Page 92 of After You Returned

“You’re my surfer boy. No thanks needed.”

Eli clears his throat. “This is a story about my brother, Miles.” I groan. I knew it. “All six of us Raider brothers went camping for the weekend. Zane wanted to become a Boy Scout but Rhett said he could only join if he agreed to go camping for a weekend. And off the Raider brothers went for a weekend of camping.

Unfortunately, none of us had camped before, so we weren’t exactly prepared. We forgot all kinds of things – fuel for the camping fire, extra batteries for the flashlights. But, worst of all, we forgot toilet paper. No teenage boy who’s been gorging himself on hot dogs and s'mores all day can avoid nature’s call. Off Miles went to ‘use the facilities’. No one thought anything of it, until a telltale rash appeared a week later. Poison ivy!”

“Bogus!” I shout. “Kai got poison ivy on his ass, not me.”

“Bogus! Bogus! Bogus!” The crowd chants.

“Walk the plank!” Hazel shouts.

Addy arrives with a shot of moonshine and a beer. She hands them to Eli, who frowns before drinking both. He jumps from the stage and walks to his table, where Paisley is laughing at him.

Chloe steps back on stage. “Our next storyteller is Hazel Harris. It’s gonna be outrageous. I’m betting it’s bogus. Here comes Hazel!”

Hazel stands and I squeeze her hand. “Go show them how it’s done.”

“I will.” She winks before moving to the stage and grabbing the mic.

“Here is the tale of the moonshine watermelon bomb.” She narrows her eyes at the crowd. “It’s so unbelievable, it’s true.”

“Bogus!” Kai shouts. I search the crowd until I find him. He waves and I scratch my forehead with my middle finger.

“Like all great tales, this one started innocent enough. I wanted to make a watermelon soaked in moonshine for theFourth of July. Except the fourth arrived and I forgot all about my poor, innocent watermelon.

Until the next weekend, when I needed a dish to bring to Sunday dinner with the family. I barely had a chance to set the watermelon on the table before Thomas arrived with a big knife to slice it open. He barely touched the watermelon before the thing exploded like it was harboring bootleg fireworks. Seeds flew everywhere. The grill was covered in watermelon guts. Everyone screamed.

And I swear to Poseidon, a seagull took a direct hit and came back for vengeance. The next thing we know, we’re under aerial assault. Seagulls diving for us, pooping everywhere. It was a massacre. Sticky. Terrifying. Beautiful.”

“Bogus!” Zane shouts.

Hazel lifts her eyebrow. “If the crowd claims my story is bogus, but it’s true, I automatically win.”

“She’s bluffing!” Rhett shouts.

The crowd takes up a chant. “Bogus! Bogus! Bogus!”

Hazel smirks as she pulls out her phone. “Good thing I have proof.”

Chloe rushes to help her attach her phone to the beamer, and soon enough, a video of seagulls attacking a picnic is showing. Thomas stands in the middle of the chaos, covered in watermelon as seagulls divebomb him.

Chloe grabs Hazel’s wrist and raises her arm in the air. “We have a winner!”

Hazel bows before returning to our table, where I sweep her into my arms and meld my lips to hers. “Congrats, Blaze.”

“Do not shove your hard dick into me. We’re staying. We eat and drink for free all night.”

My cock whimpers but I bark out a laugh. This is my woman. Crazy. Impulsive. Fun as hell. And sexy as can be. I don’t mind spending the entire night watching her brag about her win to the other Smugglers. I’ll probably end up in a fist fight.

Worth it. She’s worth everything.

Chapter 31

I’ll take mythical creatures for five-hundred.

Hazel

“Hey, Parker,” I greet the bakery owner as I step insidePirate’s Pastries.“How are you doing?”