Free Flicker by Melanie Hooyenga Page A

to stay on my feet.
    Haley stumbles beneath my sudden weight.
"Biz, what are you doing?"
    "What's going on?" Amelia's at my side.
    "She just collapsed."
    "Biz, how much did you drink?"
    I can't answer them. I can't move. They're
staring at me like I've grown a third head and I wish I could
explain that I'll be weightless in a second and then we can walk
back to our friends like nothing happened. But right now I can't
make my body respond.
    And like that the heaviness lifts and I'm
back on my feet. "Sorry. That beer really hit me." I slip an arm
through each of theirs and take a step towards the parking lot.
    "Are you sure you're okay?" Haley asks. "You
practically passed out."
    Amelia squeezes my arm. "She's fine. Nothing
another beer won't fix, right Biz?" She knows I don't drink much
and while I'm grateful she doesn't say anything more in front of
Haley, I know she's going to want an explanation.
    I force a laugh. "Exactly."
    We burst out of the woods, all laughter and
squeals. Haley doesn't realize we're faking, which means most of
the guys won't either. Cameron will know something's wrong the
second I sit down. That's just how he is.
    The three of us split off towards our guys.
I squat near Cameron. "I'm ready to go."
    "What the hell took you so long?" Kirk
asks.
    "Yeah," Joey laughs. "We were about to send
out a search party. We thought maybe you'd gotten kidnapped."
    While everyone laughs, Cameron stiffens next
to me.
    Yes, it's definitely time to go.
    "Joey!" Amelia yells as Jason punches him in
the arm.
    "What?"
    "Cam," Haley whispers loud enough that we
all hear.
    Cameron's breathing's grown shallow. He's
working his jaw, clenching and unclenching like he's ready to tear
Joey a new one.
    Joey's mouth drops open, late to the clue
bus once again. "Dude, sorry. I wasn't thinking about—"
    "Just drop it."
    "Shit, man."
    The uncomfortable silence amplifies every
sound from the forest. Crickets chirping, weird hoots, and a
freakishly loud branch snapping.
    Suddenly Haley laughs much louder than
necessary. "You guys, Biz totally passed out when Amelia was
peeing!"
    Cameron's head whips towards me, along with
everyone else's. "You did?"
    "Just for a second. It's no big deal." I
search out his eyes in the darkness. The guys snicker. "Can we
please just go?"
    "Yeah." He pulls me to my feet. "You guys
can hang on to the blanket, just make sure I get it back at
school."
    Trace holds out his hand and they do one of
those guy handshakes that only makes sense to them. "Sure thing.
Thanks."
    Amelia looks up at me, uncertainty and
excitement battling on her face. "Call me later."
    "I will." My hand lifts in a half-hearted
wave. "Bye guys. See you Monday."
    "Good luck, Cam," Travis calls out. "Looks
like you're gonna need it."
     
     

Chapter 12
     
     
     
    "What an ass." I stomp towards Cameron's
car, not caring if Travis can hear me. "He always has to say
something to ruin my night."
    Cameron unlocks the car but doesn't open the
door. Instead he wraps his arms around me and pulls me close
against his chest. "I wouldn't say it's ruined."
    My body responds and I relax into him.
"Okay, maybe ruined is too strong."
    "In fact, except for a couple dumbass
comments, I think this has been a pretty good night."
    Our kiss at the zoo plays through my mind.
"You have a point." I stand on my tiptoes and brush my lips against
his throat.
    He sighs softly, his breath warm on my face.
"See, Travis doesn't know what he's talking about. I'm already
lucky."
    My shoulders tense and I pull back. "Getting
a little ahead of yourself, aren't you?"
    He jerks his head, confused for a moment
before he realizes what I mean. "No! God, Biz, I didn't mean that."
His hands slide into my hair and he cradles my head. He brushes the
tip of his nose against mine. "I meant I'm already lucky because
you're here with me."
    If I wasn't close to melting earlier, I am
now. "Oh."
    Our lips meet and I pull him closer. He
traces my jaw with his thumb, sliding it lower down