“I hated seeing people struggling to get a start in life, so, on my own time, I helped him get a new suit and lined up an interview at a local restaurant we partnered with to support shelters. After a few paychecks, he offered to repay me by taking me out to dinner. He was nice to look at,” she says, and blushes slightly.
I force my jaw to relax, but the sensation transfers to a clenching in the pit of my stomach. It’s ironic to be out in the middle of the vast wilderness and feel stuck in such tight quarters.
“I thought, why not. If anything, I was new to Utah and could use a friend in the area. At first, it seemed sweet when he asked me a million questions about myself. But then he starteddodging the ones I asked about him.” She takes a deep breath that lifts her whole chest and continues. “We were at this really popular Italian place in downtown Salt Lake. It took forever to get our food. So, when he finallyhadto tell me something, he said that he got laid off from his job in Georgia and moved to Utah for a change of scenery.”
“Georgia’s not Texas,” Marshall pipes up.
“Thank you, Captain Obvious.” Evans chortles.
Where is this story going? Because now I don’t just feel possessive but protective too.
“His excuse was that he grew up in Texas but moved to Georgia for a year after graduation. That wasn’t the only part of his story that didn’t add up either, and a week later, he was arrested at work. The head chef recognized his face onAmerica’s Most Wanted. It turns out, blond Jeremy Scott stole a famous piece of pottery and tried pawning it for money. It launched a full federal investigation against the guy who was now posing as Evan Banks with dark hair.”
“Wow.” Dean chuckles, but it either doesn’t get her attention or she’s still upset with him.
I breathe a sigh of relief. I was afraid that story was going to take a dark turn.
“Yeah, well, not everyone is as good at dating as I am.” She smirks at Marshall and then says, “What about you?”
“You mean, what’s it like to get turned down every time you ask someone on a date?” Murphy jokes.
Marshall pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose. It makes his pupils twice as large when he does it.
“It’s okay, Marshall. Logan Murphy wouldn’t know what it’s like to put himself out there. He hasn’t been on a date in four years,” Ramirez says.
Here we go again with these two. Murphy frowns. I didn’tthink it was possible for the burly guy to experience this emotion but… is thatpainin his eyes?
“I’ll have you know, I went out with this girl one time,” Marshall starts, “and she was beautiful. Like, blond hair big boobs kind of hot. I took her to the state fair, and while we were waiting in line to ride the Ferris wheel, a few of her friends spotted us and stopped to say hi. They were giggling and whispering and squealing and nudging her. She was blushing, so at the time, I thought they had to be talking about me, right? How good looking I was?”
“Let me guess, she lost a bet,” Ramirez says, choking on his water.
“Yeah, to your grandma,” Marshall throws back, and everyone laughs—even Ramirez, who lives with the grandmother in question.
“Anyway, she blushed even harder and then reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She said, ‘Would you take our picture?’ so I wrapped my arm around her at the same moment she shoved her phone against my chest.”
This poor guy.
“But jokes on her.” Marshall reaches into his line pack and unearths a picture of four blond girls with the whitest teeth I’ve ever seen. He’s grinning from ear to ear.
“Now that we’ve established that Marshall is a stalker,” Murphy says. “Jackson.” He nods in his direction. “Your turn, man.”
“First white girl I ever dated asked my father if we were from Africa,” Jackson says. “He’s a fourth-generation Louisianan.”
“At least she didn’t ask if you had a speech impediment.” McCafferty covers his face with his sleeping bag.
“Madison askedyou that?”
Dean tenses, his mouth slightly agape when Hailey acknowledges him.
“She made me nervous, and I stuttered in front of her,” he admits.
I’m liking this Madison girl less and less the more I learn about her.
“And you’re still going out with her?” I interject.
He glowers at me. Whether fitting or not, Done Me Dirty is not the time you break the news about a cheating girlfriend in front the entire crew.
“How many times have you been an idiot here,” Dean fires back, “and Hailey seems to still be interested in you?”
