* * *
“I can’t believeyou let Morgan tell you what to do,” Brad’s voice came from inside the cabin, making me stop dead in my tracks at the door, grocery bags hanging by my sides.
I’d been gone half an hour for supplies, and the others hadn’t been back when I left. Brad must’ve turned up in the meantime and decided to spend his time harassing Devin,again.
“I can’t believe you’ddatesomeone like him,” Brad continued. “Is the sex that good? Because it’d have to be.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Devin’s voice responded. I’d never heard the dangerous edge in it before, but I knew that was what it was.
“He can’t evenswim,” Brad said. “He stood there like an idiot while you were drowning, he doesn’t know the first thing about kayaking or hell, being outside at all. He’s notoneof us, he’s not like you. He doesn’t care whether or not you win this, he doesn’t evenknowto care. The guy’s a fuckingflorist, Devin.”
My heart sank.
Brad was right. I wasn’t one of them, I had no idea how to help Devin, I’d been a big, awkward, useless lump when Devin had been in real danger. If not for Chris and Alex, he would’ve drowned, and the best I could’ve done was drown with him.
Devin deserved better than me. That was why I’d never made a move, that was why I still wasn’t planning to.
“Yeah,” Devin spoke up again. “And I’m a college dropout who sells tents for a living—have you even talked to him? He’s the smartest man I know, he could be anything, hewantsto be a florist because he’s got his shit figured out better than any of us.”
Oh.
Did Devin really think that? He didn’t know I was here, it wasn’t as though he was saying it for my benefit.
But on the other hand, he was still trying to convince Brad that he’d moved on and found someonebetter. Of course he’d talk me up.
Collegedropout, though? That was new information. How did I not know that?
“He’s a florist because he’s got all the ambition of stale bread,” Brad said.
“Fuck you,” Devin growled. “And you know what? The sexisthat good.”
The door swung open just as I was about to kick Brad out, Devin barreling through it even with his hurt ankle.
“Morgan,” he said, blinking at me in surprise.
“You dropped out of college?” I asked, still turning that over in my head.
The way Devin’s nose wrinkled told me I’d made a mistake. He pushed past me, heading for the woods beyond the cabin site, limping noticeably.
Against my better judgement, I followed after him.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” I said. “I’m sorry.”
Devin stumbled over a root, hissed as he landed hard on his injured foot, and braced himself against a tree.
“Smartest man you know?” I asked, changing the subject, inching closer. I wanted things to be okay between us.
I wasn’t losing Devin as a friend. We’d come so far, I couldn’t handle that.
He paused, looking at me, a wry smile playing around his lips. “You’ve met everyone I know now,” he said. “You’reclearlythe smartest.”
“And better in bed than Brad?” I teased. Normally I couldn’t have brought myself to tease over something like that, but I was desperate to get a smile out of Devin. He needed it.
“Well, you didn’t kick me in my sleep or anything, so yeah,” Devin sighed. “Can I tell you something?”
“You can tell me anything,” I promised.
Devin looked at me again, reallylooked, and I hope he realized that I meant that. Whatever he told me, I’d never tell another soul.
