Free The New Wild by Holly Brasher Page B

in here!”
    I really want to . I just really don’t want you seeing me basically naked .
    “Jackie, it feels incredible .”
    “All right. Close your eyes,” I
resign.
    He rolls his eyes and turns to
face the stream, crossing his arms over a low boulder.
    I strip down to my ugly granny
panties and a black tank top. When I dip my foot in, Xander turns around and
looks me up and down.
    “ Hi ,” he says.
    “Hey,” I reply, wary.
    “Wow. I almost forgot you were a
girl.”
    I start to lower myself into the
water, wincing.
    “Xander, do you always say
whatever asinine thing you’re thinking?”
    “Uh, yeah?”
    “I thought so.”
    The water is hot. I slowly dip my
stomach in. When I catch Xander staring at my chest, I submerge completely, letting
the water lap at my neck. It feels better than any spa I’ve ever been to .
My whole body relaxes in an instant. All the muscles that held so much hurt now
feel like butter.
    “God,” I can’t help but say,
closing my eyes.
    “And you wanted to turn back.”
    “See smoke, flip shit: that’s my
motto.”
    Xander laughs.
    The sun is all but set now, the
sky cobalt blue. The firelight is casting weird reflections across the water.
Xander’s staring at me, his eyes scanning my whole body. It’s making me
uncomfortable.
    “What?” I say, staring back at
him.
    “Nothing,” he says, his eyes
looking down into the water. In the firelight, he looks like he’s glowing. His
skin glistens. Fireflies flicker in circles all around us.
    “What!” I press.
    “I just think you’re really… pretty ,
that’s all.”
    Suddenly, my head is spinning. The
same guy who has treated me like shit for weeks thinks I’m pretty? He’s waiting
for me to say something, to give him some compliment in return. I’m ambivalent.
I feel just like I did that day back at camp when his stares made my heart beat
faster, but they turned out to be a big joke. He caught me off guard, and I’m
totally frozen. I can’t bring myself to say anything. But Xander keeps staring
into my eyes. He shifts closer to me.
    “Jackie…” he murmurs, sidling up
to me. His legs feel slippery underwater. He leans in about as close as he can
get. His face so close to mine makes my lips tingle. I don’t know what to do. I’m
paralyzed. He has that droopy-eyed look guys get when they’re about to kiss
you. “Jackie, can I … ”
    “God, it is so hot in here
I think I’m gonna faint!” I blurt out, catapulting myself up onto a rock. Steam
rises off my body and dissipates in the air.
    I don’t want him kissing me. He’s
hot, but he’s still a dick, and it’ll make things weird. Plus, we haven’t
brushed our teeth in, I don’t know, a week or two? The second I get out of the
water, he turns away, his face curled tightly in despair.
    “Jesus, Jackie,” he says, his
voice all gravelly.
    “What?”
    “You wouldn’t want me if I was the
last guy on earth, would you?”
    I sigh. I don’t know what to say.
    “I mean, I practically am the last man on earth,” he continues, waving his arms around. The light hits
his muscles, giving them weighted sheen.
    “Well, that’s a risk I’m willing
to take, I guess,” I say finally and try to smile. “Hey, maybe that kid from
New York is my soul mate.”
    “Shit,” he says, under his breath
before lifting himself out of the spring and walking a few paces from where we
were sitting.
    I yell after him. “Please come
back. I didn’t mean to sound so harsh.” He doesn’t even turn around. I can see
his body move like a black shadow along the creek. He lies down at the water’s
edge a bit farther upstream. I make my way over toward the fire, lay my head
down, and look at the stars. We could get together some day. I can picture it.
He wouldn’t even have to be the last boy on Earth…but now’s not the time. We
have so far to go. Plus, we’re so stuck in survival mode, so focused on where
our next meal is going to come from—much less our next