I turn to Lily. “Hunting?”
“Yep!”
I force a smile on my face. This is what I get for talking all the mess about those survivalists. She really brought me out here to commit crimes against nature, all expenses paid.
“You looking to make a kill on something as big as you?” The man nudges me with his elbow.
“Um, yeah, something like that.”
Absolutely not.
“All right. Let’s get you two set up in your suite, then we can go out for our first excursion.”
The suite is wrapped in luxury. There’s a bearskin rug with the bear’s head on it still. I look away and silently apologize to it for its life being reduced to floor covering.
Lily walks in, sees the rug and stops. “Oh!”
“I bet it’s super soft.” I don’t go anywhere near it to test my theory. Part of me wants to roll it up and put it in the closet.
“This is nice,” I tell her.
“Yeah, they really give you an experience here.”
“You’ve been here before?” None of this is who Lily is. I’m shocked she brought me here.
She shakes her head. “No. But I thought you’d like it.”
I hate it.
“So, this is your version of camping?” I narrow my eyes at her.
She shrugs. “I said pack for the outdoors.”
I step closer to her, my hands on her waist. “You’re trouble.”
“The best kind.” She slips out of my hold and swats me. “Go put on all your gear. Nature is waiting.”
I change into a weird combination of camo and comfort wear and step out feeling very subconscious about my choices. Lily doesn’t even try to spare my feelings. She bursts into laughter once I cross the threshold of the bathroom.
“Take me home.”
She runs up to me and hugs me. “I’m just not used to you being awkward.”
“That’s not helping.”
“You’re cute. I like awkward on you.”
She tugs on my shirt, and I lean down to kiss her.
Outside, our guide Jim leads us to a camo side-by-side parked outside the lodge. It has a roll cage, mud on the tires, and a cargo bed full of gear. I stare at it, then at Lily.
“You expect me to fit in that?”
She grins. “You wanted to survive in the wild.”
“I wanted to watch people survive in the wild from my theater room.”
“Now you get the real thing!”
