“I think you broke my ankle.”
“Better than your heart.”
Pain radiated through my leg, and I winced. Adam’s lack of compassion didn’t help. I pulled a bag of chips from the red-and-white tablecloth and glared at him. He returned my glare and dropped a case of water on the concrete floor.
“Besides,” he said, brushing his hands against his jeans, “you missed the step. How was that my fault?”
“You were chasing me!”
“No, I was trying to get my candy back. If you wanted a piece, you should’ve asked.”
“Would you have shared with me?” I asked.
“Nope.”
I tossed a chip at him, and he chuckled as Riley crossed the barn.
“People should be here any minute,” she said, her voice muffled by pop music. She wore a sequined blouse and the Homecoming queen tiara she won at the game. They gleamed in the barn’s dim lighting. “Are we missing anything?” she asked. “Tate is getting ice from the house, and the DJ is set up. Food good? Plenty of drinks?”
“Everything’s fine,” Adam answered. He shifted around the table and sauntered to the barn’s open doors.
“If everything’s fine, where are you going?”
Adam paused in the threshold, annoyance written on his face. “If you must know, I’m going to check on your boyfriend. Tate’s more likely to fall in the bucket than he is to hoist it into the back of my truck.”
“He said he could get it on his own,” she replied.
“Yeah? When has Tate ever admitted to needing help?”
“True.” She looked at me, hands on her hips. “Are all guys like that?”
“As far as I know,” I answered. “I chalk it up to being the inferior sex, but maybe it’s just stubbornness and pride. Adam, what do you think? You’ve cornered the market on those traits.”
He shot me the finger and ducked through the door.
I grinned and emptied another bag of chips into a bowl. Point one for Claire.
Riley grabbed a chip and munched on it. Once Adam was out of sight, she shifted her attention to me. “You two go to Homecoming together?” she asked, smiling. “Or is there a piece of the story I don’t know?”
“I was a cop-out,” I said, sliding the bowl across the table. “Adam was afraid another girl would get attached, so he asked me. It’s not a big deal.”
“Sounds like a date,” she replied, smiling, “and I highly approve.”
“It wasn’t a date.” A car pulled beside the barn, blaring country music over the rap. “People are here,” I said. “Quit interrogating me and go talk to them.”
“But this is way better. Do you know how long I’ve waited for Adam to be genuinely interested in one of my friends? Those people can wait. Give me the details.”
“There’s no details, Riley. This conversation is done.”
“Someone’s in denial.”
“Someone’s about to be down a friend.”
A group of students stepped through the barn doors, saving me from Riley’s nosiness. I recognized a few, but they immediately headed for Riley and her glittering tiara. Oh well. At least she was distracted.
My phone buzzed as I leaned against the table, listening to Riley chat with her friends. When I realized who was on the other end, a weight settled in my chest.
Seth: What are you doing?
I drifted to the back of the barn, reading and rereading the words. I hadn’t heard from Seth since the calculator incident, but I hadn’t tried to talk to him, either. If he didn’t seem to care, why should I?
Claire: I’m at a party.
Seth: Oh.
Good. I’d leave him on Read.
I crammed the phone in my pocket and passed a trio of girls chatting in a small sitting area at the back. They were scattered along the hay bales, drinking from red cups while the DJ spun a beat.
“He’s so incredibly gorgeous,” one girl said, taking a sip.
“Hey, I called dibs!” a brunette replied.
I glanced at the DJ, a medium-build, college-aged guy Tate hired for the night. He was decent. Not worth calling dibs on, but okay to look at.
“He dropped a pencil, and I handed it to him,” the brunette continued. “Even got him to say thanks.”
“That’s nothing,” the third girl replied. “We hooked up.”
“Nuh-uh,” both of her friends said in unison.
The girl nodded, winking at them as she swirled her cup. “July. Right after the Fourth,” she replied. “And Adam stood up to that reputation of his. Would do it again, anytime.”
A sickening feeling burrowed in my stomach as the other two giggled.
“Meade has skills?” the brunette replied.
“Yep.”
I stepped away, feeling the urge to throw up. Who Adam hooked up with shouldn’t have affected me, but it did. I was pissed at him, and he didn’t even know me in July!
The green monster of jealousy clawed at my back as I walked outside for fresh air.
Feelings were a slippery slope. Once you felt something, you felt everything else, and this felt like a sock to the gut on Christmas morning. It was a blemish on a peaceful night, a disappointment I hadn’t anticipated, and exactly why we needed to keep it simple.
We were better off as friends. This was just a reminder.
* * *
“Hey, wait up!”
“Nope.”
“Claire,” Adam called, his voice carrying across the gravel as his pace increased. “Claire, wait up.”
He caught me, but I kept my eyes on the road ahead. Behind us, the party was still in full swing. The bass pounded through the night, carried on the breeze, and the smell of smoke from Tate’s fire pit swirled through the air. The party was raging, but I didn’t care. I was focused on Riley and Tate, both of whom swayed like the wind and barely managed to stay upright.
“Are you ignoring me?” Adam said, his voice taking on an edge. He blocked my path, but I sidestepped him. “Okay,” he continued. “Care to tell me why?”
“Nope,” I answered.
He muttered under his breath and shoved his hands in his pockets. Despite seeming annoyed, he walked with me anyway.
We stopped in front of an old, abandoned building. It looked straight out of a horror film, dark, broody, and foreboding, but Tate stumbled up the cracked concrete steps, and Riley followed.
“Welcome to my humble abode,” he said, extending his hands in either direction. He turned and shoved a key in the lock. “Watch your step on the way in,” he continued. “Don’t want anyone breaking themselves.”
Riley laughed and followed him through the door. When her blond hair was shrouded by darkness, I swore. I was staying with her for the night, which meant her vehicle was the one we were taking home. Since she was drunk, it was up to me to get us there. Couldn’t do that if she got lost in the haunted whatever this was.
Adam’s hand wrapped around mine, and his breath grazed my cheek. “This place isn’t easy to navigate. Stay with me, and you’ll be fine.”
“And why should I trust you?” I replied.
“Why wouldn’t you?”
I kept walking, but let him hold my hand for the sake of security. If I got lost, it was better being with someone than alone. Even if it was Adam.
Inside, the room was pitch-black. People hovered close, their breath leaving them in short spurts, while Tate fiddled with something against a metal wall.
“What are we doing?” I asked Adam.
“We’re playing a game,” he replied.
Tate turned, a flashlight flickering on and illuminating the planes of his face. “You know the drill,” he said. “Blackout hide-and-seek. Everyone from here to here is Team A. Everyone else is Team B.” He handed the flashlight to Riley and pulled another from the box. “Each round is fifteen minutes. If you aren’t caught by the end of the round, head back on your own. Don’t break anything, don’t break yourselves, and stay away from the basement. There’s snakes down there. Questions?”
“What does he mean there’s snakes?” I whispered to Adam.
Adam grinned and took the flashlight extended to him. He handed it to me, and I examined the room.
“All right,” Tate said. “Team A, go hide.”
Half the room’s population scattered like mice. Their shoes echoed against the floor, and the sound of doors opening and closing ricocheted through the building. Adam grabbed the flashlight and turned it off.
“What are you doing?” I asked. My hand brushed his skin as I tried to get it back. “This place is creepy. Turn it on!”
“Watch the hands,” he answered. “You might grab something you didn’t plan on grabbing.” I paused, and his laugh echoed through the room. “You embarrassed, Collins? I’ve never seen you shut up so quick.”
I crossed my arms and turned my back to him. If I pretended to be invisible, maybe I would be.
Something rustled the sleeve of my plaid shirt and made its way up my arm.
“Ah!” I screamed, whacking my shoulder with my hand. “Get off! Get off!”
“Easy, killer,” Adam said, his touch becoming more than a light graze. His fingers worked their way down my forearm and reclaimed my hand. “I didn’t know where you went. Wanted to make sure you hadn’t tried to go it alone.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“Trust me, I believe you.”
He gave my hand a squeeze, and his arm brushed mine. While I was more than confident I could survive this place, Adam eased my nerves. He was comforting in the dark, and he was someone I could sacrifice if I had to run away screaming.
His scent lingered, and his breathing slowed. A few minutes later, the flashlight burned through the night. “Come on,” he said, tugging me across the room. “Tate always hides in the same spot.”
We found our way to a creepy hall where rusted doors sat shut. “This town needs a bowling alley,” I said, darting a glance behind me.
“Shhh.”
I glared at the back of Adam’s head. “Don’t shhh me,” I replied. “No one died and made you the king of hide-and-go-seek. As a matter of fact, this place belongs to Tate. If anyone should be shushing me, it’s—”
Adam turned, catching me off guard as he clasped his hand over my mouth and backed me into the wall.
Well, hello there.
He was a shadow, illuminated only by the beam that reflected off the floor. Strands of his hair brushed my forehead, soft against my skin, while the fabric of his shirt pressed flush against mine. I was pinned against cool metal, but his body was warm.
He was close.
He was too close.
Footsteps echoed down the hall, and he turned, cracking the tension between us as his hand shot out. Tate’s aggravated cry bellowed through the dark.
“Dammit, Adam! Why do you always come after me?” He freed himself and huffed. “You’re supposed to be my ride or die! Go look for Riley. Leave me in peace.”
“You’d sacrifice your girlfriend for your own good?”
“Yes,” Tate answered.
Adam shone the light in Tate’s face, then motioned down the hall. “You’re caught. Do me a favor and find your way back.”
“No,” Tate argued. “You have to escort your captures or they don’t count. Rules are rules.”
“I’m busy.”
“Do I look like I care?” Tate stumbled and shook his head. “You bring me back, or I wasn’t caught.”
Adam looked at me, scowling, then sighed and stepped away. “You’re an asshole,” he told Tate.
“I know.”
We walked back to base, but Adam didn’t grab my hand again. He was quiet, emotionless. Once we reached base, Tate beelined to the middle of the room.
“Round’s up,” he said. “Tell anyone still out, they’re safe.”
“He’s a sore loser,” Adam said.
“You’re a dick,” Tate replied. He waited until everyone was back at base, then addressed our team. “You have fifteen minutes to hide.” His brown eyes focused on Adam. “And you’d better run. I’m coming for you.”
“Good luck.”
All flashlights were switched off, and Adam pulled me through the room in the dark. He was quick around objects and people, but I didn’t know the space like he did. I knocked into something with an edge and clutched my leg.
“Ouch,” I hissed. “That was my femur!”
“Hush or you can’t hide with me” was his sympathetic reply.
We stepped into the hall where Tate was caught, and I turned on the flashlight. My eyes searched for the space where Adam and I had stood. It was a dangerous moment and one I hadn’t anticipated, but that didn’t lessen my nerves. It didn’t change that I was attracted to him more than I wanted to be, and it didn’t keep me from thinking about what would’ve happened had Tate hidden somewhere else.
“Come on,” Adam said.
He hurried across the concrete, and we ducked into a room with a massive steel door. Something sticky clung to my face, and I backtracked as a fleet of spiders came into view. They were my biggest fear, and we’d stepped into their den.
“It’s on me!” I screamed.
My pulse raced, and my screams morphed into panicked breaths that hung in my throat. The world spun as spiders crawled along their webs, curling me in a cocoon of fear that wanted to devour me whole. My head was spinning, but I couldn’t move. I couldn’t do anything but stare at the ceiling and watch spiders crawl above my head. I was frozen with no way out.
“Claire?”
Adam’s voice was distant, only a murmur compared with the beating of my heart.
“Claire?” he repeated.
An arm wrapped around my shoulder and forced me from my spot. Pulled from my state of terror, I screamed again.
“Hold on,” Adam said, hurrying through the room.
He paused in front of another steel door and pushed it open with his hip. When we crossed the threshold and I was sure we were safe, I barreled over and tried to control my breathing. Adam stopped beside me.
“I didn’t realize you were afraid of spiders.”
“Surprise,” I choked out.
I surveyed the room, breathing in the thick smell of must as I tried to calm myself. Large objects were everywhere, separated by boxes and covered in dust. One of those objects was a boat like the one we’d used at the lake. Adam walked to it, his footsteps level with his voice.
“This is our hiding spot,” he said. “You’ll get inside, and I’ll stay on the ground. If someone comes in, I’ll distract them so you can stay hidden.”
I shook my head. “Under no circumstances will I be alone in this building. If I’m getting in the boat, you’re getting in the boat. Take it or leave it.”
“It’s better if I stay on the ground,” he said.
“Take it or leave it,” I repeated.
He sighed and grabbed my waist, hoisting me upward. I scanned for spiderwebs before my hands wrapped around the metal siding. Adam followed quickly behind.
“Lie down,” he said. “They’ll see us if you’re sitting up.”
“Quit being demanding.”
“You ordered me up here. You’re the one who’s demanding.”
I did what he asked while he walked to the back of the boat. A tarp was slung across one of the seats, covered with boxes and discarded toys. He tried to retrieve it, but junk fell to the ground and clanged against the concrete.
“Shit,” he hissed.
“It’s a sign. Leave it alone.”
“We’ll get caught,” he argued. “We need a backup plan, in case they decide to check here.”
“That tarp isn’t touching me, so you might as well leave it where you found it.”
Stone-faced, he stared at me. I mirrored the look.
“Fine,” he said, releasing the tarp and returning to the bow, “but you’re the worst hiding partner ever. You’re scared of spiders, you talk too loud, and you refuse to do anything I ask.”
“Then maybe you should’ve hidden with another girl,” I replied. “Word has it you’ve hooked up with at least one person at this party. She’s probably more tolerant than me.”
Adam’s eyes widened, and I cursed myself up and down for my lack of a filter. This was the slippery slope I’d tried to avoid.
“Which girl are you talking about?” he asked.
“How many girls have there been?”
Metal creaked from the other room, and footsteps followed the noise. I dropped to the bottom of the boat, and Adam dropped beside me, his body flush with my back as I begged the universe to send them away.
“Someone’s been in here,” a guy said.
“How can you tell?” a girl replied.
“They knocked over a bunch of junk.”
Adam’s breath grew staggered behind me, so I nudged him with my elbow to get him to hush. He squeezed my side in response.
“You check there,” the girl instructed. “I’ll look here.”
Flashlight beams ricocheted off the room’s metal siding, and created eerie shadows as they searched the room. They stayed for what felt like an eternity, but eventually the beams began to fade.
Once the shadows were gone, Adam poked me in the side and leaned closer. His stubble brushed my cheek as he whispered, “We need to reach base before they get back. Ready to go?”
“Go?” I murmured.
He didn’t answer. He sat up, peered over the boat, and signaled for me to move. He was first over the side, landing on the floor with the smallest squeak of rubber hitting concrete.
“There he is!” a girl yelled in the dark.
Footsteps quickened, and I flattened against the boat’s floor as Adam ran from the seekers. Within seconds, a metal door slammed and the room fell quiet.
I lay there in the dark, waiting for Adam to come back. When I heard nothing but small scurries and mouse squeaks, I decided that wouldn’t be anytime soon.
My hand found the boat’s siding, and I stumbled over the edge. When I reached the floor, I tried to find an exit. There was no way I’d go back through the spider den, so I hoped for another route out.
I was halfway through my search when a hand wrapped around my bicep and yanked me backward. I swung a fist. I missed, so I swung again.
“Stop!” Adam yelled. “It’s me. Geez.” A flashlight flickered between us, and he shot me narrowed eyes. “We need to work on you having a reaction other than punching.”
“Why are you here?” I replied, dropping my hand. “You’re supposed to be at base.”
“You told me not to leave you, so I came back. I didn’t think you’d leave the boat.” He rubbed the shoulder where my hand made contact, then shined the flashlight on a set of double doors at the back of the room. “That’s the other way out,” he said. “We could go through the first room, but I don’t think you would.”
“The one with spiders? No.”
He nodded and was silent as he unhitched the door. When we got outside, he was still quiet, but it was different from before. His jaw was clenched, his posture rigid, and he kept his eyes anywhere but on me. Something was wrong.
He relatched the door and started to walk away. He got a good ten feet from me before I decided I was done.
“What’s wrong with you?” I asked, following him.
“None of your business.”
“You mad we got found?”
“No.”
“Oh, so your attitude is something you come by naturally?”
“You know what?” he answered, spinning. “You’re my problem. You and your constant pissing me off.”
“What did I do this time?” I asked, stopping in my tracks. “Because it’s always something. There’s never a happy medium. You’re always pissed off about something.”
“I’m not always pissed off,” he answered. “Am I now? Yeah. I’m really pissed. I’m mad about what you said in the boat.”
I rolled my eyes, knowing already where this was headed. “Was I wrong?” I asked, crossing my arms.
“No,” he replied. “It was probably the truth.”
“Then what’s the issue?”
“You throwing it in my face.” He shook his head, glaring at me. “Let me be clear, Collins. Who I have and haven’t hooked up with has nothing to do with you. It happened, and I own it, but just because someone ran their mouth doesn’t mean you have permission to judge me. You don’t have that right. You don’t even know me.”
“I wasn’t judging you,” I said, “and you’re right, I don’t know you. I don’t know anything but your reputation. Which, I’ve heard, is spot-on. Congrats!”
“What is that?!” he asked, glaring.
“It’s me congratulating you,” I answered.
“It’s you making passive-aggressive remarks you know are going to make me mad.”
“If you knew, why did you ask?”
He moved toward me, his lips pulled into a thin line. “You’re the most irritating person I’ve ever met! It’s like you need validation on who I want to be around. If that’s what this is, okay. Here’s your validation. I like you, Claire. You’re a pain in my ass, but I like you anyway. It makes no sense, but it is what it is.”
“You have a really crappy way of showing it,” I answered.
“Because I don’t want to,” he said. “We agreed to keep it simple, and we agreed for a reason. That didn’t mean I didn’t like you. It didn’t mean I was interested in someone else. It was my attempt to keep this from getting complicated, but I can’t do that if we aren’t on the same page.” He raked a hand through his messy hair, his gaze unwavering. “You screw with my head, Claire. I’m supposed to be focused on a million other things, but I can’t do that because you’re always around pushing my buttons and pissing me off.”
“That’s how I am. Sorry, but I’m not changing.”
“I don’t want you to change. That’s the problem.” He was in front of me now, staring at me eye to eye with such confliction that I could feel it, too.
“And what am I supposed to do with that?” I asked.
“There’s nothing you can do,” he answered. “You’re witty and sarcastic and beautiful, and you don’t put up with my crap, and I don’t know how to deal with it. That’s on me. It isn’t your problem.”
“It is my problem,” I said, “because the last thing I need is another football player breaking my heart. This”—I waved my hand between us—“I’ve done this. I know what it feels like when it ends. I can’t handle it again.”
“I’m trying not to break your heart.”
“Then don’t.”
Adam rested his forehead against mine, and we stood like that for a minute—two people torn between want and need.
“Tell me what you want,” he whispered, his arms encircling my waist, “because I feel like I’m stuck between what’s right and what isn’t.”
“What do you want?”
“You.”
His mouth grazed mine, and I paused. We stood at a crossroads, where one wrong thing had the potential to wreck everything, but there was no use denying it now. Not with Adam. Not when I felt the same. I pulled him back and kissed him again.