Page 89 of Wildfire
Rolling onto my back, I do my best to get rid of the condom in the most practical way and lie back down, pulling her under my arm so we can stare up at the stars. The movie has long finished, but I kind of prefer only to listen to her soft breaths. “Thank goodness. What would you do without your virtue?”
Chapter Twenty-NineAURORA
“SIT DOWN, PLEASE,AURORA.”
My face scrunches, confused, as I side eye Emilia, who hasn’t been given strict instructions to sit down by Xander. I take a seat on the picnic bench in front of him, resting against my hands as he paces in front of me dramatically. “Done.”
“Thank you, Aurora.”
“You’re welcome, Alexander. Your wish is my command, clearly.”
He stops pacing. “Is this a joke to you?”
“This? What’s happening right now?” He nods. “Yes, it’s very much a joke to me. I have no idea what’s going on. Can you move a couple of inches to the right, then a couple of inches forward, please? The sun is in my eyes.”
The three of us were supposed to be filling water bottles for the kids ahead of rock climbing, and somehow I’ve ended up with Xander wearing his most serious expression. I thought it was weird when he insisted on helping, and I should have known he was up to something.
He kisses his teeth, his hands settling on his hips as he stares me down. “This is serious.”
“I’m sure whatever is happening right now is very serious to you, Xan. Still don’t know what’s happening, though.”
I look across to Emilia, who shrugs, watching our friend with interest. “The way you act sometimes makes me glad I don’t date men,” Emilia says.
“I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that to me. I have two words—”
“Attentionandseeker?” Emilia says at the same time I say, “Overanddramatic?”
“Basketball tournament.” He glares at me. “Overdramaticis one word. Get your head in the game, Roberts. You’re an English major.”
I’m really struggling not to laugh. He’s caught my interest now and I’m excited to see where this whole thing is going. “Is the game spelling or basketball? Because I’m confused.”
“Basketball tournament,” he repeats, a little louder this time. “We can’t lose.”
I once again look at Emilia, mainly searching for confirmation that we’re both experiencing the same thing and I’m not having a weird hallucination. Her perfectly sculpted eyebrows are nearly touching she’s frowning so hard.
I decide to be the nominated speaker for the both of us. Clearing my throat, I look back at Xander. “Uh, okay?”
“I don’t know what sordid and creative sexual wizardry Callaghan has promised you to throw the game, but I need you to forget about it. My reputation is on the line here and I need you to be a team player.”
“Rory is very popular with the Titans basketball team, Xan. You don’t have anything to worry about,” Emilia says, stepping just out of my reach when I try to punch her in the arm. “She loves being a team player.”
“Shut up,” I snap at her. “Xander, I can’t lie. I have zero idea what you’re talking about. I’m not throwing anything, there’s no promisesof witchcraft and/or wizardry that I’m aware of, and, sweetie, I really don’t think it’s that serious. The tournament is supposed to be a bit of fun.”
Somehow—and I truly believe that Xander is probably the one who started it—we’ve ended up involved in a staff basketball tournament this evening. Teams were picked at random using colored pieces of paper in a hat and, much to his absolute delight, Russ is on a team with Clay, while Emilia and I are with Xander and some of the lifeguards. Poor Maya has never played basketball in her life, but says she doesn’t care because all the people on her team are tall, and in her book that automatically makes them good.
“Russ told me you’d agreed to help them cheat.”
That little sneak. “Russ is just getting under your skin, buddy. That’s what you guys do when you play, right? Shit talk each other. I haven’t even talked to him properly since this morning.”
My favorite thing is when Russ stops by my cabin on the way back from his morning run before people are up. I sit on his knee or beside him, depending on how sweaty and gross he is, and we watch the sun rise. I’m always half asleep, but I’d definitely remember making a diabolical plan to betray Xander.
“You know you could have just saiddon’t cheat, right?” Emilia says, looking at her watch. “Could have saved us so much time.”
“If there’s sexual wizardry on offer, I might cheat, Xander. I’m just being honest with you; it is very likely that I’ll be influenced. I don’t even know what it entails, but I know that I want to be a part of it. I’m sure you can respect the difficult position I’m in.”
“I can’t and won’t. I’m not losing to Clay because you’re horny, Aurora,” Xander says sternly.
“If we lose to Clay, it’s because I have to play basketball when I have no hand-eye coordination.” I’m super lazy when it’s on the Brown Bears’ schedule because I just let Xander or Clay take charge. “You need to relax. It’s not going to count against you next season, y’know.”
