Page 22 of Spring Breakup
Dean drew the slope of a shoulder in one sweep, thinking back to Tyler standing at the bathroom sink, to him sitting slightly hunched and uncomfortable and sweating through a T-shirt in the sauna.
“Tell me more.”
“There was a famous one in Norway in the 1950s.”
Dean flipped the page of his sketch pad as Tyler regaled him with avalanche trivia. Dean tried to conjure up images of the last model to pose for his class at the community center. Her legs had been short and strong, and she’d had an old tattoo on her ankle, but as he started drawing a thigh, his mind fought the impulse to shade in a birthmark.
“What are you drawing?” Tyler asked, sitting up from his slump on the sofa to see.
Dean closed his book with a decisive snap. “Nothing.”
ChapterNine
Tyler was perfectlycontent being a lazy bum. He wasgo, go, goduring the school year and had learned to take full advantage of every precious break. So he was happy eating simple food, reading his books, and watching his shows.
Dean, on the other hand, was pacing the cabin like an agitated wolf within twenty-four hours. He’d spent the morning taking inventory of their supplies as if they were stranded in an apocalypse. Rosie and Leo and the town of Silverbrite Springs were the ones who were cut off from the world, not them. Tyler’s helpful input—“If we run out of food, we have a vehicle and can literally drive back to Anchorage”—was met with a tic of a strong jaw and growling under Dean’s breath.
Granted, Tyler wasn’t trying to help Dean’s restlessness. The cabin didn’t have a TV, and Tyler had spent three hours with his headphones in completely absorbed by a show on his laptop about hot singles on an island. He could have offered to let Dean watch with him, but he hadn’t.
Dean was bored, and Tyler was enjoying his frustration.
“Tell me about Francis,” Dean asked, catching Tyler without his headphones in while returning from the bathroom.
“Absolutely not.”
“Then go outside with me.”
“Yes, because we’ve had so much luck out there so far,” Tyler said sarcastically.
“We’re in Alaska. Don’t you want to see it? Experience it?”
“I’ve seen the northern lights, a glacier, and an avalanche. I’m good.”
Dean plopped down beside Tyler on the sofa. “Tell me some random facts then. About anything. I love listening to you talk, and I’m going stir crazy here.”
Tyler ignored the thrill that went up his spine. Francis had hated when Tyler would get on a roll about his interest of the hour. “It’s only been a day. You can’t have cabin fever yet.”
“Let’s get in the hot tub.”
“No.”
Dean went to his knees on the couch and faced Tyler. “I know what you’re doing. Icing me out. I deserve it. But, Tyler”—Dean grabbed Tyler’s hands and stared at him very seriously—“I am so bored.”
Tyler couldn’t stop his laugh, no matter how hard he tried. “Here. Draw my elbow or something. Like yesterday. I’m watching hot hotties on a beach right now.” Dean tensed, and Tyler looked up in alarm. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I wasn’t … yesterday. What are you talking about?” Dean shifted away from him.
“You were drawing me. Or parts of me. It’s probably subconscious for you. I mean, you draw people for a living. I’m sure it’s an instinct to sketch whatever body is in view.”
Dean gaped in confusion, but Tyler had seen it with his own eyes.
“I’m going for a walk,” Dean finally said.
“Okay.”
“Don’t wait up.”
“It’s not even dinnertime. If you’re not back by nightfall, I’m contacting search and rescue, which would cost us a fortune, and neither of us make enough money for that.”
