Page 57 of Wild Eyes
Because West and I are friends, notfriends, and I don’t want to be a cockblocker.
“Gonna go”—I point an awkward finger gun toward the bunkhouse—“feed Cherry.”
“Feed Cherry!” she repeats, bobbing on my shoulder.
I edge past Bree, jog down the steps, step onto the grass, and flee toward safety.
But not before Cherry can skewer me on the way past West’s rigid form. Her parting, “Fuck Coach Thick Thighs!” keeps me hustling forward with a beet-red face and a prayer for the ground to open up and swallow me whole.
I really need to have a heart-to-heart with my bird about boundaries.
Alone in the bunkhouse, I flip open my laptop. I figure since I have no phone, I might need to be more regular about checking my inbox.
There are emails from my agent, Jerry. Subject lines ranging from possible interviews and one particularly troubling one that saysList of possible dates. Like I’m choosing a pair of shoes off a curated shelf.
It makes me sick.
But it’s the email at the very top of my inbox that washes away any nausea. The sender is one Weston Belmont. And the subject line says, “BREAKING NEWS!”
Both curious and amused, I open the email.
BREAKING NEWS: Small town jerk is sorry for throwing Skylar Stone’s phone in the lake.
I snort. That’s all it says.
I consider writing him back but realize I don’t know what to say. Instead, I just grin at the screen, basking in the glow of the world’s most adorable apology.
A knock at the door startles me and I immediately move to answer it, secretly hoping it’s West and that he’s not spending time with Bree.
I yank the door open. And come face-to-face with his sister instead.
“I brought the sweatsuit!” Rosie cheerfully announces from the front door of the bunkhouse. Followed by, “Oh my god, your nose.”
I reach up to it self-consciously. “Is it that bad?”
“No,” she says, shaking her head. “Just caught me by surprise. What happened? Did you try to pet another bear?” She deadpans the joke, but the twinkle in her eyes gives her away.
There’s something so normal about getting ribbed like this. And yet, people don’t generally tease me.
I decide I like it.
“Yeah. He booped me on the nose, stronger than I banked on.”
She grins at my playful sarcasm as I reach forward and take the folded pile of pink cotton from her. “No, I helped West at Emmy’s soccer game yesterday, and a kid accidentally kicked the ball straight into my face.”
“Oh no.” She steps closer, inspecting it from both sides. “Well, if it’s any consolation, you’re still hot as fuck.”
A shocked choking noise lodges in my throat.
“No, I mean, really, I wish I looked like this with a bruised face.” She leans back now, a smirk playing across her features. “Poor West.”
Her comment leaves me confused, and I quirk my head. “Poor West?” She doesn’t respond, so I venture, “Because I had to stay at his house last night?”
“You did?”
I swallow and rest my gaze on my feet for a few beats before admitting, “I met Scotty last night and…I freaked out. Screamed like a fucking baby. I tried to keep it a secret, but West found out about the mouse. He offered me a room at his place.”
Rosie scoffs and waves a hand. “It’s okay. I’ll head up to his house and threaten him.”
