EMILY
I race down the hall and into my room.
I slam the door behind me and lean against it, trembling.
This has been my room at the cabin since I was a little girl. It has two twin beds and a pullout couch. When all my cousins are here at Christmastime, we bunk in together. This weekend, it was just supposed to be mine, and my stuff is spread out on the second twin bed.
I can hear them down the hall, arguing. Oh God, if my parents ever hear about this—if anyone ever hears about this—I…
I don’t know. I’ve completely stepped over a line, though. They are guests in this house, and I got carried away with the flirting. I’m totally going to get in trouble for taking advantage of the fact that I am the closest family member to this cabin.
There’s no way this ends well. The thought repeats on panic mode in my head, and I pace away from the door, peeling off my bathing suit. Clean, dry clothes might help. I pull on a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants.
They don’t really help, but at least they’re dry. I grab a hair elastic and push my hair up into a bun, then crawl under the blankets to warm up.
There’s a knock at the door. “Emily, can we come in? Can we talk?”
That’s Heath.
Then Wyatt’s voice. “Emily, you didn’t do anything wrong. You have nothing to apologize for.”
But if I weren’t here, if I hadn’t said that… Can I see it? Who says something like that?
A shiver races through me. Again, they knock.
“Go away,” I say, my voice unsteady.
“Oh, we can’t do that.” That’s Heath again, and there’s something about his voice. The confidence, that bossy calm. It reaches through the door and wraps around me. “I’m going to open the door now.”
He says it as a statement, like he’s not asking anymore. Maybe like he knows this is what I need. How can he know what I need? When I don’t even know myself?
The doorknob turns, and despite my worry, my attention is locked on the gap revealed as the door swings open.
They have matching looks of concern on their faces as they glance into the room, first looking at me, then taking in the dated 1970s decor.
“Most people don’t use this room, so it’s— This is just my room. And my cousins’, I guess.” I’m stammering, embarrassed for no good reason. But compared to the renovated rooms they are staying in, this one has a very retro, throwback feel to it. I usually love it, but now I’m seeing the fake wood paneling and orange quilts through their eyes. Maybe also because it reminds me of my childhood, and right now, I feel very small and childish.
Heath eases in past Wyatt, who takes up the entire doorway, and takes a seat on the couch. “How long has this cabin been in your family?”
He’s making himself small and nonthreatening, I realize, by sitting across the room from me. I read about that in a book. Maybe he’s the good cop. Wyatt’s still glowering in the doorway.
“My grandparents lived here when they first got married. When they had kids, they moved to Conception Ridge.”
“So, you’re local,” Heath says. “But you live in the dorms?”
We’re not going to talk about how I asked to see his erection? Which he’s now covered up, I realize. With real clothes. Like me, he pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. Wyatt’s still shirtless, but he changed into a pair of workout shorts.
“I…” I swallow hard. “Yeah. I mean, no. My grandparents are gone, and their kids all moved to big cities. I picked Ridge College because I love this area. We come here for the holidays, but that’s it. I grew up in Seattle, and that’s where my family lives.”
“Will you be going back there when you graduate?”
I blink in surprise. “To Seattle? No, I don’t think so. I love Conception Ridge. There are a couple of biotech firms I’ve done co-op placements with, and when I finish my summer lab, my plan is to apply for a job with them.”
Wyatt’s scowl lifts. “Really? That’s awesome.”
Heath’s reaction is harder to read.
I want to crawl into his lap and smooth out the furrow between his eyebrows with my fingertips. Kiss his frowning mouth until he tells me why it matters where I go after graduation.