Page 44 of Almost True
“Hey,” the first girl says. She sounds European, but I can’t place the accent. “Do you live around here?”
“What gave it away?” I joke. I’m wearing a flannel shirt and my firefighting boots, which aren’t the sort of thing tourists come to Copper Creek in. This group is all decked out in expensive outdoor clothing brands.
“Your town is amazing,” the second girl says, crowding up close to me as she speaks with passion. “I can’t believe how isolated it is. And the mountains are incredible! I wish we had more time to explore.”
“How long are you here for?”
“A week total. I think it’s my favorite place in all of Alaska.”
We talk for a while, and I end up buying both girls a round of beers, which hurts. I’m virtually out of money again, with fucking ages to go before our next paycheck.
The girls are obviously into me, and I get the feeling they’re hoping I’ll invite them around to stay—whether because they want to get laid or they’re just hoping to sleep somewhere besides a tent for the night, I don’t know. But the longer I talk to them, the more obvious it is that I’m not attracted to them in the slightest, no matter how objectively pretty they are.
Soon I can’t keep up the strained good humor any longer, so I make my excuses and leave.
On the walk back to the cabin, I’m reevaluating everything I thought I knew about myself. I’ve been assuming my interest inKorren was down to the lack of women in my life, but I can’t keep telling myself that after what happened back there. Not long ago, I would’ve been all about a couple girls like that, especially since they didn’t pose the threat of a relationship.
But right now, the only person I want is Korren. I want to kiss him and hold him and fuck him, and yes, I’d like to date him as well.
Fuck me. Maybe I’m not straight after all.
Chapter 31
Korren
The cabin is eerily quiet when I return.
It was great to spend the day out in the wilderness alone. That was what I used to do, before everything fell apart, and it was always the best way to clear my head and figure things out.
Last time I tried hiking as an escape, I was in a really dark place, and all I could think about was how much I wanted to get lost in the wilderness and never return. But this time it was exactly what I needed.
Except I couldn’t stop thinking about how much more fun it would be with Dex there.
As I started back from the trail, I happened to spot a community noticeboard with a posted advertisement for a room available in a shared house. It’s not ideal, but it would give me some space and break my dependence on Dex. I think I’m doing a lot better, but I need to figure out if it’s because of Copper Creek or because of Dex.
And if it’s because of Dex, I need to stop playing this fucking game before I get too attached.
The notice didn’t advertise the price. And there were a few other places pinned up there too, all for some obscene amount that’s obviously geared toward tourists looking to stay a week or two. So my hopes aren’t very high.
But I have to try.
My phone is still as functional as a hunk of wood, so I have to do this the hard way. I drop my pack and trudge back down the trail toward town, planning to hunt down the rental and knock on the door until someone lets me in and tells me what it costs.
I never paid much attention to the street names before, so it takes me a few circuits of town before I stumble across the right block. The house is tucked beside the used clothing store, and its roof has been repaired so many times with so many different sheets of iron and corrugated plastic that it looks like it leaks in about twenty places.
With great trepidation, I knock on the door. Even though I know this is the right thing to do, there’s a sick weight in my stomach when I hear footsteps approaching.
To my surprise, it’s Garret who answers the door, his usual grin on his face.
“Hey, Korren! What’s the occasion?” He runs a hand over his buzz-cut hair.
“I—uh—saw the listing for a room in this house. I was wondering how much it costs.”
“Ah, fuck, does that mean you’ve lost the challenge?”
“Not yet,” I mumble. “I don’t want to give in until I have somewhere to stay afterward.”
“You guys are insane.”
