cigarette ends | ✎

xxii.

We all looked back at Lacey, who was now fiddling with her towel. "Too recently," she muttered.

But the way she said it wasn't in a joking manner. She seemed ashamed.

Was she being forced to send someone nudes?

I laid a consoling arm on Lacey's shoulder, and she gave me a weak smile before blinking rapidly and sitting taller. "Whatever. Callum, truth or dare?"

He thought for a moment, long enough to make us laugh. "Truth."

"Do you like loud or quiet people in bed?"

"Loud, one hundred percent." Callum leaned his back against a tree, folding his arms behind his head. "Guys and girls both."

"Cheers." Lacey, Aurora and I both rose our glasses and took a drink.

Then I felt a breath near my ear, a body leaning close to mine. A shiver went through my body.

"You like when they're loud, hm?" Augustus whispered, a smirk evident in his hushed tone. "Do you like to scream, Emilia?" 

I looked over at him, not pulling away even though we were almost nose to nose. "Maybe. I guess you'll never know."

The smirk twisted into something dark. "Or maybe I will."

I glanced at his lips – a quick, fleeting second – but he noticed. Similarly to how I noticed how his eyes traced my mouth, as if committing the lines of it to memory.

"I wonder... are you quiet in bed?" I bit my lip after asking the question, trying not to smile.

His answering grin was an answer in itself. He tracked my tongue as it darted out to wet my lips, then glanced back up at my eyes again. "I guess you'll never know."

"What if I want to know?" I breathed, the words slipping from my mouth before I had a chance to stop them.

His eyes darkened, and I pulled the towel tighter around me. "Then you'll have to find out."

✦✧✦✧ 

We played for another hour or so before we decided to head back. After all, even though we had today off, we still had to wake up early tomorrow to continue the competition.

We put out the fire and grabbed all of our belongings (along with Callum's stash of tequila) and walked back to the hotel.

And despite it being pitch dark and probably the middle of the night, I felt safe. I felt safe around these five people, and in that moment, I didn't know what I would do without them.

Augustus and I said our goodbyes to everyone once we made it onto the elevator. The girl at the front desk gave him a once-over when she saw that he wasn't wearing a shirt, but then ducked back under her desk when she saw that I was the one wearing it. I almost laughed.

Augustus slid us into our room with his key card and we stumbled in, recalling the events of the night.

"Do you remember when Callum mentioned how his boss walked in on him fucking his employee and then Rohan shot tequila straight out of his nose?" I said, practically doubling over in laughter.

Augustus joined me, and we both collapsed into bed. I still avoided sleeping in the "spider-bed". He never brought it up again, and neither did I. It was unspoken between us, but we almost preferred sleeping with each other.

We both got ready quickly before slipping into bed. I took a sip of water, then handed the bottle to Augustus.

He glanced at me skeptically. "No, August, I didn't poison it."