Page 70 of Into the Mountains
“Oh, they will,” Jayce taunts from his place behind us.
“You’re cute, kid,” Ash calls over his shoulder in a condescending tone as he laughs his way back to his group of buddies.
“He’s gonna get his. I may be a kid, but he’s underestimating me,” Jayce says quietly.
“Sheesh, who the heck raised you, the mafia?” Erin jokes, mussing his son’s hair.
“Jayce, never let other people get to you, okay? That anger is never good for your heart.” Aaron gives Jayce a side hug which he grudgingly accepts and turns to us, ready to play.
Charlotte and I get our gear on and once we are covered head to toe, we jokingly start our own huddle. The others join in and we last about five seconds before the secondhand embarrassment becomes too much and we are clutching our stomachs from laughing at ourselves too hard.
We decided that our strategy is to just have fun. Winning would be a bonus, putting the other team’s cockiness into place.I’m more worried about what they will do when they see a smaller kid playing, thinking they can take advantage of that. I make a decision to stick with him in case he needs backup. Charlotte agrees with a nod when she sees me heading off with him in the direction away from her. I’ll catch up with her during the game.
A few inches behind Jayce, he tries to wave me off. “You don’t need to cover my six. I know what I’m doing.” And he proves that within the first ten minutes of the game. We take cover nearby and he expertly pops up when he hears someone passing and shoots a paintball right at their chest, leaving a neon orange splatter behind.
Once he’s crouched next to me again, he explains where the others are from the opposing team, something I have no idea how he can figure out when everyone is spread in different directions in the area.
“It’s simple,” he starts explaining. “If you consider how many idiot guys are on that team, they probably learned all of their skills from Halo 3 and think they know exactly what to do. In reality it’s easy to predict their moves when they learn from a video game I mastered when I was nine.”
Turning his head slightly around the corner, he motions me to follow when he decides it’s all clear. I think I’m more of a hindrance to him than a help at this point as he starts to track down our other opponents.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHARLOTTE
JULY - FIFTEEN YEARS AGO
THE LAST DATE
If anyone were to ask me my favorite date of all time, there wouldn’t even be a competition. Paintball would win hands down. I don’t know why it’s something I’ve always wanted to try, but never went for it. When I mentioned it to Elias before, I didn’t expect anything of it, but this turned out to be perfect. Especially with my old friend here to experience it. While we hunt down the opposing team, Andy fills me in here and there about her life over the last year.
She’s the manager now at the coffee shop we went to for trivia night. Her and Meredith had been dating since a few weeks after graduation and it didn’t take long for them to know they wanted a life together.
While I’m filling her in on what’s been going on at home and then explaining how Elias and I reconnected, a paintballsplatters into a nearby tree, nearly missing my side. “Shitty aim,” I taunt, because why not.
Ash’s voice comes from the direction of the paintball. I peek over and see the toe of his boot sticking out slightly from his shelter. I take a shot, but miss.
“Back atcha!”
One of his teammates comes to his aid and Andy moves further away from me to take cover. She’s far enough away from me now that Ash and I are by ourselves in this match. I sense underneath all of the frat boy exterior, he’s a good person. I don’t think Elias would genuinely be friends with him otherwise, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to go easy on him. The competitor in me won’t let him win.
Softly, I start stepping to the other side of my shelter to try to sneak up on his right side. He’s been coming around from his left, so my hope is I can take him by surprise. “You know, I’m really surprised you and Elias are actually dating,” he calls.
I don’t answer so I don’t give away my position. Which is about a foot or so away from him now.
“When me and Alan dared him to go on a date this summer and we matched him with you, we didn’t think he’d really go through with it.”
I stop in my tracks, not sure if this is just Ash trying to get the upper hand or if it’s him telling the truth. Or worse; it’s both.
“But we knew he needed some fun for the summer. I’m glad you’ve stuck it out with him though.”
Some fun for the summer.
And matched him with you.Did he mean that Elias didn’t actually match with me? He and his friend did it? Our whole relationship is the result of a dare…
Icy hurt courses through my veins at the realization. Memories and small moments flash through my head like a montage in a romcom. Except this isn’t the romcom summerromance I thought it was and this one doesn’t have a happy ending either. Not anymore.
A blast of neon pink paint hitting my shoulder jolts me from my disbelief. “You’re dead, princess.”
