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Everyone was ready to go, so we set out on the path through the trees where we had already gone for a hike earlier that morning. As we were walking, I thought about the night before. Thane was probably only joking. I was starting to see that he liked teasing me, and perhaps because I was so terrified that anyone would find out about my past, it made me think everyone knew.
He couldn’t possibly know that I’d been a stripper. It had been the only job I could get at the time that gave me enough money to put Addison and myself through college. I certainly wasn’t proud of it, but it couldn’t be avoided. The only person in our circle who knew was Lila, and she would never betray my trust in her, of that I was certain. He’d noticed that I hesitated last night when answering and was guessing I’d done something, but there was no way heknew.I was just being paranoid.
After about half an hour of walking in snowshoes, we came to a clearing with several rocks and fallen trees and decided to take a break. Unfortunately for me, Thane sat beside me. I stood up, but he grabbed my arm and said, “Sit down for a minute. I want to talk to you.”
I said nothing but sat down as he asked.
“I was out of line last night, and I was drunk. It doesn’t excuse my behavior, but it does explain it,” he said. I could see in his eyes that he was being genuine.
I shrugged. “Whatever. It’s fine. Is that all?” I asked, desperate to get the conversation over with. I hoped the more I made it seem like it wasn’t a big deal that he would be more likely to let it go.
He nodded and stood up, then went over and sat beside Shellene, and they proceeded to chat about something that made them both laugh. I didn’t get it. Why was he able to have a fun conversation with my roommate, but when it came to me, it was always sarcastic? Why couldn’t he sit down and have a decent conversation with me? Deep down, I knew that my attitude toward him likely had something to do with it, but he irked me to no end, and he drove me wild at the same time.
We set out again, but after another hour, my snowshoe broke. “Of all the rotten luck,” I said to nobody in particular. It was Thane that heard me.
“You were too rough on it,” he told me.
“I was not. It’s probably just old or something. Can you let the group know that I’ve gone back to the cabin? I’m tired, and now this is broken, so it must be a sign.” I didn’t wait for him to answer but headed in the direction of the cabin instead.
Within minutes, I heard the crunching of snow behind me and whipped around, ready to fend off whatever wild animal was about to attack. The animal was Thane. “Don’t scare me like that. I thought you were a bear or something,” I said.
“And what would you have done if I was?” He fell into step beside me.
“Punched your lights out,” I answered.
He laughed. “I would have loved to see that.”
“Why are you coming back with me?” I asked. My question to myself was,why am I so happy that he is?
“I’ve had enough walking for today. I also didn’t think you should be walking back by yourself in case you met up with a bear or something,” he joked.
“Are you kidding me? Youactuallythink you could fend off a bear like some kind of hero?” I turned my head to look at him. Something inside me melted at the vision I had in my head of him overpowering a bear and saving my life.What the hell?I couldn’t think about Thane like that. It was… it was… wrong!
“Probably not, but I’d try.”
We walked the rest of the way in silence, enjoying the sunshine and fresh, brisk air. I was left with my thoughts of him being so close.Why did he come with me?It was rare that we weren’t bickering. It almost didn’t seem right, but I couldn’t think of anything to say.
When we got back, Thane said he had something to talk to me about.Is this why he came back with me? What could he possibly have to talk to me about? He’s just full of surprises today.
“Close your eyes,” Thane said.
I was reluctant but did it anyway. “You’d better not pull some kind of prank on me,” I warned him.
“Nope. Nothing like that.”
I reached my hand out and felt him place some papers in my fingers.What the hell?“What is this?”
“Open your eyes and find out,” Thane instructed.
I did. I looked at the papers in my hand, confused. “Explain.”
“Now, before you get all irate with me, hear me out. It’s no secret that we’re lusting after each other.”
I tried to speak, but he put his hand up. “Let me talk. We both know it wouldn’t be a good idea for us to date, what with our friends and my sister and all that. So, in your hands, you have a contract. For us to spend one night together, free and clear of all ties and emotional attachment.”
I stood there dumbfounded. “Thane, what are you talking about?” I had to clarify because it sounded to me like he thought we were having sex.
“It’s a contract between you and me, for one night of sex, no strings attached,” he explained.
