Page 124 of Lost in the Dark

I tried not to be, forcing myself to unclench my grip from the armrest and get back to that flow of excitement. I forced myself to smile as we tore past the rest of the campers and headed toward the vacant area at the edge of the forest. The one with a massive warning sign pitched at the edge of the forest commandingno trespassing.

“This looks good,” he declared as he scanned the area.

“Are you sure it’s safe?” I asked as I pointed to the sign, but he ignored me again. All I could see were trees and the open area in front of us, never mind the damn sign. “It’s quiet, at least.”

“That’s exactly how we want it,” he muttered, and pulled the four-wheel drive up in the middle of the space. “On our own."

I pushed the door open and climbed out. “Yes, just you and me.”

With plenty of opportunity for Michael to get down on one knee.Mrs. Hammond…Mrs. Michael Hammond.I’d been trying the name on for size for the last two years, hoping for this day.

God, I was so excited.

I fought the need to text my best friend, Caitlin, and give her a blow-by-blow breakdown of everything that’d happened. But I didn’t. She had her doubts about Michael, fighting back a bark of laughter as she shook her head.Marry you?She'd snapped,I’ll believe that when you’re walking down the damn aisle,before she pulled me in close and gave me a hug.Just don’t get your heart trashed by this loser again, V.

But I wasn’t about to get my heart trashed. This time, Michael had changed, and I could see that now. I walked around the back of the pickup and started pulling out the tent and chairs, then heaved out the coolers while Michael yanked his phone from his pocket and wandered off.

“Great,” I muttered as I broke out in a sweat.

I gave a long hard sigh, trying to fight the flare of annoyance. Couldn’t he leave his damn phone in the truck just this once?

His voice carried softly as I hammered tent poles into the ground. By the time he returned, I was red-faced and burning up.

“Oh, you’re almost done?” Michael stared at the half-built tent.

“Yep,” I huffed, glaring at his phone. “Who were you talking to?”

Michael just gave a shrug and turned away. “Want a beer?”

“No, I don’t want a beer,” I grumbled as he cracked open a can and drank.

Just don’t sweat it…think of the big picture here.

That’s all I thought of as I finished putting up the rest of the tent, stowed our belongings inside, then heaved out the bag of firewood we'd bought along the way.

I sucked in some hard breaths, swiping the back of my hand across my dripping forehead. “Did you want to get the fire started?”

“Sure,” he grinned. “I’m getting hungry anyway.”

The moment he turned, I heard the faint but unmistakable roar of a four-wheel drive I knew far too well. “No…”

Michael left the now forgotten fire behind as the ancient black Toyota pickup headed our way. Damon hollered through the open window, waving his hands in the air like a moron. Because hewasa damn moron.

“Michael…what the fuck?”

But he didn’t answer, because he couldn’t even hear me over the roaring of his drunken, idiot, best friend, Damon.

“Bro!”Damon called out, slamming the door shut with abangas his pain in the ass girlfriend, Monica climbed out. “You said this place was quiet, but you didn’t tell me it was in the middle of fucking nowhere.”

“Perfect, huh?” Michael grinned, slapping his buddy on the back.

I just stood there, watching my weekend slowly crumble away in front of me. Monica smiled, hugging Michael. and tried to avoid looking at me.

I didn’t like her, and she didn’t like me. The hostility spilled over from high school. She was a bitch then, going out of her way to spread rumors about me and the years since hadn’t changed her. The only difference was, nowherboyfriend wasmyboyfriend‘s best friend.

“Hey,” she forced out.

I watched Michael and Damon unload the coolers from his pickup and muttered. “Hey.”

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