I pulled my shirt over my head when the sudden feeling of being watched made the hair on my arms stick up.
I scanned the trees for any boys who might have followed me, just to find two red glowing eyes beneath the water.
I rubbed my eyes, and once I opened them again they were gone. I let out a breath of relief, but dressed as quickly as possible so I could rejoin the camp.
As I walked up, I found the group huddled around the professors in a wide arc. I came to stand beside Shannon as Professor Gale’s voice carried over the group.
“Our conservation team wants to remind you that this is not the city. This is home for dangerous creatures and plantlife. Even our wildlife experts have unknowingly wandered into situations without realizing it.
I pressed my lips together and forced the urge to defend myself down into the depths of my ego where they belonged. I made a mistake. It was only fair to warn others.
Even Shannon shrugged as if to say it could happen to anyone. It meant a lot coming from her, considering she didn’t simply forgive stupidity.
I mostly ignored the safety meeting. I knew the safety rulebook by heart. It hadn’t saved me.
“Okay.” Professor Carter clapped her hands. “Let’s go.”
“Stick together this time.” Shannon eyed me, implying I’d been the one to meander off.
“Bitch,” I grumbled, going to my area to get all my gear on.
Professor Gale leaned on one of the trees holding up my hammock. I didn’t miss how he angled his body so no one could see me from the other side. “Shannon told me you had a rough night.”
“Yeah.” I would strangle her pretty little throat.
“I’m sorry I lost my temper with you last night.” He grabbed a piece of my hair that had fallen from my bun, playing with the strand like it was a normal thing for him to do. Tension pulled my shoulders painfully tight. “I hadn’t realized you were indisposed.”
Right. Because that made his behavior perfectly acceptable. He could fuck all the way off.
Instead of saying that, I bit my tongue hard enough to taste blood. He was just another motherfucker who thought he could take what he wanted.
“Let’s go! The other team is leaving,” Shannon complained, but I didn’t miss how she pushed Gale out of the way to stand between us. “Why did I get stuck with the slowpoke?”
“Karma, probably.” I turned to lead our trek away from the camp, taking as much land as possible this time.
We trekked in silence. The environment was perfect for me to destress and let the world go in. Instead, I searched the water every few seconds for red eyes, as the dreams from last night played in my mind. Followed by Gale being a creep. An unhinged part of me considered cutting the strand of hair he’d touch, but I settled for tying it into a messy bun, where I couldn’t feel it touching me.
Shannon’s boots halted behind me, and I whirled around to make sure she hadn’t fallen in a pit or something. She was fine, chewing on her lower lip with guilt in her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” I asked after a solid minute of her staring at me. I wasn’t sure she’d ever stayed silent that long in her life.
“I don’t think we can do this until we clear the air.”
“If I touched your butt in my sleep, I’m sorry. I think you have a nice ass.”
That flustered her, and I laughed at the flush coloring her cheeks. Her eyebrow scrunched sternly, ready to scold me no doubt. “I mean it, Talia.”
I laughed at her embarrassment, but forced, what I hoped was, a serious expression on my face. “What is it?”
She opened her mouth to speak before snapping her jaw shut loud enough to hear her teeth clink. I watched her struggle to find the words until she blurted out. “I sucked Gale’s cock to get accepted on the trip.”
My audible gasp silenced the sounds of bugs cricking in the air, like she’d shocked them too. “What?!”
Her bottom lip trembled, and it was the first time I’d ever seen her vulnerable. I could see how much it was eating at her. Her cheeks turned tomato red, and she practically curled into herself.
“So, when you asked what crawled up my ass, that’s what.” She lifted her chin, trying to be the strong woman she always was, but the fire was missing in her eyes.
“You’re the best in your class. You have opportunities to really go places. Don’t ever let him do that to you again.”
