But it wasn’t going to work. Not on me.
I crossed my arms. “Not going to happen.”
Oliver’s eyebrows dipped together, and he ran a finger over his lip. “What if I can get JJ to stop with the redhead jokes?”
“Can you guarantee that?”
The grin returned. “Most definitely. You wouldn’t believe half the dirt I have on him.”
“Fine,” I agreed. “But no more comments about Boomer’s height. Or making fun of me and Alec.” My checks turned pink when I added the last condition, but I knew it was too dark for Oliver to see the color on my face.
“Are you negotiating?”
I started to smile, amused that my rebuff had caught him off guard, but then I looked up at the tree and the feeling quickly faded. I gritted my teeth. “Sure am.”
“Okay.” His voice was cheerful, like he was glad I’d challenged him and held my ground. “You got yourself a deal.”
He took a step closer to the oak, which was either my soon-to-be hiding spot or the place of my last moments on earth, and cupped his hands together, making a cradle for my foot. Since putting him on the spot about the constellation book, I didn’t feel as uncomfortable around Oliver as I had when he showed me to the guest room. His moment of self-consciousness revealed he wasn’t as imposing as I’d made him out to be, but I was about to put myself in his hands—literally—and that made my nerves returned.
“Felicity?” His hands locked together, and he glanced over at me, expectantly.
“Sorry.” I sucked in a quick breath and tried to settle my thoughts. I could do this, pretend that the guy boosting me up into a terrifying tree wasn’tthecelebrity of my generation and hide in said terrifying tree all by myself.
All this trouble to win a stupid game.
I stepped into Oliver’s hands, putting one of my own on his shoulder for support, and then kicked off the ground, driving myself upward to reach for the lowest branch. He helped lift me, and I managed to wrap my fingers around the rough bark and hoist myself up. It took me a few seconds to arrange myself, but then, panting, I settled against the trunk.
“Hey, guys,” I heard Asha’s voice call from somewhere in the small clearing. She and JJ had spread out to keep watch. “They’re coming. Let’s get out of here.”
Oliver craned his neck and tried to find me in the dark above. “You good?” he asked.
I sucked in another breath. “I think so.”
“Okay, shout if there’s a problem,” he instructed me. “Otherwise, we’ll come back to get you once time’s up.” Then he was gone, disappearing into the charcoal shadows with the skill of a well-trained spy.
Sitting by myself in the tree wasn’t nearly as scary as I’d first thought it would be. I listened to wind play with the leaves and enjoyed the fresh scents of the night. Unlike in LA, the air here smelled clean. Like pine needles and something sweet, and I couldn’t get enough of it into my lungs.
At one point, Boomer and Xander ran through the glade together, passing straight under my tree, but I stayed completely still and held my breath, and neither of them spotted me.
More time passed, so much so that I wondered if I’d been forgotten, left to find my own way down from the oak tower. Somewhere in the foliage nearby, a bird screeched, causing my pulse to spike.
The woods grew quiet again, but this time, it didn’t feel as inviting as before. I made up my mind to call out for help like Oliver had told me, but then I saw a flash of something white that made me reconsider. I squinted. It was Alec’s platinum hair. He was jogging along the edge of the clearing, scanning the open space, and the path he was on would inevitably lead him right to me.
As soon as he was close enough, I called his name. “Alec!”
By giving my position away, I knew my team would lose, but unlike Oliver and JJ, I couldn’t care less about winning Cops and Robbers. Oliver would be mad, considering the deal we made, but our agreement was to get meupthe tree. It said nothing of what I could or couldn’t do once I was in it.
Alec stopped short. “Hello?” He turned his head left and right. “Stella, is that you?”
“Up here.”
His head snapped back. “Felicity?”
“Hi.”
“What are you doing in a tree?”
“Ah, hiding?” I offered. Although technically, I wasn’t doing a good job of it.
