Page 29 of No One Wants That (Blitzen Bay)

I push his hand down and look away again as I imagine sliding my tongue into his mouth.

“So, did you grow up near UGA?” My tone is embarrassingly high pitched.

“No, I’m from a little town outside Macon.” He pulls the blanket back around my shoulders as I try to subtly drop it down to cool off a little bit. “Keep the blanket on. You’re still shaking.”

“What town?”

“I’m sure you’ve never heard of it,” he says. “Did you even get outside the greater Atlanta area when you were growing up?”

“A few times. Try me.”

“I’m from Milledgeville.”

“You’re making that up.” I shove his shoulder. “Don’t make up a name of a town just to prove a point.”

“It’s real and you would know that if you were actually a Georgian.”

“Kitten!” We both jump as Elle’s voice comes ringing through the trees.

As we round the final corner of the trail, she’s sprinting toward us across the little beach next to the marina.

“I’m guessing that’s your cousin.”

“Yeah,” I say, sighing. “Elle! Stop running, maniac. I’m fine.”

She arrives and crashes into me with such force that I almost fall backward again. Butch wraps his arms around both of us to keep us upright.

“Oh my God,” Elle says, burying her face into my neck. “I was so worried about you.”

“I’m fine. Settle down,” I say, hugging her tightly before I push her back. “This is Butch, by the way.”

“Hi, Butch,” she says, throwing herself into him for a hug. “Thank you for rescuing Kit.”

“All good,” Butch says, looking over at me as Elle continues to hug him. “Is this normal behavior for her?”

“Yes,” I say as I pull her away from him. “She’s highly affectionate.”

Nash finally makes it over to us and shakes Butch’s hand. “Hey, man. Good to see you again. Thanks for the rescue. You okay, Kit?”

“Yeah, I think I bruised my tailbone or something, but I can walk, so I’m cool.”

“How’d you end up in the lake?” Nash says, scanning my body as I take the blanket off and hand it to Butch. “And where are your clothes?”

“She got her dress wet,” Butch says as he hands my dress to me. “I gave her my t-shirt. She was shaking pretty hard. I thought she might be getting hypothermic.”

“How?” Nash says. “It’s almost eighty degrees here today. Are you getting sick, Kit?”

“I’m fine. Everyone needs to quit worrying about me.”

“Were you trying to swim or something?” Nash asks. “Or did you fall in?”

“She fell in trying to pet a raccoon.”

“What?” Nash spins around to look at me.

“Hey!” I say, shoving Butch. “What happens on the trail stays on the trail.”

“My bad,” he says, holding up his hands. “I didn’t know that was vaulted information.”

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