Page 26 of Puck Love

Ray held up his cell triumphantly. “I am now. That’s the first interaction between you two that didn’t sound murderous. If you can get me to civilization, I’ll forward this to PR and call it a day.”

“You’ve been recording us on your cell?” I asked dubiously, though I knew that he was the only one besides the guides with a phone since he wasn’t technically a camper.

“I have a camera built into my rucksack to capture candid, real-life moments too. Nothing scripted.” He grinned, obviously pleased with himself. “Yes, this is exactly the content I was hoping for.”

And with that, Ray headed off, a lighter bounce in his step.

“Huh. If the video man leaves early too, this is over. We should call a ride for him and be done with it. What do you say?”

I bit my bottom lip, shifting my gaze from our lone charge, practically skipping up the trail to Trinsky, who was…staring at me.

“Do I have toothpaste on my face?” I licked at the corner of my mouth, unthinking.

He cleared his throat as he rubbed his scruffy jaw. “No, you’re just…hairy. I’ve never seen you with a beard. It doesn’t look terrible.”

“Was that a compliment?” I snarked, tugging at my baseball hat.

“Sure, bud. If I was gay, I’d totally do you.” Trinsky winked, squeezing my shoulder before trotting after Ray.

And me? I couldn’t move. My reflexes failed me—my jaw dropped, and my feet felt like cement blocks.

I knew better than to take anything Trinsky said seriously. He was an attention-starved clown who got off on shocking anyone unlucky enough to be stuck in his sphere. But last night had happened, and I was leery of something unpleasant lurking in some shadowy region of my brain.

I might despise him, but that didn’t negate the uncomfortable truth that I found Mason Trinsky weirdly compelling. I supposed that was proof that it was possible for me to be simultaneously disgusted and fascinated by…him.

Yuck.

9

TRINSKY

Milligan was being weird.

Too quiet.

He’d basically stranded me with Ray, the slowest hiker ever to hike throughout history, and for that, I was kinda pissed. Denny’s group was nowhere in sight, and the other two groups had most likely reached the swimming hole and were probably feasting on delicious stacked turkey sandwiches from C’est Bon.

My stomach growled on cue. I put one foot in front of the other, wiping my brow with the hem of my tee. Fuck, it was hot today. I stopped under a giant tree and dropped my backpack before yanking my shirt over my head.

“You’re going to get eaten alive.”

I arched my brow. “Oh, so you do speak. I thought you’d taken a vow of silence or something.”

Jake rolled his eyes. “I did. Seriously, though…put your shirt on. The mosquitos are savage.”

“Do you have repellant on you?”

Jake sighed heavily, slipping his bag from his shoulder. He rummaged in the side pocket and tossed a small bottle at me. “Here you go.”

I called to Ray to wait up as I uncapped the bug spray. “Wait. This is lotion.”

“Mmhmm.” He opened his water container and took a swig.

I frowned, watching his Adam’s apple slide in his throat. “Uh, okay. You can do the honors.”

Jake screwed the top on his water. “What honors?”

“Lather up my back, Milligan.” I shoved the bug repellant into his hands.