Page 63 of Screwed

When it finally clicked for Ava, she snorted through her nose. “Damn, Ethan. I thought Nate was the vet.”

I blushed, flustered at the little smirk on her face as I stepped out from the cover of the last tree. I scratched the back of my head. “Well, I may not have his military training, but I know a thing or two about hunting. It’s the same principle, even if you’re on the opposite end of it.”

“Hmm. So we’re the deer in this scenario,” she said thoughtfully, her arm brushing against mine. I looked at her sideways. Her nose was bunched up slightly in a frown. She seemed to always do that whenever she was thinking a bit too hard.

“Hey,” I said quietly, reaching out and running a finger over the little ridge of wrinkles to smooth it out. “Are you getting nervous again?”

She thought about it. The air clung to our faces as we pressed deeper into the ridge, the steep incline forcing a slow pace. I kept her just behind my right shoulder and steered us away from the patches of dry twigs and loose shale, stepping a bit in front of her to take point.

“No,” she said suddenly. “I was, very much so. But not anymore.”

I looked over my shoulder. “What changed?”

Ava gave me a knowing look, and I felt my ears grow hot again. “Well… surely that couldn’t have been the only reason.”

She laughed a little. “No, it’s not. I mean, it was a pretty damn good reason. But it’s about more than just the sex. I just… I’ve never done anything like that in my life before. Ever. But with the three of you, I felt safe enough to explore something that most people would probably think is insane. And yet it didn’t feel wrong.” She looked down at her boots. “I don’t know if I’m making sense.”

I thought about it. I kind of knew where she was coming from. All of this was a total first for me too, but any hesitation I had didn’t last as long as it probably should have. I didn’t care about what was custom or “normal.” I loved my guys, and I was in love with…

I looked ahead of us again. “No, I get it. There’s a level of trust needed to be that vulnerable.”

Ava quickened her step and came up beside me, deliberately covering my flank. She kept her eyes on the left side of the ridge. “I want to protect you guys as well,” she said decisively. “In whatever way I can. And I think that if we’re all looking out for each other, and fighting for one another, then we have the best chance. That’s what makes me feel braver about this whole thing.”

My chest felt full. I smiled at her. “I’m with you on that one.”

She returned my grin, then took a deep breath. “Alright. So, hunting, you said? That was your thing? Nate had the military, Deacon had crime, and you had hunting.”

I laughed. “When you put it that way, it sounds totally ridiculous.”

“I think it sounds like a very diversified skill pool,” she said grandly. “Seriously though, was that something you picked up as a child? Or did you take up the hobby as an adult?”

As we continued to head for the mineshaft, I told her about my upbringing and my time spent hunting with my dad and brothers. In return, she told me about her childhood, especially all the shenanigans she got up to with Jules when they were younger. We exchanged memories back and forth until it felt like we had known each other for longer than just a few months.

Ava had this almost childlike happiness when she spoke about those good times. Her face lit up, free from the worry that had shadowed her this morning and most of the week since she came clean about this whole thing. Eventually, the hand that had been brushing mine held onto it, and the simple heat of her palm against mine did more to settle my racing heart than the quiet of the woods ever could.

The trail narrowed sharply, cutting into the raw face of the mountain where the earth gave way to exposed, jagged rock. Up ahead, the dense curtain of ferns and brambles grew thick, filling out the old logging path. I stepped ahead, using my forearm to press back the wet fronds, revealing the yawning mouth of the number three portal.

The timber framing around the entrance was gray and weathered, leaning precariously under the weight of the mountain. I turned to look at Ava, watching her face slacken in awe.

“Stay close to me,” I said, taking out my flashlight and shining it into the thick darkness as we walked inside.

“It feels like another world in here,” Ava whispered, her voice echoing softly against the rock before dying out. “No drones, no corporate bullshit, nothing just… an echo of what used to be here.”

She looked around the cavernous darkness, her breathing a faint, rapid rhythm in the silence. I lowered the flashlight, letting the beam pool on the dirt floor between us so it wouldn’t blind her.

I could tell that something had shifted now that we faced the reality of why we had come out on this trek in the first place. She looked up at me, her eyes wide and reflecting the dim light. “I know I said that I feel braver now, and I do. But I also still keep thinking about what happens if we don’t get out of this. If Deacon doesn’t make it back, or if those people find us before we’re ready. I brought this nightmare to your door. If anything happens to any of you, I—”

“Ava,” I interrupted her resurfacing panic, stepping closer until the front of my vest brushed her jacket. I raised my free hand to her face, trying to warm her freezing skin. “Look at me. Stop.”

She blinked, focusing on me and holding back the unshed tear that was threatening to spill down her cheek.

“We are going to handle this,” I told her, my voice thick with fierce certainty.

It was the certainty of knowing that she had already said out loud what I was thinking. Hearing her acknowledge that the bond between us was her source of hope only confirmed it for me. We were all in this together.

“You know how you said that as long as we’re fighting for one another, you think we can make it? I believe that too. No one fights harder for the people they love, and I love Nate and Deacon like they were my own blood. And I love you, too. I’m in love with you, Ava. And that means I’m going to give everything I have in me to make sure I get to show you.”

Her breath hitched, her lips parting in a silent gasp. For a second, she just stared at me, the shock of my confession washing over her features before it was replaced by a look of complete relief.