Page 27 of Collide
Her smile is smug. “Since you missed our session yesterday, I rescheduled. We’re going on a hike!”
Sebastian snorts from his place on the floor. He’s still holding his head in his hands when he peeks at her. “Yeah, right, I’m pretty sure I’m still drunk.”
“Kian said you all were at my disposal for this project. Unless that’s changed, and you would rather your captain enjoy probation. I’m going to need you to get dressed.” Grumbles erupt, but Summer turns on the god-forsaken alarm again. “You have five minutes.”
“IF I HAD the energy to throw him off this cliff right now, I would,” mutters a hungover Dylan.
He’s glaring at Kian who chats animatedly with Summer. All the guys are paying for his generous voluntary effort. Eli got lucky because he was MIA this morning, and Cole locked himself in the basement.
Trying not to stare at Summer’s ass this five-mile hike is my own personal brand of torture. She’s wearing tights that outline the perfect curve of her ass and a matching long-sleeve that leaves her midriff exposed. After last night, it’s been hard for me not to think of how close she got to me.
“This is the only reason I’m not on probation,” I say.
Dylan grunts. “Probation would be much preferred over this.”
“Come on guys! I thought you were D1 athletes.” Summer glances over her shoulder.
“There’s a reason we skate on ice, Summer. If I wanted to wear sneakers and walk in the woods, I would be a serial killer,” argues Dylan.
She lets out an amused breath. “It’s not my fault you drank yourself stupid last night.”
For how much Dylan drinks, his hangovers are usually non-existent. The fact that we can see the effects of it today tells me he went overboard. I, on the other hand, only had one drink.
“If I knew you wanted to drag us up a hill, I might have cut down. Besides, your problem is with Aiden. Why torture us?”
“I didn’t do this to torture you.”
“Tell that to my ass,” he groans. His dirt-covered shorts are a result of him tripping over a tree branch. The only one who found that amusing was Kian who took pictures when Dylan fell. “You were at the party, too. Did you drink a gallon of coffee this morning to want to do this?”
“I don’t drink coffee, only tea,” she retorts.
“Youlikedrinking bitter hot water?” chimes Sebastian, who hasn’t spoken the entire hike.
“Chai. With milk and sugar.”
Dylan mumbles something under his breath while Itry to figure out how to get Summer alone. I’ve been hoping I can at least talk to her today, but Kian’s been on her like a leech this entire hike. There’s something about her voice that makes me itch to hear it. So, as we climb down after the anticlimactic mountain-top view, the guys walk ahead, and I pull her back.
She comes easily. “I haven’t talked to you all day. I’m thinking this punishment is a bit cruel,” I whisper against her ear.
She shifts to look at me. “Not talking to me is punishment?”
“The worst kind.”
Summer falters, and whenI take a try to close the distance between us, she takes one back. The move surprises me, and just to see what she does I take another, sending her even further. “You scared of me, Preston?”
She scoffs. “Yeah, right, you couldn’t scare a baby if you tried.”
Dry leaves crunch under my feet. “Fine,” I say, lowering my voice. “Then I make you nervous.”
She swallows when her eyes level with mine. “Nobody makes me nervous.”
“Yeah?” I take a step closer and her foot hits a branch. She lets out a squeak when she topples, but my hand hooks around her waist. “Careful, Summer, or I might think your nervous.”
As soon as I smell her sweet scent, I hold her tighter. She’s close enough that something is happening to my chest. The sensation is so unsettling that I let her balance on her feet again.
She takes several steps back. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but that won’t work on me.” Summer pivots, stepping on a wedged rock. I know it’s a mistake as soon as she does. Her squeak cuts off when I catch her before she hits the ground.
“Ow, ow, ow.” She grabs her ankle, and her pained expression tells me she sprained something.
