I let out the breath I’ve been holding. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Then he rolls onto his side, facing away from me, without clarifying which “it” he’s talking about, leaving me to stare at the back of his head and wonder if my erection will ever go away.
5
Iwake to the sound of wind howling outside the tent.
For a moment, I don’t remember where I am. Then it all comes rushing back. The footprints. The cave. Ace jerking off. Me watching him. The most mortifying conversation of my entire life.
I groan and pull the sleeping bag over my head.
“Morning, sunshine.”
Ace’s voice is right next to me.
“Morning,” I mumble into the fabric.
“Sleep okay?”
“Yeah,” I lie. “Fine.”
“Wanna check out the mess outside?”
I lower the sleeping bag slowly. Ace is sitting up in his thermal layers, peering out through the half-unzipped tent flap. Gray light filters in, and the wind whips against the cave entrance. The chill seeps through the air, making me shiver.
“What’s going on?”
“Snowstorm.” He glances back at me. “A big one. Rolled in maybe an hour ago. We’re not going anywhere today.”
My heart sinks. “What? But the tracks?—”
“Will be buried under three feet of snow by the time this clears.” He zips the flap back up against the cold. “We’re stuck here until it passes.”
I sit up, the sleeping bag falling to my waist. “How long?”
“Could be an hour. Could be a couple of days.” He shrugs. “Welcome to the Himalayas.”
I stay quiet, staring at the tent wall and the light filtering through the fabric. My phone’s in my jacket, so I pull it out and swipe through the photos from yesterday—the massive footprint, the trail leading into the forest, the gouges in the tree bark. All of it about to be erased.
So many years of planning and researching and being called crazy, and I was so close. Right there. A yeti had been in this cave, maybe sleeping right where we’re sitting now, and I could have seen it. I could have proven its existence.
“Hey.” Ace’s voice is softer now. “It’s not over. Storm will pass. We’ll pick up the trail again.”
“The trail will be gone.”
“So we’ll find new tracks.”
I don’t answer. Can’t. My throat feels too tight.
“Look,” Ace says, his blue eyes earnest. “We found one set of prints. That means there are more. We’ll find them again. I know this sucks. But we’ve got supplies, we’ve got shelter, and we’re not in danger. And hey, silver lining? Now we actually have time to talk. Get to know each other. We’ve been rushing nonstop since we met.”
I know he’s trying to be nice, but the last thing I want right now is to make conversation. I don’t even know what to say to him after last night. There’s still that burning knot of shame in my stomach, and every time I look at him, I see him in that sleeping bag, his back arched and that monstrous cock in his fist. Then I see myself watching him like some creep, my own dick hard in my pants.
He nudges my foot with his. “C’mon, man. I’ll make coffee. We’ve got M&M’s. Breakfast of champions.”
A small smile tugs at my lips despite myself. “That doesn’t sound bad, actually.”
