I ran like hell.
A bonfire blazed in the distance. I knew she was probably there, probably safe, probably acting like all teenagers should act their freshman year of college, but I had to see that to know for certain.
When I got closer, I ducked behind the trees and waited.
The first thing I saw…
Beer.
The second thing…
Pike holding Bee’s hand.
The third thing? Absolute red.
I stomped into the circle took one look around and already knew. Half of them were drunk; the other half were on their way. And by the looks of Bee, she was already too far gone.
“Bee,” I barked, halting a few feet away. “It’s time for bed.”
“Ooo, hear that?” She cupped a hand around her ear. “You want to take me to bed.”
Some nearby girls fell into fits of laughter.
“Bee,” I growled, conscious that I sounded like a rabid animal. “Get up.”
Pike held out a beer. “Hey, sit down. Stay awhile. The party’s just getting started.”
“It’s ending. Now,” I said in a voice I didn’t recognize. “Bee, say goodnight to your new friends.”
“Damn, he’s bossy,” said a girl to my right as she eyed me up and down. “I could use bossy.”
“He’s not yours!” Bee shouted in a horrifyingly loud voice. Holy shit, was she jealous?
I didn’t see Andi anywhere, which didn’t surprise me, as she didn’t seem the partying type, and I knew Pike’s only interest was in Bee.
“Where’s your roommate?” I asked.
“Wouldn’t you like to know!” Bee yelled in a sharp voice. “What, you wanna kiss her again? Have sex with her under the stars or something!” She threw her hands into the air, nearly sending herself off Pike’s lap.
“That’s it.” I scooped her up into my arms and hoisted her over my shoulder.
“Put me down!” Her tiny fists hit my back, then my shoulder, but I barely felt them.
I rolled my eyes and kept walking.
“I said put me down,” she just about screeched.
“Like you could even walk.”
“I can walk!”
“Fine.” I dropped her to her feet and waited while she gained her bearings. “Then march.”
“Ugh.” She pushed against my body but did a pretty good job of making straight lines toward the lodge. “You’re so stupid! I’m stupid too!”
“Why are you insulting your own intelligence?”
“Big word, intelligence.”
“Remember that pledge about drugs? If I was you, I’d take it for beer too, just to be safe.”
“Ugh! There you go again!” She threw her hands into the air, stopped walking, and turned around. “You’re so bossy! So hot and cold! One minute you’re so nice I want to cry, and the next minute you’re so mean… well… I guess that causes tears too.”
“So, no matter what, I make you cry?” My patience was gone, absolutely gone. Mosquitos were biting me in the ass, and the most beautiful girl in the world was off limits, and I made her cry — by breathing.
“Yeah! And you like my roommate!”
“What?”
“She’s pretty.” Bee glowered, kicking the dirt with her boots. “Prettier than me, huh? Because she’s blonde.”
“Do I give you the impression I like blondes?”
“You almost kissed her.”
“You’re drunk.”
“I have eyes, Phoenix!” Bee stumbled into my arms and pounded my chest. “I know you wanted to, just say it!”
The pounding continued against my chest.
I sighed and steadied her on her feet, willing her to calm down. Finally, she slumped against my chest and whispered, “Why won’t you kiss me?”
Oh, hell.
“Bee, we need to get you some water, maybe some bread.”
“I don’t want bread. I’m gluten-free.”
I bit my lip to keep from laughing.
“And I hate water.”
“You do not hate water.”
“Do too, and to prove it, I refuse to shower for the entire year! Mark my swords!”
“Swords?”
“Words.” Her eyebrows pinched together. “Phoenix?”
“Yeah, little girl?”
“Am I pretty?”
I sighed and leaned my forehead against hers, only allowing myself that much contact. “You’re gorgeous, Bee. Absolutely breathtaking.”
She nodded.
I thought the conversation was over.
I thought wrong.
In all the scenarios I’d gone through in my head, this was one I hadn’t even entertained, because there was no possible way to figure Bee out.
With a crazy amount of strength, she wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me.
Full on the mouth.
I was too shocked to do anything.
So many feelings roared to the surface of my mind that I thought I was going to black out. The kiss reminded me of too many I’d shared in anger, in hate, in misuse, mistrust.
But her moan.
The sound of her innocence brought me back to reality, and that reality was… Bee. The innocent Bee was kissing me. A killer.
And she wasn’t crying.
I sighed in relief that I wasn’t tempted to hurt her then gently tried to push her away. It was a mistake, that one movement, because she hoisted herself into my arms and wrapped her legs around my waist.