Page 54 of Bad Boy
He chuckles, firelight dancing in his eyes. Even in the darkness, I can see that the delicate skin under his eye is starting to bruise.
And then it dawns on me. The morbid statistic I gave him about hot dogs on our very first date. Wait, no. I mean day. Our very firstdayhanging out.
Not a date.
Our not-date.
Oh God, I have no idea what’s going on.
I duck my head slightly and chuckle. “Oh, right.”
I pull my hot dog out of the flames, stick it in a bun, and slide the skewer out. I shrug. “I’m too hungry to care at the moment.”
I add a single stripe of ketchup, shoving half of it into my mouth and biting down. Mom’s not here to see me eating like a heathen, so it doesn’t matter.
“Preppy,” Remi practically purrs.
His deep voice is a warm caress shielding me from the cool nighttime breeze.
I swallow the massive bite in my mouth before turning to look at him, our faces less than a foot apart. He gazes back at me with a salacious stare that has my stomach tightening. His wickedly sensual mouth curves into a sly, knowing grin.
And that grin is telling me we need to go to the cabin.Now.
A throat clears, pulling us both from our lust-fueled trance.
“May I speak to you for a moment, Lincoln?”
“Y-Yes, sir,” I stutter uncomfortably, running a hand through my messy hair and trying to get thoughts of Remi out of my mind before I get a hard-on in front of our Environmental Science teacher.
Dr. Benson’s eyebrows crease in the center when I don’t move. “Alone?”
I don’t know why I do it, but I glance at Remi again. This time for reassurance. The processed meat I just ate turns into a lead weight in my stomach at the thought of what Dr. Benson might ask me.
I swallow roughly. I’m stuck to the log and glued to Remi’s side.
“Lincoln. Now, please.” He sounds annoyed at me. He never sounds annoyed.
Remi subtly nudges me, his arm pressed against mine, silently telling me to move. I take a deep breath and stand, turning to set my plate down on the log.
My eyes flick to Remi’s as I do. He winks at me and mouths, “You got this.”
A small smile tugs at my lips, and I feel a little better as I follow after our teacher to a private corner of the campgrounds, away from the fire and listening ears.
Most kids have retired to their cabins, ready to enjoy what is essentially a house with no parents. But some people are definitely still hanging out while they eat.
“I see you’ve become quite close with Remi.”
Does he know?
How could he know?
I rack my brain for any memory of when one of us might have slipped, and I come up empty.
“We’re friends,” I say, folding my arms across my chest. I hate how defensive I sound. It’s not like me, and he knows it.
Dr. Benson sighs, rubbing his forehead like he’s ready for this day to end. “Lincoln. I want you to be careful. Remi isn’t like the other kids here—”
I cut him off right there. “Yeah. He’s not a bully or a jerk.”
