Ev snorts out a soft laugh, but everyone else is too busy figuring out where they’re going to sleep to notice. Instead of a crazy night of partying, Yuri grabs the remote and puts on some action movie before claiming the couch as his bed and lying down.
“Well, I’m gonna go study some more,” Ev says.
Since I didn’t get any sleep last night, I stand up to join him. I nod to the others and sign a quickNightto Bran when I walk past. Instead of signing it back, he watches me and when I’m blocking him from view of the others, his hands form two quick signs: morning and surf.
He grins at the look I give him. I knew these fuckers were up to something that went beyond guarding Sitka and Allie for the night. Ev’s already in his room by the time I get down there. I think about warning him, but then I huff out a laugh, remembering the fun he’d had making me say Pop-Tart the other night.
Nah, no point in telling him right now. It’ll just ruin his night. Better he doesn’t know what’s coming for him. It doesn’t feel like payback. It feels like more of a kindness. I wish I didn’t know where my ass was going to be before the sun’s even had a chance to rise.
I’m about to walk into my own room when I hear footsteps behind me. Turning, I see Misha and Tyoma walking towards the couch and chairs that are in the main room off the small kitchen, the one I have to walk through if I want to sneak out onto the veranda or go upstairs. Evidently, the girls aren’t the only ones being babysat tonight.
Ignoring them, I shut the door to my room and grab my phone. Memories of Sitka fill the space now, and when I lie down on the bed, I swear I can smell her fresh, wild scent and hear the echo of her soft whimpers in my ears.
She’s left me a message, typed instead of recorded since she’s with Allie, so I put in my earbuds and listen to a voice that isn’t hers read it to me.
“I’m sorry about my family. I was worried they suspected something, but Allie looked out the window and saw surfboards in the back of Misha’s truck. Prepare yourself. I think they’ll be waking you up very early. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure I’m up, and I won’t let you drown.”
Even though it’ll probably make her wonder why I’m doing it, I record my message like usual. “Yeah, Bran warned me as I was heading downstairs. Misha and Tyoma are sleeping down here with us. It’s the slumber party I never asked for. I wish you were down here with me. I swear I can still smell your sweet scent on my bed. If I survive tomorrow, we need to celebrate. And I thought I told you last night,besyonok. I’m already drowning.”
Her reply is a voice message, and it’s just as sweet as she tastes. “I’m drowning, too, Damien, but I’m not letting go. Start thinking about how you want to celebrate. I’ll figure out a way for us to be alone. I wish I was in your bed, too. I bet sleeping with you is way more fun than sharing a bed with Allie.”
I grin at the soft laugh she gives before she says, “I hope my brothers’ wake up with sore necks for being such stubborn cavemen. I’ll be thinking about you, Damien. Night.”
“I’ll be thinking about you too, Sitka. Night, baby.”
I send the message and then get ready for bed. If I have any hope of surviving tomorrow’s suicide surfing session, then I need to at least get a few hours of sleep.
I feel like I’ve just closed my eyes when I hear Misha’s voice in my ear as he nudges my arm hard enough to jolt me awake. I groan and squint at the harsh light because the fucker’s turned on the overhead. Blinking my eyes open, I see his way too happy face grinning at me like a lunatic. He’s in a wetsuit and looking way too chipper for the time that it is.
“Get up,” he tells me, tossing a wetsuit onto my lap. “Time for a surfing lesson.”
“I don’t suppose ano thankswill work?” I ask him.
He laughs and starts to leave my room right as I hear Ev from across the hall say, “Yuri, I swear to fucking god, I’m two seconds away from punching you.”
Yuri laughs just like his brother had and says, “You’re going to love it, Ev. Trust me. Way more fun than studying.”
“Fat fucking chance,” my cousin groans.
Holding up the wetsuit, I ask, “What the hell do you wear under this thing?”
Misha grins. “Nothing. You’re going commando.”
“You can’t be serious,” I say, already imagining how cold my junk is going to get and cringing at the mere thought.
“It’s all part of the experience,” Yuri says from the hall. “Make sure to put these on.” He tosses us each a set of neoprene boots and gloves that I’m hesitant to believe will actually keep my feet and hands from freezing.
“Jesus, I’m gonna look like a giant condom,” I tell them, but they just laugh and walk off.
Ev stares at me from across the hall, holding the wetsuit up like the foreign object it is to us and shakes his head at me. “I’m going to freeze my fucking nuts off.”
“Yeah, well I’ll be right there with you,” I tell him.
“That’s the only thing making this even slightly bearable,” he grumbles before kicking his door shut.
I can’t help but laugh as I do the same. Getting into the wetsuit is an experience all on its own, like wearing a really tight onesie that leaves nothing to the imagination. If I get hard in this, I’m so fucked. Small mercy, at least the hood is attached and it zips in the front so I don’t have to walk out there with the crack of my ass showing. I slip on the boots and gloves before stepping out.
“Oh fuck,” I say with a laugh when I see Ev.
