Wasted by Suzannah Daniels

“Do you know how to do
that?”
    She wrinkled her nose. “No, and I don’t want
to know. I think I’ll opt for picking berries, instead.”
    “ Do you know how to tell
whether they’re poisonous?”
    “ Oh.” She furrowed her
brow. “Good point. I guess we’re not much in the way of
survivalists. Maybe we’d better stick to the grocery
store.”
    “ That or a good
restaurant.” I grabbed the backpack and unzipped it. “But for now,
I did bring us some nice, safe snacks and bottled
water.”
    After taking a break, we stuffed our trash
in the backpack and continued along the trail until we reached the
cave. The cave was a small hole directly off the path with an
entrance of approximately four feet high by three feet wide.
    I stooped down and entered first with Lexi
right behind me. After the initial opening, the cavern opened up
above our heads, and we were able to stand upright.
    “ It’s a lot cooler in
here,” she said softly as if she were afraid to speak
normally.
    “ Feels good, doesn’t it?”
The light that spilled into the cavern illuminated another opening
on the far side of the cave.
    Lexi scanned her surroundings. “I guess if
we were alive in the prehistoric days, this might’ve made a good
house.”
    I grinned at the thought. “Yeah, and I
might’ve picked you up, thrown you over my shoulder, and forced you
to cook my fish.”
    Her lips twitched. “I hope you like scales
and guts.”
    I nodded. “I do. I like poisonous berries,
too.”
    Her laughter echoed in the cave. “Good,
because that’s what I was going to fix you for dessert.”
    I pointed at her and beat my chest with my
fist. “My woman. Cook fish. Pick berries.”
    Mimicking me, she beat her chest, a wide
smile planted on her face. “My man. Kill bear.”
    I delivered my best caveman grunt. Hunching
down, I walked around like I was half gorilla, my arms swinging
around as they reached down to my knees. A peal of laughter erupted
from her as I snatched her up, my arms encircling her legs just
below the sweet curve of her ass, bringing her face just above my
own. “Me no kill bear. Me kiss woman.”
    The smile fell from her face as the meaning
of my words dawned on her. I could tell that she wasn’t sure what
they meant, and honestly, I didn’t know, either. I hadn’t planned
on kissing her. I’d just known that she didn’t have many friends in
Creekview yet, and I’d wanted to take her out to do something, to
get to know her as a friend.
    But I’d been captivated by her all day. She
was witty and kind, and even though her hair was pulled up and she
wore no makeup, I found her extremely sexy. Still firmly in my
grip, her body pressed against mine as her face hovered just above
my own. My eyes were drawn to her plump bottom lip, and I had the
overwhelming urge to run my tongue across it and suck on it.
    Slowly, I released my hold, letting her
slide down my length until her feet were firmly on the ground. She
stared at me like frightened prey, as if she wasn’t sure whether
she should stay in my presence or turn and scurry away.
    I knew she’d be better off running.
    I leaned in toward her, and her lips parted
softly as if she were waiting on me to make the move. Her chest
heaved and the artery in her throat pulsed.
    Damn, I wanted to.
    I wanted to know how she tasted. I wanted to
know how her lips felt against mine.
    But she wasn’t some girl I could get up and
leave when the sun rose. She was my roommate, and if I crossed the
line now, things could get awkward quickly.
    I liked Lexi. I didn’t want things to be
weird between us.
    I recognized all the signs. She wanted it,
too.
    She lowered her eyes, her lashes fanning
across her cheeks. Her lips closed, and she turned away. “I guess
we better hit the trail,” she said softly.
    And just like that, the moment was over.

 
    Chapter
6
    Kamikaze
     
    Lexi
     
    A week had passed, and neither of us
mentioned our almost-kiss. But even though we hadn’t talked about
it,