The Forbidden Fruit | ꪜ

The Forbidden Fruit | 10

My lips parted in shock as I listened to the amused and deep chuckles resonating from everyone's lips around me. She slumped down onto the seat, cupped her hands over her mouth and sobbed. Tyler lowered himself down nonchalantly, his eyes finding mine for a split second before he averted them. "What did you say to her?" Aaron asked, flabbergasted as much as we all were.

Tyler cleared his throat and shrugged. He then let out a soft chuckle, his lips pulling into a smirk as he shook his head. "I know a lot, that's all." He exclaimed. I snapped my eyes towards Erika who shrugged and mouthed that it worked before she turned her attention to the seat before her. I swallowed the bile in my throat, the thought of her words seeping back into my mind.

I could not deny the fact that what she said was true. I'm not worth a lot of things, and I certainly do not deserve Tyler's defensiveness. I let out a shaky breath and averted my gaze towards the window, watching as the trees zoomed by, not giving me a simply second to gaze at its beauty.

Suddenly, still trapped in my thoughts, I felt it; his fingers wove through mine, a soft squeeze and then a comforting smile. 

~~~

After the two-hour ride to our destination, we finally arrived. Tyler still had not spoken to me in the duration of our ride, but he kept his hands tightly intertwined with mine, never breaking free. I got to know the guys, found out that they've been friends with Tyler for two years so far. Max was as charming as he appeared, he had a way with his words, the kind of guy to make you fall at his feet, a bit differently than Tyler's approach, with him it seemed genuine, with Tyler it seemed like he only does it for fun.

Aaron who I still referred to as blondie was certainly ten times more charming than Max was. It felt like we've been friends for years when we've only just began to know each other. From the moment I saw him, I knew there was something special. He was funny, not illiterate funny like Ace, but the type of funny that would make your cheeks hurt to the point they feel like it'll fall off.

It seemed like we'd be great friends.

"Can I have everyone's attention! We have arrived safely, thank god. When we get off our first priority is to find a secluded, clean and safe spot to build our tents, when that is done everyone will have lunch where I will inform you of the details of this trip."

"Oh, do boys and girls get to be in the same tent!?" Ace chirped loudly as he wiggled his eyebrows towards Erika who gagged. "Perv." Max snorted, slapping Ace upside the head to which he glowered in response and hissed in pain.

"Absolutely not, that is a ridiculous question. Boys with boys, girls with girls. Anyone seen in the tent of the opposite gender past ten will get kicked out of this class and will fail this course. This is not high school, you are adults and we won't be lenient with you. So trust me, I think you guys would need to cool it down on the hormones for the weekend before you fail college."

"Okay, ground rules." She began to list all the rules, but my mind drifted off as I stared outside.

We were in the woods alright. Trees touched the sky in every direction in which I looked, they swayed, left and right, softly, smoothly, it was peaceful. Definitely a place where I would just love to lay down and stare up at the blue sky's reminiscing over my life.

"And finally, do not and I repeat, do not stay in the lake past eight. It is prohibited, anyone who is injured is our responsibility. And also I know what you new generation of adults are up to these days, I do not want to be the cause of impregnated new adults, thank you very much."

I lowered my eyes towards Tyler's hands and slowly slid my fingers away from his. I peered up, his eyes interlocked with mine. I couldn't read his emotions at the moment and I surely didn't miss the way his eyes flickered to my lips before he cleared his throat and recoiled backwards as if I were his worst nightmare.

"Everyone I would like you to follow Mr Ramirez. He will be our tour guide and will ensure our safety for the weekend."

I listened closely to the birds serenading mother nature. The warm crisp breeze swept my hair over my face, tickling my cheeks annoyingly as I fought to tuck it behind my hair. A hand suddenly pressed against my lower back and I expected it to be Tyler, but it was only Ace smirking towards me mischievously.

"So. . ."

"No."

"Okay." He pouted, shifting away from me and towards Erika who shook her head vigorously. I giggled softly, outstretching my hands towards his. He stared down at them in excitement before interlocking his with mine and pulling me to his side. We all turned our attention towards Mrs Grot who motioned towards our surrounding, a mischievous smirk on her face.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the wild."