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Chapter thirty

Kingsley

I try not to laugh as Bowers slips down the vine, landing hard on his ass with an “Oomph!”

Zee, as usual, rushes to his side to make sure he’s okay. When she isn't looking directly at him, he sends us a quick wink, making me roll my eyes.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” West groans from beside me, where only I can hear him. “He’s doing that on purpose.”

Bower’s been begging Zee for days to teach him how to swing from the vines like she does.

And today, she finally agreed. When he fell the first time, Zee was all over him, making sure he was okay, and it was clear he liked the fussing.

What’s not clear is if he’s continuing to fall on purpose or not.

Zee runs her hands all over him, looking for injuries. “Can you really blame him?” I ask, knowing it’s not the worst idea he’s ever had.

When she decides he’s fine and wraps her arms around his waist in a big hug, West practically growls beside me in frustration. “I can’t take this anymore.” He stomps over to them, demanding, “I think Bower needs a break, it’s my turn. ”

She releases Bower and turns to West in surprise. “You want to learn, too?”

“Yes,” he says with a nod of his head.

“Alright, Bower, you can take a break and rest your hands while I teach Weston.” I can’t help but smile at the glare he gives West before he walks over to join me near the fire pit.

He stands at my side with his arms crossed over his chest as he stares at the two of them while she explains to West how to hold on to the vine.

Glancing at him out of the corner of my eye, I see a look of frustration on his face, making me chuckle. “You aren’t really pouting right now, are you?”

Immediately, he drops his frown and looks at me, feigning innocence. “No, of course not.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

“I was just enjoying my time with her.”

“You’re gonna have to get used to sharing, if this is going to work between us all. Besides, you were clearly putting on an act for her, and I wouldn’t want you to accidentally lie to her about your capabilities.”

He rubs the back of his neck as his expression turns sheepish. “Yeah… I might have not tried too hard when I saw how she reacted to my first fall. I can’t help it, though! Now she’s freely giving her affection, I just want to soak it all up.”

“I get it, but you need to come upon it honestly.” A loud thump has us turning to see West on his ass, clearly having just fallen.

“Oh no! Are you okay?” Zee asks, kneeling between his outstretched legs as her hands roam over his body. I’m not sure why she expects the front of him to be injured and by the surprised look he sends our way, West doesn’t know either .

Without saying anything, he wraps his arms around her and pulls her against him, kissing her senseless. She lets out a squeak of surprise before her body visibly melts into him.

“I think I was doing it wrong,” Bower mumbles, making me laugh as Zee and West pull apart.

She glances at us before she says something too quiet for us to hear. West says something in return, then starts tickling her sides and she lets out peals of laughter as she tries to get away from him.

“West, stop!” she squeals.

“She’s something else, isn’t she?” I ask as she lets out a loud giggle.

“She sure is.” He lets out a small sigh as we silently watch them.

Somehow I doubt I’ll be any good at swinging on vines.

I wish there was a way to play tennis here.

With her physicality, I’d bet she’d be amazing at it.

I’m always trying to get Bower or Reece to be my doubles partner, but they just don’t enjoy it.

Teaching Zee to play would be a great way for us to spend time together back in the real world.

Once they go back to her lesson, Bower speaks again. “Do you think Reece will like her?”

I let out a long breath, scratching my overgrown beard. “I wish I knew.”

Reece hasn’t gotten along with a single girlfriend either of us has brought home.

Not the sweet ones, the funny ones, the smart ones.

He didn’t approve of anyone, and it’s been bugging me for days, wondering how he will react to Zee.

She’s been through so much, if Reece is mean or cruel to her, it will probably create a rift between us.

I don’t want to have to pick between him and her .

Thinking out loud, I finally tell Bower, “We’ll have to do our best to help ease her into his unique personality. Maybe the fact that we are sharing her will make him more accepting.”

We know he rejected some of our past girlfriends because he didn’t think they’d mix well with the rest of us. We’ve taken that hurdle out of the equation, this girl wasn’t going to split Bower and me up because we were both in this together.

“King?”

“Hmm?” I respond, trying to rein in my thoughts.

“Why hasn’t he found us yet?”

Shit. I’ve been dreading this question for weeks.

Because the truth is, Reece should have found us within a week, and we’ve been here for over six.

Why couldn’t he find us? We couldn’t have possibly gone that far off course in such a short time.

Part of me wonders if he’s stopped looking, but I immediately push that thought aside.

“I dunno, Bower. But I can guarantee you he won’t stop searching until he finds us.”