Page 34 of Roughing It

I shrug. “Yeah, those damn little front pieces never grow like the rest.”

“What?”

Lifting my chin, I’m met with confusion. “What do you mean what?”

He doesn’t answer, simply shakes his head and points. And holy shit, there’s a family of rabbits a handful of feet away. I grip his arm and whisper-yell, “Bunnies!”

“Not recording this?”

“No.” I drop my hand down the length of his arm, tangling our fingers together. “I want this one for myself. Thank you for bringing me here. It’s amazing.”

We stand in silence, enjoying the quiet, the warmth, the wind.

“Usually, people hold hands before seeing each other naked.”

Hudson’s words have me dropping his hand from mine and heat rushing to my cheeks. With a glare, I stomp back toward the cabin.

I get ten feet.

“Hey, Spitfire? You’re going the wrong way. Cabin’ssoutheast.”

In. Suffer. Able.

DAY FOUR

I’m at my slapdash vanity, applying mascara. Turning my head side to side, I check that everything is as close to perfect as possible. It’s time to go live.

Hudson is already at the small kitchen table eating breakfast—eggs, bacon, and steaming biscuits. I set up my phone and put everything in place so I can easily make myself a plate while talking. Once I have it all just so, I fix on my best social media smile and hit record.

“Good morning, BBs! Being out here in the wilderness works up my appetite!” I pause and make a show of adding food to my plate. “I’m so lucky my roomie is also a fantastic cook. He prepared this tasty breakfast for us.”

I nibble the edge of a piece of bacon and moan like it’s the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth. Across the table, Hudson snorts. I keep my smile in place, though I once again wish for eye-daggers.

With a sugar-sweet flutter of my lashes, I switch the camera to Hudson. “Tell my BBs what you have planned for us today?”

He doesn’t answer, and I consider kicking him under the table. He sighs in time to save his shins. Barely.

“We’re finishing baseline survival basics testing. Knowingyour strengths and weaknesses helps a guide determine which skills to focus on.”

Moving around the table so we are side by side and both in frame, I nod sagely. Then I give the camera a coy grin. I can’t help myself. “What are my strengths?”

“And weaknesses?” He raises a dark eyebrow in challenge.

Gritting my teeth, I say, “And areas where I can grow.”

“Blakely’s weaknesses?—”

“We just agreed to call them areas for growth, Bear.” I cut my eyes to the camera lens, wondering how many people caught me calling him Bear.

“Blakely’s ‘areas for growth’”—he actually uses air quotes, the bastard—“are numerous.” His scowl slips into a smirk. “Cardinal directions, for example.”

“That’s not true!” I pout.

Hudson makes ahmph. “It is true.” He isn’t looking into the camera. No, the full force of his attention is on me. “You also need to work on your knot tying, situational awareness, and the other skills we didn’t get to.”

I’m about to snap back at him when he says, “But your greatest strength is your ability to adapt.” His eyes lock on mine. “Throw you in an unknown situation, and you acclimate.”

For a precious few seconds, I forget I’m live. Forget there’s an audience. Forget anything exists except for those green eyes and me. Is this a compliment? Or is he saying I’m a chameleon? Changing myself to fit the situation? Another dig on the persona he says I wear?

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