I catch Korren scowling at me when I straighten, and I throw him an apologetic look.
Around us, a few other pairs are still dancing around each other, neither willing to make the first move. But Garret and Ambrose are kissing just as emphatically as we were, and when they break apart, they bump fists. That’s what happens when you’ve been working together for too long and everyone’s drunk.
It seems one other pair has gone through with the kiss, which makes three of us.
“I didn’t expect you fuckers to go along with that!” Uncle Rhodes says.
“What’s the next challenge?” Garret shouts.
“We’re done for tonight! I don’t want to see anyone taking off their clothes!”
Everyone laughs.
“Actually, you’re on your own for the rest of the challenge,” Uncle Rhodes says. “I’ll change up the pairs if one person drops out before the other. Don’t be stupid!”
Then, because I know everyone is watching us, I leave Korren and stump over toward the bonfire, where I grab another beer and chug it with the heat of the fire scorching one cheek.
I can’t stop thinking about that goddamn kiss. Not because I want to kiss a guy again, but because I hadn’t realized until that moment how fucking lonely I am.
When the sun finally sets, I offer Korren a ride back from the bonfire. Apparently he only flew in a few hours ago and has dumped his shit at the end of the road where we’ve all parked, which tells me he knows nothing about Alaska. I’m half-expecting to find a bear rummaging through his bag when we get back to it.
We trudge back from the beach along with the rest of the crew, the sky still light enough to illuminate the path. No one talks much as we split off toward our cars. Most of the crew has carpooled—it’s expensive and fairly pointless buying cars here, since the town is compact and there’s nowhere much you can drive—and Uncle Rhodes is letting Brett drive his car home since he’s plastered.
A beam from the headlights of a mud-splattered truck illuminates Korren’s luggage. Thankfully it’s intact, but he doesn’t have much, considering he’s planning to live here permanently. It’s just a single ratty old backpack that might’ve once been suited for hiking.
“Where’s all your other stuff?”
“Sold most of it,” he mumbles.
We climb into my car and start back along the bumpy dirt road toward Copper Creek. Uncle Rhodes lives right at the edge of town, and he’s got a massive property that’s half-covered in pines.
I’m tired, and I’m trying my hardest to keep driving in a straight line, so it isn’t until we’re halfway back that my thoughts return to our kiss.
“Are you gay?” I ask casually.
“What? No!”
“Because it wouldn’t be a problem if you were. I just thought, I mean, you’re new here and my uncle was making a lot of assumptions—”
“I’m. Not. Gay.”
“But you were enjoying that kiss.”
“I was just going along with the challenge, same as you.” Korren looks sideways at me. “Or are you saying you were enjoying it too?”
I wasn’tnotenjoying it. But Korren doesn’t need to know that. If he gets the wrong idea about me, this is going to turn very awkward very fast. “I’m better at pretending than you.”
“How d’you know?” Korren asks.
I give him a look of deep skepticism.
“Watch the road!” he snaps.
We’re quiet for a long time, and I think he’s done with the topic. But eventually he mumbles, “I guess it’s been a while since I’ve kissed anyone.”
“Same.”
He snorts. “I doubt that.”
