Page 19 of Never Have I Ever

“Bear crossing.”

Great, there are bears out here. Why did I assume the main wildlife I’d encounter would be deer? Maybe because the town is literally named Deer Lake. I’m getting bears instead. Naturally . . .

It’ll be one big party with me as the main course.

I rush back to my car and get in, locking all the doors. Unfortunately, my automatic window is stuck rolled down. Crawling over the console, I’m halfway to the back seat when I realize I should arm myself the best I can with a weapon stronger than a dead iPhone. That means one thing—my knives.

The next thing to cross my mind—they’re in the trunk. In my rush to leave, I threw everything in the back to sort out once I got back to LA. Now I’m damning myself for letting that guy affect me so much. If it weren’t for him, I would have properly packed.

Though I can admit my stuff still would have been in the trunk, it’s more fun to blame him.

After wedging myself into the driver’s seat again, I go to the back of the car, listening carefully for the sound of anything hiding in the trees ready to attack me. It’s starting to feel like I don’t have a chance in hell of surviving. If a bear doesn’t get me, I’ll do my own head in by worrying about them.

With no light, it’s hard to see where the knives landed, so I dig deeper toward the back to feel around for the package. “Ah. Yes. Thank God.” I reach even farther to find the handle when my whole trunk lights up. I jump, bumping my head, and turn around to wave down help, but I only catch the taillights as a truck rounds the corner.

My shoulders fall with the last of the hope I had left. It might be best to settle into the back and call it a night. But then hope springs eternal when I see reverse lights outshining the taillights as the truck backs its way around the corner, returning in my direction.

I scramble to grab a knife from my kit. The boning knife is the first available, so I slip it free, gripping the handle like my life depends on it. It just might . . .

The truck stops ahead of my car, then slowly backs the rest of the way. “You’ve got to be kidding me?” I say as soon as our eyes meet through the open window on the passenger’s side.

Jerkface sits with a grin befitting his earlier behavior—cocky and egotistical. “It’s tempting to leave you out here for the night and let the bears get you.”

I cross my arms over my chest. “I’d choose a bear over you any day.”

Chuckling, he shifts his gearstick, redirecting his attention through the windshield. When he turns back to me, he says, “Guess we’re all good here, then. Good luck with the fuel pump.” The truck starts rolling forward before I have time to process what he means by that.

I jog to close the distance, grabbing hold of the door through the open window. “What do you mean by that?”

Stretching his arm over the back of the seat, he leans toward me, but his eyes volley between me and the road ahead. I cling to the side of his vehicle. At least he has the courtesy to slow the pace so I can walk next to it. “You haven’t said a damn word about us. It’s like we never existed.”

“We existed alright, but I’m trying to forget.”

A click of his tongue accompanies his gaze shifting forward again. I hope he’s not expecting me to apologize to him for tonight. He’s the one who was out of line. More importantly, I don’t want to talk about what happened back at the cabin. If he wants to fixate on it, I’ll let him, but I didn’t catch the last part. “I wasn’t talking about us. I was asking what you meant regarding my car.”

When his gaze returns to me, the light blue of his eyes is icier, an emotion frozen in the pupils as he glares at me before turning away. Shaking his head, he exhales, and then says, “Your fuel pump is broken. I heard it sputter when you pulled away from the cabin. You need to replace it.”

“How?”

“Mechanic, but you’re not getting anyone out here tonight.”

“There’s no one?”

“You can try a car service, but I doubt you’ll have much luck.”

“My luck has definitely run out.” I’ve given up chasing this man because my legs are too tired. I stop and look back at my car before looking at the back of the truck that stopped with me. It’s slim pickings in opportunities out here. Has it really come down to him or the bears?

He rolls the truck in reverse, resting forward on the steering wheel and grinning like he’s won some prize. He apparently has in the looks department. Figures. Remaining silent, he just stares at me like I know what he wants. I don’t. “What?” I finally ask, popping my shoulders.

“You sleeping out here?”

“Not if I have another option.” Hint. Hint. Hint. I hate that I just batted my eyelashes. All it takes is an ungodly handsome face, great eyes with excessively dark lashes, and an absurdly hard and perfectly muscular body to make me consider going anywhere with this man. Throwing my arms out wide, here I am, choosing him, a victim to his stupidly perfect everything.

“I’ll give you a ride into town on one condition.”

I knew it couldn’t be a simple favor from one human to another. “Which is?”

“Leave the knife in the back with your other stuff.”

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