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Delaney exhales. “Yeah, I mean partly it was. But I guess I also wasn’t cut out for college or maybe being away from home.”
“I don’t believe that,” I tell her. “You’re doing pretty good with that right now.”
She lets out a huff that tells me she doesn’t believe me. “So why did you fuck up at the end? Don’t tell me it was a girl?” I can tell by her tone that she’s trying to keep things light, as though she doesn’t really care what my reason is.
“No, not a girl,” I reply.
Her fingers pluck at the buttons on the old flannel I wear in a way that suggests she’s nervous. “So no great romance gone wrong? No broken heart that caused you to stop going to class and flunk out.”
My heart starts to pound inside my chest again, which should and does freak me out a little. “No,” I say with a laugh. “No girl, nothing like that,” I say, knowing now there’s only one girl who’s capable of breaking my heart and there’s not a chance in hell I’m admitting that out loud.
“So,” she says. “What was it?”
I left out a soft groan, chuckling at the end as I pull her close and press a kiss to the top of her head. “It was fucking complicated, Laney,” I say, glancing at the can sitting on the top of the stove. “Come on, looks like our gourmet dinner is ready, let’s eat.”
We siton the mattress beside the fire, the can of soup between us, sharing the spoon as we take turns eating. I don’t even know why we do it like this, to prolong the small meal that both of us could probably devour in an instant or to try and make this pathetic situation something more than it is.
The soup isn’t actually bad, but it’s hardly a huge meal, especially after the hours I spent cutting firewood. Considering how much snow there is outside and the fact that nearly two days in, there hasn’t even been a hint as to anyone finding us, I am seriously going to have to think about finding us more food eventually because there’s no way we can survive on this.
“Oh, I meant to tell you, I found some more stuff,” Delaney says, licking the spoon before handing it back to me.
I feel my heart kick a hard beat in my chest, my brain flooding with memories of that tongue on my skin, in my mouth. It all feels like a lifetime ago now, even if it was less than a week ago.
“Oh yeah,” I say, scooping a spoonful of soup from the can. “Please tell me it’s a six pack of beer and a pizza?”
Delaney smirks, shaking her head. “No, but it was a toothbrush and toothpaste, deodorant too.”
I pause with the spoon halfway between us. “And you’re gonna use them?”
She takes the spoon from me. “Um yeah,” she says, getting some more soup. “It’s bad enough we don’t have a shower here, but I’m not putting up with bad breath or stinky pits.”
I chuckle, pulling my knees up to my chest and wrapping my arms around them. “It’s kinda gross though, isn’t it?”
“Of course it is,” she says, handing me the spoon. I shake my head, even though I’m still hungry and Delaney rolls her eyes. “Eat, Alex, you know you want to.” I take the spoon from her with a smirk as she continues. “There were some more clothes too.” She pulls at the material of the too big pajama pants she now wears.
Laughing, I say, “Yeah you’re really rocking the whole stranded hunter look, Laney.”
She raises a brow, a cheeky smile on her face. “Um, you think you make this whole look work, do you?”
“Oh please, I know I do,” I say with a wink, giving her knee a nudge as she laughs. “Come on, you finish it.”
She shakes her head, hands up. “No, I’m done, you go.”
I hit her with a look as I repeat her previous words back to her. “Eat, Laney, you know you want to.”
“I’m good, seriously. Besides, you’re bigger than me and did more work too. You finish it.”
I hit her with an eye roll, even as I finish off the small amount of soup that’s left. When I’m done, I stand from the mattress, can in hand as I make my way over to the kitchen area. Grabbing a couple of the pots, I slip my feet into the boots and risk opening the door, getting hit with a face full of snow and wind when I do. I hurry outside, quickly filling the pots with snow.
Inside, I place them both on top of the stove, before grabbing the random towel that was hanging on a hook by the door, trying not to think too hard about where it’s been or how long it’s been there for. Then, I unbutton my flannel and drop it to the floor, before walking toward her, towel in my hand.
Delaney looks up at me, a curious look on her face and I can’t help but grin as she asks, “What are you doing?”
Flopping back down beside her, I say, “Well, if you wanna be clean, Laney, it might be time for that sponge bath.”
6
DELANEY
