Wild Like Us

by Krista Ritchie

  The Thai omelet heavies my chest. Reminding me of my mom in New York. When I was a kid, it was pretty much the only thing she knew how to cook well.

  I glance at a text from this morning.

  I’m doing better, Nine. No need to worry about me. Have fun in Yellowstone. Love, Mom – Mom

  I reread I’m doing better, Nine a few more times before I put my phone up again.

  Shit.

  Shit.

  “Team Apex is Oscar Mike,” Banks says after I already see the campers on the move. They snuff out their fire and all pile into their pristine, brand-new looking Jeep Wrangler that makes Booger look like a bigger junker than she is.

  I click my mic. “Akara to Thatcher, Team Apex is heading down the road towards you. Keep me posted if they stop at the RV camp.”

  A second later, Thatcher says, “Roger copy.”

  As soon as his voice is gone, the only noise comes from the crackling fire. It’s oddly quiet. Team Apex has been around every night this week. This is the first time it’s felt private since we left our other campsite.

  Finished eating, we let the fire die out. Banks unzips the tent and crawls in first, Sulli is close behind.

  “Oh fuck,” Sulli curses.

  “Akara. Out,” Banks says quickly. Instinctively, I grab Sulli around the waist and pull her out of the tent.

  “I’m fine, Kits,” Sulli says, but she’s breathing heavily. “Banks, get out of there!”

  Banks still hasn’t left the tent and now I’m worried about him. He’s one of my men. His wellbeing matters to me. But I also know it’s more than that.

  “Banks! Leave the fucking tent!” I yell, and to Sulli, I ask, “What’s going on?”

  29

  SULLIVAN MEADOWS

  “Snakes,” I breathe hard, adrenaline spiked. “There are fucking snakes in there, Kits.”

  I know what I saw. At least three-dozen snakes are slithering underneath and around our sleeping bags inside the tent.

  It has to be a practical joke.

  I wish I got a better look to distinguish the exact type of snakes. Venomous or not, some fucking creep crept into our tent and placed them there. They couldn’t have just fallen from the sky. We’ve been here for a whole week, and I haven’t seen a single snake.

  “Banks!” Akara yells again. “Get your ass out here. Now!”

  Fuck, Kits sounds mad. Maybe even worried. I doubt he wants to mess around with fate after it literally bit him. His elbow is still bandaged, and his stitches are coming out tomorrow morning. Banks and I even conspired to buy him a surprise celebratory lunch. Which involved asking Jane and Thatcher to pick up a BLT at the diner in town.

  My pulse races the longer Banks disobeys Akara’s direct order. I’m definitely worried for Banks. Snake bites are nothing to fucking fool around with.

  Akara drops his hands off my waist. He’s about to rush to the tent when Banks ducks his head and steps outside the flaps.

  In a tight fist, Banks grips five snakes by their necks. Their bodies writhe in the air. “They’re just garter snakes.”

  I have my fingers to my temples, stunned. “What in the ever-loving fuck—you look like Baby Hercules.” Okay, I’m a lot impressed.

  Banks’ brows cinch like he has no clue what I’m talking about. I don’t have time to explain the Disney movie Hercules to him.

  Akara is fuming as he approaches Banks. “I don’t fucking care if there are koala bears in there. I told you to get out here.”

  “And now I’m out here,” Banks says, eyes softened on his friend. “Akara—”

  “I’m making the calls when we take risks,” Akara snaps, his nose flaring. “You could have assessed the situation from outside the tent. No one was in there to save. If you came in contact with a single poisonous snake, Banks, you’d be dead. Think of Thatcher.”

  “He has Jane,” Banks retorts. “He’ll be okay without me.”

  Akara shakes his head like that’s so far from the truth. “No one can ever fill that void you’ll leave behind, and I know you know it. And if you won’t think of him, then think of Sulli before you pull that reckless shit.” He points to me.

  My lungs collapse as my eyes meet the pain in Banks’. I see the words before he says them, “She has you, Akara.” He turns to his friend. “When I’m gone, you’ll hardly notice a difference.”

  “That’s such bullshit,” I cut in, my voice almost quaking with emotion. My heart is slamming against my body. Like it’s trying to take flight and fling itself in his face. “I care about you, Banks.” I don’t forget that Akara is here.

  I don’t forget that these words might hurt him.

  But Akara was the one to pull me into the picture, so maybe he knew Banks needed this moment, my words, my truth, my feelings out loud—even if it’d hurt him in the process.

  I come closer. “I don’t want to see you in pain. I don’t want to see you fucking die! You mean something more to me—if you didn’t, then why is the idea of never having you so fucking agonizing?”

  His eyes redden. We both breathe harder, staring at one another, and then I brave a glance at Akara. He has a hand over his face. Distressed.

  “Kits, I…” I pant like I’m running the longest marathon of my life. “…you know that choosing wouldn’t be this hard if I didn’t have feelings for you, too.”

  He drops his hand, nodding. His eyes are bloodshot like Banks’. His gaze is gentle on me. “I know, Sul.”

  Glancing back to Banks, I exhale, “Can you please drop those fucking snakes, Hercules? I can’t take you seriously holding them.”

  He walks off to the woods to toss the snakes on the ground. The air lightens a fraction by my words, but an emotional string is still tethered between the three of us.

  “Upside,” Banks says as he returns. “I’m not actually six-feet under yet.”

  “Congratulations,” Akara says. “You’ve beaten death twice since we’ve been out here. Don’t test it a third time.”

  He cracks a shadow of a smile. “Yes, sir.”

  Akara glares. “I change my mind—Sulli, throw him in the snake pit.”

  Banks and I laugh, and Akara ends up smiling. He shakes his head, then fixates on the flaps of the tent.

  I ask Banks, “How do you know they’re all garter snakes?”

  “You can thank Akara for that.” Banks nods to him.

  “What do you mean?” I turn to Akara. But he doesn’t reply. He’s even more laser-focused on the tent, walking around the perimeter in search of something.

  Banks watches Akara for a second, then answers, “Akara’s rulebook for Kitsuwon Securities. I think Chapter Twenty-Nine covered snakes and spiders.”

  I’ve heard about the monstrously huge rulebook. A doorstopper. But I didn’t know he included sections on animal safety. Sounds like something Akara would do.

  When it comes to his businesses, Akara goes above and beyond. I saw his drive and determination back when I was only sixteen—when he was first on my detail. He never let his phone die. Always had a charger, even found ways to access Wi-Fi in remote areas of Costa Rica—he wouldn’t let a good time thieve his passions and responsibilities.

  And I know I was young, but he was still young too. Young to own a business all by himself. Young to be a lead on the Tri-Force. Young to create a security firm. He’s never let age or time or shitty cell service stop him from chasing triumph and success.

  I understand what it’s like running so hard after something that everything else falls to the wayside. So much of my early life, I sacrificed for swimming. And it’s only since I retired that I have time to give to all the experiences I neglected.

  I admire Kits because he’s never been so focused that he loses sight of his other loves. His other desires. He juggles so much so well, he could join Aerial Ethereal’s circus shows in Vegas.

  And the rulebook—I wonder what else is inside. So I fucking go for it and ask, “When can I see this rulebook?”

  Akara roun
ds the tent to the front, overhearing me. “When you become a bodyguard.”

  I huff. “So never.”

  He smiles at me, then tells Banks, “Let’s clear the snakes and pull everything from the tent. I have to figure out how they put them in here.”

  My stomach curdles. I figured someone intentionally placed them in the tent, but hearing Akara confirm the presence of creeps creeping over our things is disturbing.

  While I near the tent’s entryway, I tell them, “I can help.” A gray snake with long yellow stripes lies motionless at the zippered flaps. Oh fuck…

  My stomach sinks.

  I recognize this snake. I stepped on it before Akara pulled me out of the tent.

  “Sulli?” Akara frowns.

  “I squished it to death,” I breathe softly. “What are the fucking odds?”

  “Damn high,” Banks says gruffly as he wrangles a couple more snakes in his hands. “I think there are close to four-dozen in here.”

  My estimation was a whole dozen off—and how the fuck did they even find four dozen snakes?! This was premeditated. I burn up. Pissed off that some jackasses infiltrated the place where I sleep for a prank.

  So funny.

  So cute.

  So fucking hilarious. Let’s frighten little ole Sullivan Minnie Meadows and hear her scream.

  Not happening. If this was supposed to scare me away from the camp, it’s doing the opposite. I’m going to build a fortress here and never leave.

  Take that, assholes.

  I carry the dead snake to the woods and lay its carcass down next to a rock. Carcass. Fuck, can I have any worse tact? What else am I supposed to call its dead body though?

  A dead body, Sulli.

  Right.

  I’m gentle with the dead body—the snake’s dead body. At our campsite, it takes some time for all of us to empty the tent of snakes and our gear.

  By the time we find the slit in the back of the tent, I realize the reason Team Apex left the camp. They didn’t want to be around when my bodyguards realized they pulled this prank.

  “We should sleep in the Jeep tonight,” Akara tells me as I duct tape the hole.

  “They’re not here.” I squat, ripping tape with my teeth. “I don’t want to run away from a stupid joke.” How much I want to stand my ground—I’m kind of surprising myself. Normally, I’d remove myself from situations that involve pranksters, but I’d rather stay and risk a confrontation.

  Patting tape to the hole, I add, “And if they wanted to hurt me, Kits, they would have put rattlesnakes in the tent.”

  Banks pipes in, “I don’t think they’re comin’ back for the night.” His South Philly lilt sounds thicker. “They seemed like fuckbags, but not idiots. Best guess: they’ll return when they know we’ll be hiking to the rock face.”

  “And,” I say to Akara as I stand up, “your elbow shouldn’t be cramped up in Booger all night. You’ll break your sti—”

  He covers my mouth with his hand. “And that was the last time you’re allowed to baby me over stitches.”

  I smile underneath his palm, and then he drops his hand to flick my hair at my face. “Okay, string bean. We’ll sleep in the tent.” He looks to Banks. “But we take shifts.”

  “I’m good with that,” Banks says.

  But I don’t love that they’ll get half the amount of sleep as me. I don’t argue with them. Their job is to protect me. Hindering their ability to do their job, telling them what to do—yeah, I’m not going to do that. At least, I’m going to try not to.

  Thankfully for them, I’m not that bossy.

  Piling into the tent together, the three of us take our respective spots.

  Me in the middle.

  Banks on the left. Akara on the right.

  All week, we’ve kept our hands and lips to ourselves. Stayed put in our own sleeping bags. But with Team Apex gone and the “tents only” campgrounds empty except us, privacy has returned.

  My heartbeat thumps harder as I sit cross-legged on top of my sleeping bag and dig through my backpack. Akara scrolls through his phone, and Banks texts on his. We’re all quiet, but none of us make a move to sleep.

  I actually don’t know what the fuck I’m looking for in my backpack. I’m just stalling. Wanting this night to last longer. Sleep sounds like an enemy.

  Finding a pack of colorful string, I pull out the turquoise, blue-jean blue, and apple-red thread. Might as well make a friendship bracelet. While I knot the three strings together, I’m attuned to how close Akara and Banks are.

  Silence eats at me, and I just break it. “So it was a one-time thing, huh?” I ask. Akara and Banks blink up from their cells, and I just keep going. “The night we hooked up—or whatever the fuck you want to call it. It’s not happening again. Not that I don’t want it to or want to force you both to do something you wouldn’t want.” Oh God, Sulli! Spit it out. “Yeah, I just wanted clarification. That’s fucking all.”

  Akara sets his phone aside, the screen flashing to black. “Do you want it to happen again?”

  “It’s not just about what I want,” I refute and glance between them. Banks keeps looking to Akara, but I can’t read their expressions. “And I’m really fucking concerned about hurting one of you in the end.”

  Banks lifts a shoulder. “Hell, for one of us this time in Yellowstone is all we’re going to get with you. So I know I’m going to enjoy it while I can.”

  He doesn’t appease my concerns about hurting one of them. Because we all know I will.

  Letting go of the unfinished bracelet, I pull my legs to my chest and rest my chin on my kneecaps. “Theoretically, you two could just choose each other. Toss me off to the side, and then this ends a different fucking way. You know?”

  They both start shaking their heads.

  Akara rubs his knuckles. “I don’t even want to think about this trip ending. Going back to Philly sounds like a nightmare right now. I have responsibilities there that don’t burn my energy while I’m here.” He takes a sharp breath. “And once were back home, I’m not one-hundred on how often I can be on your detail, Sul. Not like I am here. So this time has been priceless to me.”

  I knew for Akara to have it all, he couldn’t be with me 24/7. That’s the thing about juggling, you catch a lot of clubs, but at some point, every club is tossed in the air before you can hold it again. Creating Kitsuwon Securities added another club to his life.

  It’s always hard hearing him confirm, out loud, that he has to take time away from being my bodyguard. I want him to have it all, but the selfish parts of me wish I could have him all too.

  Banks bobs his head up and down. “This is probably the most time I’ve got with you, too. I’m not taking it for granted.”

  Time with me.

  I didn’t realize how precious they really thought it was. My heart swells. Lifting me up for an enduring second. While I pick at my knotted ankle bracelet, I try hard to contain a smile. “I feel the same,” I say softly. “Having time with both of you has been pretty fucking sweet.”

  It’s special to be able to experience some firsts without the pressure of the media. Without worrying about stepping outside onto a street with paparazzi. Out here, I feel free and untamed. Able to be the most me I can be. And maybe I wouldn’t be so comfortable if it weren’t for Akara and Banks.

  It’s what I always wanted.

  Yearned for.

  That kind of comfort from a guy that could ease me into experiencing new things. I just never thought I’d be this comfortable with two guys. And after the cougar attack, there’s nothing more I want than to return to that feeling that night.

  The warmth.

  The warmth.

  It was nothing like I’d ever felt before. Feeling protected from the inside out.

  “That clarify things for you?” Banks asks me.

  “Sort of,” I breathe. “You both are enjoying spending time with me, like I am with you. But does that mean we should do more than kiss again?”

  �
�I want to,” Banks says.

  Akara quickly adds, “I do, too.”

  “Even if we’re all in the same tent? Like last time?”

  They exchange one look, like they’re asking each other silently if they’re cool with it, then they focus on me and nod. I couldn’t tell whether they have experience being intimate with multiple people at once before, but with that look, I’m guessing being together isn’t the norm.

  So out loud, I ask, “Have you two been in the same room during a finger-fuck or some cock-in-pussy action before?”

  Banks laughs, “No.”

  “Except for last time with you,” Akara clarifies.

  Interesting.

  It eases me a little. My exploration doesn’t feel like a solo journey. We’re on this great, vast voyage together, and we all begin to smile because we’re seeing where it’ll take us.

  Out here in the woods, there are no restrictions or boundaries or boxes we need to jump in.

  We’re free to just be.

  So I forget about back home and the final rose. It’s just right now in the present moment with them.

  Akara sweeps me for a second. “We’re just waiting for you, Sul. We’re not going to push you or quicken your pace.”

  I laugh at that. “Kits, you know my pace is far faster than yours.”

  He scoots closer to me. So does Banks. My pulse thumps harder.

  Akara slides his fingers over my ankle bracelet. His feather-light touch sends a shiver across my skin. “You can outpace both of us on foot, sure. But that’s not the kind of pace I’m talking about.”

  That was…hot.

  Heat envelops around me. Warmth—I want to reach out for it. It’s swimming in the air, but it’s not in me yet.

  Banks skates a finger over my other ankle. His touch is just as frustratingly light as Akara’s. “It’s important that you set this pace, Sulli. We’re more experienced than you.” He pauses, then adds, “And if you wanna talk about it before we do anything—we can. It’s not something that has to be jumped into without a conversation.”

  Akara nods. “Communication is important.”