Page 55 of When The Noise Stops

"I'm going to bed," I said.

I walked toward my tent. Didn't look back.

Behind me, Tiny said, "I've never seen him embarrassed before. Didn't think it was possible."

"Shhh, Tiny. Don't make him mad," Lila said.

"I'm just saying."

I crawled into my tent. Zipped it shut. Lay on my back, staring at the canvas.

My heart was pounding.

All I could think was she'd seen me. All of me. And she'd liked it.

I closed my eyes.

Chapter 22

Knox

I was still awake long after the penis conversation.

I chuckled. Couldn't help it. The way she'd said it. The way she'd looked at me. The way everybody had lost their minds.

But underneath the laugh, something else was turning. Something I didn't want to name.

I hadn't slept. Everybody else was out. The fire had burned down to embers. The campground was quiet except for the wind in the pines and the distant sound of the lake.

My mind was filled with Lila.

The food she cooked for me. How she talked too much when she was nervous. How kind she was. Lila wasn't like the other women I'd dealt with. She didn't approach you looking for what she could get. She moved like she wanted to leave it better than she found it, even when she was a mess.

The night was getting colder. I thought about going into my tent, but made no move to actually do it.

Then I heard the RV door open.

She stepped off in her robe, shoes in one hand, a towel under her arm. She didn't see me. I watched her from the shadows. It was too late to be walking the campground alone, but Lila didn't care about things like that.

I waited until I couldn't hear her feet anymore.

I let her get a head start.

Then I followed.

She didn't hear me.

I found her at the lake. Naked. Every inch of her bare. Brown skin silver in the moonlight. Soft curves and strong thighs. She stood there a second in the cold with her arms crossed, then dropped them and walked into the water.

I stayed put.

"You coming in or not?" she said, without turning around.

"Or you planning to stand in the trees all night?"

It startled me more than her jump scare had. She'd known. I should have known she would.

I should have gone back to the chair.