.”
For nearly a half hour, I somehow manage to avoid participating in the game. The girls are so busy fighting over who has the best sex story they must forget about me sitting quietly on the log.
Eventually, it’s Colton’s turn. I sit up straight, wondering what he’ll choose.
“Truth,” he says easily, like he has nothing to hide.
“What’s your favorite sexual position?” Iris asks with a giggle.
“Whatever one she wants.”
As the girls ooh and ahh, I try to ignore the sensation hitting me between my legs.
“Okay, your turn, Sky.” Iris turns to me expectantly. “Truth or dare.”
“Dare.”
“Oh, yay!” She points to the guy sitting next to Colton. I think his name is Will. Or is it Bill? “Go kiss him.”
Colton’s eyes flare. If I’m not mistaken, it looks like possessiveness.
Unfortunately, I’m too busy freaking out to focus on Colton’s reaction. Because no way am I kissing his friend. When I start to feel the familiar anxiety rising in my chest, I suck in some air and force out, “I don’t kiss strangers,” I say. “No offense, Will.”
“Actually, it’s Phil,” he corrects me.
“I’m so sorry,” I say. Either way, I’m still not kissing him.
“You have to kiss him,” Amy, the girl on the other side of Iris, says. “You picked dare.”
I clasp my hands together, willing my body not to betray me. I should be fine.
But the flames of the bonfire grow blurry as I struggle to get a deep breath.
“Um…” I suck in air. “I changed my mind.”
“Double dare,” Amy insists. “Kiss Phil.”
“Pretty sure she said no, Amy.”
The commanding tone coming from Colton surprises me. I flick my gaze over to him, but he’s glaring at Amy.
“But a dare’s a dare,” she protests.
“And a no’s a no,” he answers her. His tone is calm, but there’s a steeliness behind it that even Amy can’t ignore.
I feel my body relax, and I’m able to get a deep breath at last.
Wanting to fix the awkwardness I’ve caused, I burst out with, “I’ll take truth.”
Amy rolls her eyes but goes with it. “Fine. What’s your favorite sexual position?”
I’m so relieved it’s not something I need to worry about the answer to that I start giggling. “I have no idea,” I say. “I guess the one that feels the best.”
Colton clears his throat, and I feel my cheeks heat. I squeeze my thighs together and look into the bonfire, wishing for the attention to be taken off of me.
My wish is granted when Amy offers to kiss Phil, and he complies.
Eventually, enthusiasm for truth or dare fades away, everyone falls asleep around the waning bonfire. Everyone except for Colton and me.
He walks over and sits down next to me. Iris and Amy are sleeping underneath a blanket over by Phil and his brother, so Colton and I have the log to ourselves.
“Thanks for standing up for me earlier,” I say to him. “I appreciate that more than you know.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Sky. You deserve to be stood up for. And you should never have to do something you don’t want.”
I shift so I can straddle the log. Facing him directly, I say, “Do you really believe that? That a no is a no?”
“Yes, I absolutely believe that.” He narrows his gaze. “Did some guy abuse you?”
Every day. But when that guy is your own father…
“Not like that,” I assure him. “What just happened with the dare, I’ve never been in a situation like that before.”
He exhales. “Good.” Taking a look around, he says, “Looks like everyone has either left or is sleeping. I’m going to take care of this fire.”
He gets up and puts out the bonfire until there are no flames left. Even though the fire is inside a stone pit, I appreciate how careful he is at making sure it’s snuffed out.
When he’s finished, he returns to my side.
“I always worry about fire,” I say into the silence.
“Why do you worry about fire?” he asks, sliding close enough that our thighs are touching.
I swallow at the contact of his jean-clad leg brushing my bare one.
“I don’t know,” I say. “It scares me.”
“Because of the heat?”
“Fire just isn’t something to mess with. It’s like a bad temper.”
That last part slips out by accident.
“Or fire could be like passion,” he says casually. “Something that’s scary, but it makes you feel alive at the same time. Something you can’t stay away from.”
I whip my head to face him.
His eyes are so damn blue. I could get lost in those eyes. Right now, I feel like I want to.
“I like your version of fire better than mine,” I whisper.
He puts his hand on my cheek. I close my eyes for a second and lean into his touch.
“Are you and your brothers here with your parents?” he asks softly.
I snap my eyes open. “Um…just our mom.”
“She’s a single parent?”
That sounds like a good answer. And at this point, it’s true. “Yes. My dad…he left.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” I don’t quite mask the bite in my tone.
Colton gently tips my chin up with his finger. “Would your mom be okay with us going for a walk by the creek?”
I doubt it. I highly doubt it.
“Sure,” I say, fighting the urge to kiss him so much my voice shakes as the word comes out of my mouth. “Let’s go for a walk.”
Chapter Eighteen
Colton
I wipe my sweaty hands on my jeans as I lead Sky along the path that ends up at the creek. I can’t believe I’m this nervous.
I’m not nervous with girls. I can’t remember a time that I really cared one way or the other what a girl thought about me.
But Sky’s the only girl on my mind right now, and I want her to like me. I want her to feel what I’m feeling, which is both scary and exhilarating.
I thought I might have to step in between Phil and her when she was dared to kiss him. An overwhelming jealous sensation came over me, and I honestly didn’t know how to handle it.
“I have to be honest about something,” I say as we walk side by side.
“What’s that?”
“I loved that you refused to kiss Phil.”
I hear her catch her breath next to me, but she doesn’t say anything.
The back of my hand brushes the back of hers, and lust shoots straight to my dick.
I lift a hanging branch out of her path. “You go first.”
“Thank you.”
The silence between us grows, and as we reach the creek, I reach for something to say. What comes out is, “I like your hair.”
She turns to look at me. “Are you flirting with me?” she asks, her green eyes dancing with humor.
“I’m just paying you a compliment.” I reach out and take a lock of her hair in my hand. “I love your hair, actually.”
“I honestly think you might be the first person to say that.”
“I shouldn’t be. You have gorgeous hair.” I shift my hand to her back and gently guide her toward the smooth boulder I see just ahead.
“Want to sit here?”
She nods, and we take seats next to one another on the grass. “I love the sound of the flowing water.”
“Me too.”
She twists her red hair around and around her finger. She seems nervous, but I’m not sure if it’s because she’s here with me or if she’s got something else on her mind.
“Have you had fun on your vacation?”
“It’s been the best week of my life,” she says genuinely. “Except for…”
“Except for what?”
She shakes her head the same way she did earlier today. “Nothing.”
“My dad’s sick.” I can’t believe it when those three words come out of my mouth. I’d promised myself I wouldn’t talk about my father here. I wanted one week where no one knew or looked at me with pity.
But Sky has a way of making me open up to her. She hardly even asks any personal questions, and yet I find myself volunteering information.
“Colt…” She snuggles close to me.
“I think he’s going to be okay,” I say with far more confidence than I feel. “He’s the toughest man I know.”
“You really love him,” she says almost in awe.
I snap my head toward her. “He’s my hero. And my best friend. He and my mom.”
“That sounds incredible.”
“Yeah. My parents…the three of us make a great team. I was born lucky. I know not everyone has that kind of a relationship with their parents.”
Silence.
“Are you close with your mom?” I say.
“Yes. I adore my mom. She’s my hero.”
“Has she always been a single mom?”
“In all the ways that matter.”
“And your dad—do you still see him or…”
“He’s no longer in the picture,” she says firmly.
“I’m sorry. That must be hard.”
Tiny nod.
Sensing she doesn’t want to talk about him, I ask about her love of writing.
She perks up immediately, telling me about some of the past stories she’s written for her school paper. With the full moon above us, I can see her face, and her green eyes come alive the longer we talk.
“I hope I can do something with my writing in the future,” she says wistfully. “I want to be able to take care of my mom if she needs it. And I want her to be proud of me.”
“The one thing I keep promising myself is that I’m going to make my dad proud. No matter what happens or if he…” I cut off. “No matter what.”
And now I’m choked up. But Sky takes my hand and holds it tightly in hers. And then, as tears sting my eyes and a few fall, she reaches up and gently brushes the wetness off my cheeks.
For the first time this summer, I feel like someone gets my pain. Which doesn’t make sense because Sky’s dad isn’t even around. And yet, her eyes carry an anguish that I can’t figure out.
We walk down to the creek, and I nod at the shadowy form of the mountains that are visible thanks to the moonlight. “Kind of cool we can see them even though it’s the middle of the night.”
“The mountains are amazing,” Sky says. And then she echoes my thoughts. “It almost feels like they’re protecting us, you know? I know it’s silly to say.”
Her eyes are shining with so much emotion I have to suck in my breath when I look at her.
“Not silly to me.” I bend down and pick up a stone. “For you,” I say as I hand it to her.
She takes it from me. “What’s this for?”
“It’s from the mountain.” I point toward the peaks. “So when you’re feeling lonely, you’ll remember this night. You’ll know you’re never alone, Sky. I’ll always be here for you.”
Sky slips it into her pocket and then gives me a hug. I wrap my arms around her, inhaling her scent of floral perfume.
“We’re leaving tomorrow,” she says into my chest.
I pull back and stare down at her. “Tomorrow?”
She nods. “I shouldn’t even tell you that, but…”
“Why shouldn’t you? I would have wondered where you were.”
“That’s why I wanted you to know. I don’t want you to worry about me, Colt. Meeting you has been the best part of my summer.”
“Mine too.”
A smile fills her face. “Your eyes are so blue.”
“Like the sky?” I joke.
She breaks into a laugh. “I don’t want to go home to the trailer just yet. Are you tired?”
“Nope. I want to stay up with you as long as you do. Let’s get to know each other a bit. Just as much as we feel comfortable with.”
“You mean you’ll tell me about your life in Montana?”
“It’s pretty boring stuff, but yeah. And you can tell me about Connecticut.”
She stiffens. “I don’t have much to say about Connecticut.”
“What about your writing then? We could talk about that.”
Her posture relaxes. “I have a lot of career goals. I don’t know if I’ll ever reach any of them, but I like to dream big.”
“Well, we’ve got that in common, Skylar.” I lead her back to the boulder, and we sit down again, our backs leaning against the rock.
And then, we start talking. Like really talking. We talk about our time in Colorado, and how much we love our families, and our favorite movies and take-out foods and drinks.
“Pink lemonade, huh?” I smile. “Sweet and sour.”
She laughs. “A little bit like me I guess.”
We don’t end up talking much about our lives back home. I don’t know why, exactly, except tonight feels like a once in a lifetime kind of night, and I don’t want to waste it. I also don’t want to focus on everything that will be waiting for me when I get back home—all the worries and fears I’m not ready to face.
