Page 65 of Tracked
And then the zipper sliced completely open and Calder disappeared through it, leaving me with my mouth gaping and my heart spilling wild, wanton beats into my veins.
So, I wasn’t the only one who wanted him to do it again.
Calder paused a few paces up the trail, and at first, I thought he’d stopped only to wait for me to catch up, but then I heard it: the angry rumbling of a masculine voice approaching from the tent nearby.
“Goddammit, Sarah. What the fuck are we doing here? You told me camping. Not this bullshit—”
“I told you it was a camping retreat, so we could work on us—”
“Bullshit. You tricked me into coming here. You’re so fucking worthless, you know that? I tell you to plan a trip, and this is what you come up with? I swear to God—” The man stopped as soon as he reached the path about thirty feet in front of Calder, noticing us immediately.
His eyes swiped over Calder first, then me. His prematurely thinning hair was almost as noticeable as his receding hairline, and judging from the rest of him, the trip he would’ve preferred involved shooting animals, drinking beer, and enjoying a healthy dose of toxic masculinity.
Behind him, a pale blonde came through the trees, her hair braided into two plaits and her cheeks flushed, though most likely not from the exertion. Not if their color had anything to do with the red rim of her eyes.
“Good morning,” Calder said just as the other man was about to turn away, forcing him to greet us.
“Morning.”
“I’m Calder. This is Lara.” My fake boyfriend took charge of the situation, striding right up to the couple and not-so-subtly stopping partially between them.
“Trent.” The shorter man reluctantly took Calder’s hand and shook it.
It took several seconds for the blonde to finally speak, like she wasn’t sure whether Trent was going to introduce her or she should introduce herself.No.It was as though she’d made the wrong choice too many times.
“I’m Sarah.”
“Hi, Sarah. It’s nice to meet you,” I said, reaching my hand out for hers and giving Trent a taste of his own medicine.And unimportance.
“We should go. Wouldn’t want to belate,” Trent scoffed, his tone dripping with equal parts displeasure and mockery. Again, without thinking or waiting for his partner, he stalked ahead, leaving the three of us in his wake.
When he was a good several paces ahead, Sarah looked at me and said, “I’m sorry.”
“Please,” I begged her with a soft smile. “Don’t apologize.”
She gave me a grateful but unconvinced look. “This is just a lot for him ... too much, maybe.”
Her reply rattled my nerves for so many reasons, but the biggest was how it reminded me of Mom. And of Rachel.
It wasn’t my place or my business to say anything, but the weight on my chest was wondering whether I could do more to help her—whether I could’ve done more to help my sister. Maybe if I’d kept speaking up, things would’ve been different. Maybe if I’d given her more reasons to hate me, she wouldn’t have found herself dating so many men who made her hate herself.
Before I could help myself, I dipped my head lower and murmured, “Well, then maybe he should go find less.”
Sarah’s eyes went wide, and a smile she couldn’t control spread over her face.
“Sarah!” Trent called but didn’t even bother to stop, like he’d hollered for a wandering dog to catch up to him rather than a woman he cared about. I couldn’t believe a man who acted like that was capable of love.
“Thank you,” Sarah said softly, and sped to catch up to her partner.
“You okay?”
I turned to Calder and found him looking at me strangely. Only then did I notice that I’d banded my arms over my chest and how hard I was scowling.
“Yeah.” I dropped my arms and shrugged like that was all it took to release the tension. “That’s just the kind of guy my sister would date, and I just ... I can’t stand men like that.”
“That’s not a man, Lara. That’s a piece of trash.” With that simple yet true statement, Calder Stone continued toward the gathering place.
And I’d never wanted to kiss him more.
