Page 144 of Wild Like Us

“This doesn’t change anything,” Akara whispers as the three of us hike through the dense woods. He carries Sulli’s rope on his arm while Sulli grips her harness and a water bottle, sweat dripping down her temples. She just finished practicing Rattlesnake Knuckle for the day.

And everyone from the RV camp was there watching. Her cousins. And Oscar, Thatcher, Farrow. I was quietly pissy and in my feelings, but only Thatcher and Akara could tell. Sulli probably could more once she was on the ground.

Now that the RVglampersare off to their cushy pads, Akara is ready for my “silent brooding” to end and he’s pushing me to talk about it. So now I have totalkabout the green monster inside me. He already knows it’s there.

While we pass towering tree after tree, Akara tells me, “Charlie’s not going to tell anyone as long as Sulli keeps calling Beckett.”

“And I will keep calling,” Sulli assures me. “I’m following through.”

Tendons in my shoulders and neck pull taut. Still tensed, I whack a branch out of my face. “Even if you call Beckett every minute of the day, I don’t trust Charlie to keep his word.” And then what—everyone knows Akara and Sulli kissed. My chances with her have plummeted to the darkest depths of the deep sea.

I knew my chances already existed there.

I’ve been chasing rejection from the start. But it doesn’t change the despair inside me, which feels like a fatal wound, the final blow.

“Hey, I barely trust Charlie too,” Akara admits in a friendly tone, “but it doesn’t change things between the three of us.” He’s still trying to deescalate my jealousy.

A rough laugh sticks to my throat. “If this is a race, Akara, you’re at the fucking finish line.”

“That’s not true.” Sulli stops in her tracks on the slope of a wooded hill.

Akara and I halt further down the incline and turn to face her.

She gives me a hard look, then Akara. “I’m not going to base this decision on what other people know. If I did, I would have picked Banks days ago when Akara friend-zoned me in front of everyone.” Her gaze hits mine. “And Jane thinks you like me.”

Akara whips his head to me. “Did you tell Jane something?”

I honestly can’t remember what I said to Jane at the motel.

“No,” I say, then scowl in a grimace. “I told my brother Sulli and I kissed—”

“You idiot,” Akara snaps.

“Hey,hey.” Sulli races down the hill. Coming between us fast, she puts a hand to my chest and then Akara’s. We’re actually not moving in towards each other. We’re just glaring. But I’m not gonna move the mermaid. I like her where she is.

To Akara, I say, “That wasagesago. Back at the motel before I even knew you two kissed.”

Akara’s shoulders slacken, relaxing.

I add, “My brother promised he wouldn’t tell anyone. Not even Jane. She probably just thinks I like Sulli because I do. I’m not as good at hiding my feelings as you.”

Akara runs his fingers through his hair, then mumbles, “I guess that’s true.”

“If it makes you feel any better,” Sulli says to Akara, “if my little sister knew about this situation, she’d be cheering with Akara Kitsuwon pom-poms.” Before my stomach plummets atthatnews, she swings her head to me. “And Jane’s firmly Team Banks.”

Yeah, I’m smiling.

Akara makes a face. “There are teams?”

“Unofficial fucking ones,” Sulli pats our chests. “Just so we’re clear, I’m Team Akara and Team Banks right now. Equally.”

I believe her. She truly cares about me and Akara, and she’s not going to needlessly string one of us along. When she knows who she wants to be with in the end—she’ll tell us.

Akara snaps a finger to his palm, eyes on me. “So Thatcher knows you kissed Sulli. Charlie knows I kissed her. That sounds almost even.”

“Almost,” I agree. Because we both know Thatcher’s more likely to take this secret to his grave than Charlie’s likely to keep this secret to tomorrow.

Continuing our hike, we reach an area in the woods that has the best vantage of the Team Apex campsite, while we’re out of earshot. All three of us crouch behind two large boulders.