Page 74 of Never Will I Ever

But despite the warning, he still can’t seem to look away.

And neither, it seems, can I.

Twenty

Kaleb

After dinner the following evening, Avery and I start our journey to where I’ve planned our little overnight rendezvous for our two-day weekend. With each step we take up the trail, the late afternoon sun streaking through the tall pines, I become more aware of his presence behind me. Every atom of my body has become attuned to him lately, tingling with anticipation whenever we’re alone in close proximity, the way we are now.

It’s a sensation I’ve started to yearn for more than anything.

The crunching of our boots on the path serves as the soundtrack for our trek, along with the chirping of birds and the summer breeze rustling the trees. And, of course, there’s Avery’s bitching thrown in the mix too.

“Where in the ever-loving fuck are you leading me, LaMothe?” he muses, grinning as he takes in the forest on either side of the path. “Still looking for the best cliff to push me off so you’re finally rid of me?”

“No need; I already know which one I’d pick,” I bat right back before aiming a smirk over my shoulder.

His question is damn near perfectly timed too, because it’s only a few more minutes of trekking up the path before we reach the spot in question. It’s a flat section of rock leading out of the denser patch of trees, creating a small clearing near the edge of a cliff face.

I drop my pack to the ground in what looks to be a good spot for the tent, only to look up and find Avery taking in the view, precariously close to the edge.

Sidling up beside him, I muse, “You know, I was joking about shoving you off a cliff, but you’re tempting fate by standing this close.”

“Funny,” he says dryly, gaze flicking to me for the briefest moment before traveling the length of the valley on the horizon. “What is this place?”

“We call it Lovers Leap.”

He lets out some combination of a scoff and chuckle. “The perfect mixture of romantic and suicidal.”

My lips quiver as I fight a smirk.

The more comfortable we’ve become with each other these past fiveweeks, the more I’m reminded why I used to enjoy knowing him. By taking him out of the context of school and baseball and all the bullshit, he’s an entirely different person.

A person I actually…really like being around.

“Well, this is where we’re camping for the night.”

Avery’s brow lifts as his eyes shift from me to the ledge and back. “Since you just admitted you have no intentions of murder, does that mean you’re trying to seduce me?”

Considering the way my body craves him like a drug these days, there’s a pretty good chance of it. But I’m not about to give him the satisfaction of admitting it, so I shoot him a teasing wink instead.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Obviously, or I wouldn’t have asked,” he deadpans.

I roll my eyes. Sometimes his sarcasm makes it really hard to flirt with him. Not that I’mflirtingflirting, per se; it’s more like a playful teasing between friends. Friends who also happen to get each other off sometimes.

We make quick work of setting up camp, erecting the tent and building a fire with what’s left of the dwindling daylight. And to Avery’s credit, he has the fire lit without much of a struggle, leaving me with the chance to string up a hammock between twotrees near the cliff’s edge.

“Why’d you bring that?” he asks while I’m clipping the second carabiner to the straps, officially securing it in place.

“To have something for us to sit in?”

What else do you do with a hammock?

“You think we’re both fitting in this thing?” he asks dubiously.

My brows furrow as I point to the label on the side. “It’s built for two.”

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