“You tried to pet a raccoon?” Nash says, looking down at me. “Raccoons have rabies, Kit.”
“But it was just a baby.”
“That doesn’t make a difference,” Nash says, his eyes not blinking. “And its mom was probably lurking in the brush, ready to attack you. You’re never going hiking alone again.”
“I think that’s probably the best idea,” Butch says, exchanging a knowing look with Nash.
“Oh my God. Elle, can we get away from the mansplainers?” I grab her hand and start pulling her across the sand.
She puts her arm around me and whispers, “Why were you shaking? It’s warm out today and you’re never cold. Are you sick?”
“I’m not sick and I wasn’t cold,” I whisper back to her. “That blanket was making me sweat.”
She takes a sharp breath. “Wait, were you having sex sweats? Those always make you shake. And tattoos make you salivate. Did you notice all of his ink?”
“What am I? Blind? I’ve been sweating like a pig since he took off his shirt,” I say, as a little quiver runs through my body again.
“Kit, seriously,” Butch says from behind us. “I think you need to get checked out. You’re still shaking. Do you want the blanket back?”
“No, I’m good,” I say without turning around to look at him. “I just need to get back to my room and take a hot shower.”
“A hot shower or a cold shower?” Elle whispers as she tightens her arm around my shoulders.
* * *