Page 134 of Serenity Falls

I pointed at him. ‘Now you’re making fun of me.’

‘No, really. I’m not.’ He turned towards me. ‘You have no idea about yourself. You’re amazing.’

Heat soaked my cheeks. ‘Now you’re being weird.’

‘Isn’t that why you like me?’

I stared at him. I mean, I always thought it was, but now, in the candlelight, a quarter of a bottle of vodka inside me, Milo didn’t look weird. He looked kind of … hot.

Before I knew what I was doing I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his. I felt a momentary hesitation, and then he leaned in. Suddenly we were kissing properly. Tongues and everything. But it felt good and, more than that, it felt natural. Like this was something we were supposed to have been doing all along.

‘Wait,’ Milo said.

‘What?’

He held up the vodka. ‘I need to put this down.’

He put the bottle to one side, and I guess we were really drunk because his hands were under my clothes, and I was sliding his T-shirt off, and it felt like a dream, like I was standing outside my body watching us: the sweaty glow of our skin in the candles, mine suntanned, Milo milky white. A weird sort of naked dance, a mirage, an illusion. The taste of sweat and vodka, hair brushing hair, skin pressing against skin, Milo vaguely whispering, ‘I don’t have anything.’

‘S’okay.’

‘I’ll pull out.’

No precautions. Stupid. I knew that later. Just a sharp pain and then a strange sensation, both discomfort and pleasure. I mean, I’m probably making it all sound more romantic than it was. It was probably just clumsy, skinny teenagers groping and slobbering over each other, too drunk to really know what they were doing. But it didn’t feel like that. It felt special and right. And then it was over, and we lay there for a while, the glow of the alcohol still insulating us from embarrassment or guilt.

‘Are you okay?’ Milo whispered.

‘Yeah.’

‘That was …’

‘Weird?’

‘Yeah. But good weird.’

‘Have you ever?’

‘Nope.’

‘Me neither.’

He reached for the vodka, took a swig and held it out to me. I shook my head. We fell silent. A coolness was spreading over my body. A clarity. I didn’t feel ashamed, exactly, but a low-level uneasiness was stirring in my stomach. The time, I thought. I checked my watch: 9.56 p.m. Shit.

I reached for my clothes, trying to find my panties. ‘We should go.’

‘What?’

‘It’s almost ten. We’re not going to make it back in time.’

‘Fuck.’

He started pulling on his underwear and jeans. I yanked on my bra. And that’s when I heard it. A thud from somewhere inside the lodge.

We both paused. ‘What was that?’ I whispered.

He looked around. ‘I don’t know.’

‘Is there someone else here?’