“Well, now you’re just being an asshole.” Ethan’s smile faded.
“And you guys are acting like a couple of teenagers. Why is it any of your business who I’m sleeping with?”
Ryan got right up in his face, his usual easygoing demeanor nowhere in sight. “Yo, don’t be a jackass. You did the same thing to each of us when we started dating again. We were just trying to tell you we’re happy for you.”
Mark had no idea why he was so angry. Part of it was directed at Jess, for telling her friends about their relationship. Most of it was directed at himself, for being so insecure he didn’t want the world to know he was with Jess for fear of losing her. Very little belonged on his friends. “Sorry.”
Ryan looked at Ethan, eyebrows raised. “Did he just apologize?”
Ethan grinned. “He sure did. Now we’ve definitely got to go to Rowdy’s after work.”
“Count on it,” Ryan said.
“Fine.” Mark slung the last of the lumber into the truck bed. Heading to Rowdy’s with the guys would no doubt result in a friendly ass-kicking, but he’d grin and bear it. He had to because he needed them in his life. They’d become awfully damn important to him since he’d been back in Haven.
With that settled, he hopped in the truck and headed out to spend the day working on the mountain bike course. Ethan and Ryan were manning the zip-line today. Mark was looking forward to the day spent on his own. It was the best medicine, the best therapy. Because mostly he loved having so many people in his life now, but sometimes…sometimes it was too much. It made him feel claustrophobic and antsy and antisocial. And then he needed to spend a day out in the woods banging nails into wood.
After eight hours spent doing just that, Mark was feeling much better. He was calm and relaxed, physically exhausted but ready to go out for beers with Ethan and Ryan. Jess called as he was loading up the truck to head back to the main building.
“I want to take one of your survival skills classes,” she said when he answered.
He raised his eyebrows. “You sure about that?”
“Positive. Lord knows I spend enough time out in these woods. I consider myself pretty well prepared, but that thing with the bears last month shook me up. And besides, I bet you can teach me all kinds of cool new stuff.”
“It’s valuable for anyone who spends time out in these woods,” he agreed. “I teach a few different versions. You want the full class or the short version?”
“The full class, of course.” He heard the smile in her voice.
“It’s an overnight.”
“Overnight?”
“Ethan will drop us off outside town. We get lost in the woods and basically fend for ourselves.”
“You really do that?” Jess sounded incredulous. “Like, repeatedly? With strangers?”
“No offense, baby, but a night in these woods is child’s play compared to the places I slept in the Special Forces.”
“Well, all right then. Sign me up.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “You sure about this, Jess? I’m probably going to say this all wrong, but with your health right now—”
“Yep. You can stop right there,” she said, her tone gone flat. “There’s nothing wrong with me other than some aches and pains. And if I’m going to be dealing with it for a while, all the more reason to know how to handle myself if I ever get lost out in the woods.”
He nodded. “Fair enough.”
“Mark…”
“Yeah?” He ached to pull her into his arms and hold her tight.
“Thanks, you know, for being so great through all this.”
“Don’t give me credit for being a decent human being, Jess. That should be a given for any man you’re with.”
“It should, but…it’s a lot for a new relationship.”
“Our relationship is anything but new.” On the contrary, he felt like he knew her better than most anyone else on the planet.
