Ditched (15 page)

“A music festival! You like music.” I had no idea what kind of music was going to be played but that really was beside the point. The point being, Tori had asked and I wasn’t going to stand in the way of Max going out with a cute girl. “You should go.” I told him. I wanted to be clear that he didn’t need to wait until I was gone. “He should go. He’d be happy to go. What time should he pick you up?”

I glanced at Max
again. He looked dumbstruck, probably so grateful that I’d made it easy for him. There couldn’t be any doubt that I was okay with him going out and leaving me to entertain myself for an evening. His cheeks were flaming and he pulled his gaze away from me to glance back at Tori.

She bit her lip, looking unsure. “You don’t have to, Max. It was just a thought.”

I nudged his side and he flinched. He should not be making the poor girl squirm.

“Sure. No, it’s fine,
” he stammered. I cleared my throat and he shot a glare my way. “I mean, it sounds fun. I can pick you up whenever. Uh, whenever you want.”

A slow smile spread across her face. The girl had it bad. I felt my own smile appear. This had been fun. I could get used to playing matchmaker.

“Friday night, does six work? We can grab something to eat first?”

Max gave her what looked like a forced smile. I frowned. He should look a little happier about the situation. His voice sounded strained too. “Sure. Six will work.”

Her expression melted into one of pure happiness. “I’ll get your orders. I’ll be right back.”

She
sashayed off to the kitchen and Max turned to me.

“
Wh
…why….
why
would you do that?!” he sputtered.

I glanced at the doors that led into the kitchen. They were still gently swinging from Tori recently passing through them.

“Because she likes you!”

“Yeah,” he said with a shake of his head. “I know. I got that part of the conversation. That’s exactly why I shouldn’t go out with her. I don’t want to lead her on!”

I glanced at the doors again, worried she’d come out to see Max so distressed.

“
Wait! I thought you liked her! She seems nice. She’s cute. She’s seriously into you. What’s the problem?” I demanded. “You
don’t
like her?”

He shook his head. “I never said that
I did. You just assumed.”

“So you
don’t
.” The words emerged in the form of a statement. “Well if not her, who makes you feel all fizzy inside?” I meant for it to come out in a teasing tone. Max didn’t seem to take it that way. He scowled at me.

“
Ohhhkay
,” I was flustered. “Well, I think you should give her a chance.”

He shrugged and scrubbed his hands across his face. “I don’t know. I just…don’t
think it’s a good idea. She was ready to get way too serious last summer…” He cringed and gifted me with an accusatory glare. “In fact, she was ready to scrap her plans for Arizona so she could follow me back to Chamberlain. I just…I wasn’t ready for that. I mean, sure, I liked her. But if she would’ve made that kind of move because of me? Do you know what kind of commitment that is?”

“Oh,” I
said as I felt myself deflate. “Maybe if you go out, you’ll decide you do like her that much? I mean, what will it hurt?”

“Her feelings, for one thing!” he said. “I’m n
ot good at this kind of thing. It’s been hard enough to blow her off politely. Now how do I go back to that once we’ve gone out?”

“Don’t go
back to it.” I pressed. “Maybe things will work out this time, right?”

He gave me a noncommittal shrug. “I guess.”

I smiled. “There’s no reason you can’t at least try to have some fun.”

“What about you?” he demanded. “You’re only here for a little while. It’s rude of me to just run off on a date.”

I scoffed at that. “It’s not rude if I set the date up.”

He looked away from me shaking his head.

“I’ll make a deal with you.”

“I can’t wait to hear this,” he wryly replied.

“You go on one date, try to have a good time. If you do that, and you don’t have fun, I’ll let it drop. No more matchmaking. I promise.”

He tossed the idea around quickly. Since the date was already scheduled, he must’ve realized what I already knew. He really had nothing to lose by this point. He poked a finger my way. “I’m holding you to that.”

I smiled and nodded my agreement.

“Here you are!” Tori chirruped as she erupted from the swinging doors once more. “Sorry it took so long. A fresh batch of cookies just came out of the oven. I pulled the old ones out of you
r lunches and gave you two out of the new batch.”

“Oh, thank you,” I said. “That’s really sweet of you.”

“Yeah,” Max said, “thanks.”

She beamed at him. “It was no problem. You
guys have fun. I’ll see you Friday night!”

***

“There are cougars here.”

Max put his car in park and looked over at me. I had gotten an informational brochure when we stopped at
a gift shop several miles back. I waved it at him, daring him to refute me. He didn’t. Instead, a slow smile started snaking its way onto his face.

“Did you
know
there are cougars here?” I asked. My voice came out at a slightly higher than normal octave.

He shrugged. “I didn’t really think about it.”

I snapped my head forward again. The view out of the windshield was rather enchanting. The trees were…well, they were unbelievable. I was already awed. I had seen photos, of course, but they just didn’t convey the enormity. It was all so rustic and looked completely untouched. Except, of course, for the photo op
areas. They had been cluttered with people. But we’d driven to a quieter spot. There were a few cars here but no other tourists in sight. They must be out hiking the trails, swallowed up by the forest.

I wasn’t sure I wanted to be swallowed up by the forest. I for sure didn’t want to be swallowed up by anything else. By oh, say, a cougar for example.

“Are you seriously scared?” Max asked.

“Are you seriously laughing at me?” I snapped.

He grinned, knowing the only reason I was snapping at him was because I
was
scared.

“I didn’t realize we had to get out of the car. I thought…I thought we’d just drive around.
”

He shook his head.
“You can see a lot from the car but to really see it, to really appreciate it, you’ve got to hike through it. Just a little bit, Holly. Come on.”

He reached for his door handle but I sat, frozen. I really was quite satisfied with the view from the front seat.

“You walk through the woods at home. And,” he added the next part slowly, his eyes going wide and teasing, “there are bears!”

“Bears,” I pointed out, “don’t want to eat you! You make a lot of noise, bears will run. You make a lot of noise around here…and you may as well be wearing a dinner bell around your
neck.
Here kitty kitty!
In other words, cougars attack because they. Want. To. Eat. You.” There. That was clear, wasn’t it? I thought so but it only made Max laugh harder. I wasn’t finding the humor. “Bears usually only attack if you startle them. Never scare a bear,” I clarified. “Unless it’s a grizzly. They probably also want to eat you.” Another thought struck me. “Are there grizzlies around here too?!”

“Uh…no?” Max told me.

“Are there?” I asked as I pressed myself backward into the seat. My heart was doing a little tap dance.

Max shook his head, muttered something under his breath and slap
ped on a determined expression. “I don’t know. I really don’t think so. But you are getting out of the car. You owe me. If you come with me willingly, I’ll forgive you for sending me on a date with Tori.”

He opened his door and didn’t look back to see if I was following him. I took a deep breath and opened my own door.
He had me. I had apparently made a mistake and I, yet again, owed him.

One more glance into the dense foliage and I could actually visualize a cougar on one of these fallen logs. Perched and relaxed, tail twitching as it patiently waited. Ready to pounce and to kill and…

Max slid his arm around me and I jumped. My teeth clamped down on my bottom lip, sealing in a scream. He pulled me into a hug. The hug felt surprisingly…nice. The fact that he was still laughing at me, his chest rumbling against my chest, ruined it just a bit. He finally released me but his face still held far too much humor.

“Come on,” he said, his laughte
r fading. “I’ll protect you.”

“You’re going to wrestle a cougar for me?”

“Nah, I’ll just jump in front of you. Offer myself up as lunch instead.”

“That is
soooo
disturbing!” I told him.
And oddly…really sweet
, I thought to myself.

He held his hand out to me. I snatched it up and he grinned even as he shook his head. I stayed a step behind him as he tugged me onto the trail.

The forest was terrifying in its beauty. It only took minutes for me to see why he was so insistent that we get out of the car. The trees were breathtaking and enormous to the extent that it was almost unfathomable. Even standing there, staring at the enormity of them, it was hard to comprehend. Everything was so lush. So green. The scent of the air was so fresh and exhilarating. A combination of damp earth, a running stream and thick, green foliage added to the enchantment. I’d never been anywhere like it. Yet it was terrifying because I couldn’t help but wonder what was lurking.

The first
few times I heard a stick break my heart crashed in my chest, wondering if we were being stalked. Then I realized if we were being stalked by a master hunter, we’d never hear its approach. I decided I only needed to worry if I heard silence. Because it’s when the forest gets quiet that you have to worry. I’d learned that on a nature show. Or maybe it was a Disney movie. I wasn’t sure.

Despite that revelation, in the
split instant that I heard crashing, sticks and branches snapping all while the foliage began to shudder…I panicked.

Every cell in my body seemed to vibrate with the scream that bolted out of my mouth. I squeezed my eyes so tightly shut
they hurt as I grabbed onto Max and swung him around to hide behind him. My muscles became so tense they may as well have turned to steel.

When a cocker spaniel came springing out, leaping at us
from the knee-high greenery, Max clamped his hand over my mouth. My eyes flew back open. Someone from down the path shouted “Daisy!” over and over again. The dog took off, disappearing under the vegetation once more.

“Stupid little dog!” I seethed

“You!?
You
…?!” he sputtered in disbelief. “You totally tried to feed me to a cougar!” His eyes were filled with amusement and incredulity. And possibly just a little bit of hurt.

“I’m…sorry?”

“Not cool, Holly! That is just not cool at all!” he fumed.

An epiphany struck. I realized in my terror, I probably would’ve thrown a toddler, not just Max. What kind of horrible person was I? Putting others at hypothetical risk to save myself from hypothetical danger?

A terrified person.

That’s what kind of person I was.

My hand flew to my mouth. “I didn’t mean to,” I muttered through my fingers.

He shook his head. “It’s okay. I went willingly didn’t I?” he teased.

I wasn’t so sure that he went willingly. I was thinking it w
as more that he went without warning that he was going to be flung.

“You’re a lot stronger than I thought,” he mused. “You might have even picked me right up off of my feet.

He was joking. I thought. So I shrugged, embarrassed. I didn’t think it was actual strength. More like an adrenaline rush. The kind you hear of that allows people to lift cars. Only me? I may or may not have lifted Max.

“Now you really owe me. Putting my life in jeopardy like that,
” he said. He laughed and shook his head at me. I assumed…no I
hoped
that meant all was forgiven. “I’m kind of feeling like this friendship is way too one sided,” he finally said. He opened his arms wide. “Prove me wrong. Come here and give me some love.”

I took a step forward, finding myself wrapped in Max’s arms, snuggled into his chest.
My heart was still pounding and I gladly let him keep his arms around me for awhile. Surely, the only reason for that was because I was trying to calm myself down. Not because I suddenly realized that Max smelled
really
good. As in,
scrumptiously
good.

Either he had changed his cologne or I’d never bothered to notice before. He smelled like an ocean breeze. Or at least, what an ocean breeze would smell like if it came fresh and clean ou
t of a bottle. How had I never noticed that before?