Foretell (16 page)

I laughed after hearing the sound of him gagging.

“Don’t ever call me that again,” he muttered, sounding completely disgusted by my depiction of him.

“Agreed,” I said. “Don’t know what I was thinking.” First a knight in shining armor, then prince charming. Neither of those titles belonged to Rex.

He paused again to look inside his book. I took the chance to sneak a peek over his shoulder. A map of the hiking trail was drawn inside.

Rex caught me and flattened it against his chest, “Patience, patience,” he admonished.

I rolled my eyes.

“Let’s go. We’re almost there.”

“Almost
where
?”

Of course, however, I was met with no answer.

After about ten more minutes of hiking, the underbrush beside me began to rustle. I stopped walking and kneeled down to see what was burrowed inside of it.

“Rex,” I whispered loudly. I pointed to my discovery. “Look. It’s a fox!”

A black, fluffy tail swished, and the fox peered up at us for just a moment, then made a mad dash away from the path. I pursed my lips, sorry to see it go.

“It’s just a fox, Spence. Why are you freaking out?”

I shrugged. “I’ve never seen one out in the wild. I thought it was kind of cool.”

“Am I going to have to worry about you trailing after wild animals and whatnot? Please, for God’s sake, don’t try and pet any of them.” His tone implied he was talking to a small child. “Those foxes will bite. Next thing you know, you’ll contract rabies and I’ll have to take you to a hospital.”

“I’m not stupid, jackass. And I hate hospitals. I’d rather you take me to a voodoo witch doctor.”

He glanced at me sideways, seemingly surprised by this statement. “You don’t like hospitals, eh?”

I shook my head emphatically. “There’s something about the smell and the people.”

“You know, that’s a common dislike amongst gypsies. Right up there with jails.” He held his arm out for me to steady myself while stepping over a large rock. “A hospital is a place of confinement and sickness. Then again, most gypsies are practiced in the art of healing. Lola is planning to go to school for nursing. I never understood why though. She hates hospitals too.”

“Maybe something changed her mind.”

He considered this. “Possibly.”

I couldn’t explain it, but I felt like there was a depth of meaning behind that ‘possibly’. I started to ask what happened but my voice was cut off as we walked through a clearing.

“Wow,” I breathed, amazed.

We came to a ledge high above the campground. Miles of land stretched out, in a breathtaking display of scenery. We saw everything; hundreds of tall trees, rolling green hills, the lake. Streams flowed throughout the countryside, sparkling like crystals in the distance.

“This
is.
. .incredible.”

Rex opened his book and began to read aloud. “Pioneer, Dr. Sullivan Clooney, the first to explore this area, dubbed it Mount Victory after his late wife, Victoria Clooney. At approximately 1,012 feet above sea level, scientists today conclude that Dr. Clooney’s calculations were misinterpreted for what is nothing more than an extremely large hill. However, Mount Victory remains registered as a mountain, and is considered as such in modern times.”

Rex looked up, closing the book. “You’re officially standing on a mountain, Spence.”

I looked around, feeling everything fall into place. A lump grew in my throat. I swallowed, trying not to get emotional.

I stared out into the countryside, feeling something flutter inside my stomach.
To climb a mountain.
One more thing I can knock off my bucket list because of Rex.

I placed my hands on my hips and attempted to steady my breathing. The amazing view blurred as I felt the enormity of Rex’s gesture touch my heart.

“Oh God,” he groaned. He noticed my wet eyes before I could hide them. “Don’t tell me you’ve gone all female on me again.”

I wiped at my eyes with shaky hands. “I’m sorry,” I said, smiling. “This was just really a nice surprise.”

“Well get over it,” he ordered brusquely. After a moment, he sighed and lifted the bottom of his t-shirt. “Here,” he directed, and wiped at my eyes. Seeing Rex’s sculpted abdomen beneath his t-shirt was enough to startle me out of crying.

“Why are you looking under my shirt, Spence?”

I blushed, realizing he’d caught me staring. “Why are you putting yourself on display, Constantin?” I countered back.

He grinned at my question, shaking his head. Reaching inside his backpack, he removed a large picnic blanket, spreading it out over the rocky ledge.

I collapsed onto the blanket, exhausted from the hike.

“How’s your knee?” he asked me.

I looked at the bandage, noticing some blood had seeped through my leggings. “It’s fine.” I lied, even though I could feel a faint throbbing.

“You’re lying,” he said, calling my bluff. “How badly does it hurt?”

“I swear I’m okay. It’s just a little sore, that’s all.”

He frowned, shaking his head. “That bandage needs to be changed once you get back to camp.”

“Yes, sir.” I gave him a mock salute.

He ignored my attempts to make fun of him and pulled out a box of crackers from his backpack. He opened it,
then
offered me the box. I took the box and munched with him quietly, staring out at the countryside from where we sat, and enjoying the scenery.

It was so serenely
beautiful,
I could sit there all day.

“So what’s the deal?” I asked. “Did you bring me up here to seduce me with this spectacular view and your picnic of crackers? Do you have a bottle of wine hidden in your bag too?”

I’d only been joking, but Rex didn’t seem even remotely embarrassed. Instead, he moved closer to me. Using a low, husky voice, his warm breath was on my ear. “Have you ever experienced how utterly nice casual sex can be?”

I rolled my eyes, refusing to take the bait. He was just trying to make me feel uncomfortable, I told myself.

“Maybe in another life,” I answered honestly. “But not so far in this one.”

He scooted closer, leaning over me. Intimidating me. I could smell the delicious scent of soap he used. “You might enjoy it,” he said. “In fact, I promise you’ll enjoy it.”

I pushed him away. It was a weak push, not very heartfelt, but he moved away from me just the same. The cocky grin I despised was plastered across his face, knowing he’d gotten to me. I was determined to prove him wrong. “You don’t want to go there with me. Remember when I mentioned how inexperienced I am? Well that included my sex life too.”

My mouth was left hanging open, just as I was about to take a bite of a cracker. Did I really just say that out loud?

Rex’s expression turned serious and my cheeks reddened in shame. I knew I shouldn’t feel embarrassed, but I did nonetheless. If there was anything that worked to cool a man’s ardor, I was sure it was for him to find out his prey was a virgin. I never even admitted that much to Landon, for fear that he’d lose interest in me.

But I didn’t want Rex to be interested, right?

I shook the doubtful feeling away. Of course I didn’t want him to be interested, not that he was even being serious in the first place. He was only amusing himself by getting under my skin.

I supposed there was a small chance his efforts were genuine. Lina had said he was a heartbreaker. And then there was his lack of commitment to any one girl, with the exception of the blonde from his portfolio.

I shifted uncomfortably. There was no point in getting involved with Rex, if he was actually being serious. He would only break my heart into a million pieces. I was confident of it.

“Hey,” he said gently, moving to sit next to me. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“Is that some kind of backhanded apology?”

“No. I’m not sorry for what I said.”

I turned to face him, my expression morphing into confusion as I tried to read his. He didn’t look sorry, so he was definitely telling the truth. Instead, he looked amused, which annoyed me all over again.

“What’s with the daggers?” he asked. “I’m only sorry if I offended you. What else do I have to be sorry about? You’re a beautiful girl. Figured I may as well try.”

I eyed him skeptically. Admittedly, his compliment was sort of nice. Especially since
it wasn’t followed by him telling me how similar Indie
and I look.

But of course, Rex couldn’t just leave it at that. He ruined it by adding, “We are stuck together, after all.”

I groaned loudly, and stood. I headed back in the direction that led downhill, calling behind me, “I take back what I said at the train station. You’re
still
an asshole.”

He grabbed me before I could get very far. He was trying to contain a fit of laughter. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry about that one. Really, I am. I would try to get in your pants even if we weren’t stuck together. Promise.”

I realized then just how silly this conversation was. I could feel the barest hint of a smile forming at my lips. I pushed him away, not being able to help my laughter. Rex picked me up by midsection and swung me around. We tumbled to the ground, with Rex landing on top of me.

“Get off me,” I yelled playfully. “You’d have to be the biggest idiot in the world if you think I want my first time to be with someone who offers me casual sex.”

His face drew closer to mine. “Great, awesome, feverishly erotic, casual sex,” he emphasized.

“I don’t doubt it, but I think I’ll pass.”

“A shame.” He tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear, and the moment went serious again. “But I can respect that.”

I smiled, touched by his words.

He rolled off me, reaching for his bag. “No bottle of wine, though it was a great suggestion. I’ll have to remember it for next time. You’ll have to make do with cherry coke for now.” He tossed me an ice-cold can. “I noticed your penchant for it.”

“I’m working on the addiction.” I cracked the can open. “They tell me I’ve made progress.”

He raised his brows in mock surprise. “Ah, look at you taking baby steps. I’ll make sure you don’t have one too many. Wouldn’t want to subject the rest of the camp to the highly caffeinated.”

We both laughed in unison. I giggled until my stomach began hurting.

After a while, we’d both succumbed to silence again, and I looked over at Rex, seeing him in a newfound light. It was like he was a different person; completely opposite from the person I’d originally met.

The once cold, sarcastic demeanor faded from my vision. The hardened lines of his jaw erased. It was almost as if I could see beyond his front, into the depths of something more.
Something that terrified me, but in the same instance, captivated me.

I shuddered, but not from the cold. It was a breath of fresh air to meet someone so completely different. I had despised Rex at first.
With a passion.
But the longer I was around him, the more I could see that it was all just a pretense. And the person he was hiding, the person he tried so desperately to cover up, I was pretty sure I was falling head over heels for.

Oh God
, I thought crazily, biting my lip at the realization. It’s not true.
You don’t even know him that well.

I closed my eyes, shutting them tightly, wishing I could block out the insane thoughts.

When I opened my eyes, I noticed Rex staring at me. His amber eyes glowed warmly as he smiled, the sun setting within them.

I swallowed fearfully. It was true. I, Essie Spencer, was undeniably smitten.

I tried not to think about my newfound admiration of Rex. In fact, I tried really, really hard not to think about it. Yet, with that one little realization, my entire world transformed. Walking back down Mount Victory was a completely different walk than the one I’d experienced on the way up.

I couldn’t stop watching him. Every move he made, every step he took,
every
time he paused to help me over a rock-I was entranced. It was like I was seeing this whole new person.

I’d always thought that Rex was handsome, incredibly so, in fact. But
this.
. .this was different. When I looked at him now, I saw someone I cared for. In the short amount of time it took to climb up this mountain, Rex had suddenly
become.
. .beautiful.

It scared the hell out of me.

Normally I was a fairly straightforward person. I tended to let people know how I was feeling, especially the significant things. I couldn’t tell Rex, could I? What good would come of it anyway? He’d probably just laugh hysterically in my face.

I frowned, grasping the truth of my situation. There was no possible way that Rex could have feelings for me…or could he?

I thought back on all the little moments I’d shared with him. For someone claiming to be so apathetic, he’d taken it upon himself to watch over me very closely, and had come to my rescue several times. He’d also danced with me because I asked him to. Most of the time he seemed to enjoy our conversations, even when we argued. And what was up with his helping me cross off things from my bucket list? It was like he was trying to give me what
I
wanted for a change. Like he was my oracle or something.