The Wingman by A. Poland

Chapter Six

This was the end; Nathan was sure of it.

He was going to die.

He was suffocating, cold water filling his lungs.

This wasn’t how he’d wanted to go. Dying of old age like the couple in The Notebook had been the plan—and no matter what Lorcan said, he didn’t choke up during that scene.

There were so many things he hadn’t done yet. So many places he hadn’t been.

Hell, he’d only been outside California once, not including his solo adventure to Scotland, and even that was when he was five for a family wedding. He wasn’t sure if that counted, considering how little he remembered.

Point being, he wasn’t ready to die.

“Nathan, you okay?”

Thank fuck. Lorcan was saving him. He grabbed Nathan’s hand and hauled him up out of the stream, which was decidedly not as shallow as it once looked. Nathan gasped for air, frantically blinking the water out of his eyes, looking to his savior.

Who was decidedly not Lorcan.

Nathan narrowed his eyes at Miles, who stared at him with wide-eyed concern. Pulling his hand away from Miles’s secure grasp, Nathan ran it through his now-damp hair.

“Yep. Fine. Peachy.” Nathan’s voice was high, pinched.

“What the hell happened?” Lorcan asked from beside Jordie, both of them standing safely at the edge of the stream. “Did you decide to take a dip?”

Jordie fixed Nathan with a look that was impossible not to catch the meaning of. This had something to do with the plan; it had to have. You don’t throw someone into a body of water without some kind of reason.

Or maybe the reason was murder. Nathan hadn’t sussed Jordie out that well yet.

“I thought I saw a fish, leaned in a bit too close to look,” Nathan lied seamlessly, causing Lorcan to stare at him for a solid few seconds before erupting into a fit of laughter.

“I think it’s a bit too shallow for a fish…” Miles offered from Nathan’s left, still hovering as though he was afraid Nathan might take a nosedive back in.

“Yeah, no shit.” Nathan figured he should probably get out of the ankle-deep water. “Stop laughing and help me,” he groused at Lorcan, who chuckled a few more times before reaching out to pull Nathan back onto dry land.

Ten minutes later and they were on the trail again. Despite the sun beating down and the blanket now draped over Nathan’s shoulders (courtesy of Jordie), he shivered as he walked, unable to shake the icy embrace of the water.

Lorcan insisted they still had a lot of ground to cover before they reached a suitable campsite, so they didn’t have time to delay much longer.

Nathan buckled down and concentrated on walking, his boots squelching pitifully with each and every step. Miles had insisted on taking his bag, which definitely made hiking a hell of a lot easier, but it was also dismaying to see how little Miles struggled with both Nathan’s bag and his own.

Jordie walked ahead of everyone, blazing the trail, so there was no way Nathan could catch up to her and ask her what the hell that had been all about. If it had anything to do with the plan, it sure wasn’t proving itself fruitful.

Lorcan walked alongside Jordie, with Miles lingering back a few steps ahead of Nathan. If anything, the group was more fractured now.

The only outcome was that Nathan was wet, and there was another pebble in his shoe.

They trudged onward, only stopping when Lorcan took a moment to figure out the way to the campsite, which appeared like an impossible task because there was no clear path, and every direction seemed the same to Nathan.

But that was when he saw his chance.

With Lorcan and Miles distracted, huddled around a map and compass, Nathan plucked a small stick from the ground and threw it.

It successfully reached its target, hitting Jordie squarely between the shoulder blades. She made a satisfying grunting noise upon impact and immediately spun around to spot Nathan, who innocently waved at her with a shit-eating grin.

“Jordie, everything okay?” Miles asked, glancing up from Lorcan’s compass.

“Yep,” she bit out, eyes not leaving Nathan. “Just having a bit of a pest problem.”

Miles looked suitably confused, brows furrowed. He nodded slowly, seemingly deciding his sister knew what she was talking about, and dropped the subject.

Sure, the incident at the stream might not be any clearer to Nathan. But he settled in the knowledge that he’d achieved some kind of vengeance. Especially when he noticed a patch of dirt from the stick on the back of Jordie’s shirt for the rest of the hike.

Small victories.

It took longer to get to the campsite than planned because Lorcan neglected to factor in how slow Nathan might be on account of his questionable balance and general fear of anything small that moved.

Bugs, children, extremely tiny dogs. The list went on.

Nathan had been lucky on the bug front so far, but that might have been because of the can of bug spray he had at the ready, spritzing in any direction he heard a rustle or a buzz.

They ate granola bars in place of a longer break as they marched on through the forest, which seemed to grow thicker and thicker the farther they walked. Nathan couldn’t imagine finding somewhere with enough space to set up camp and wondered if Lorcan had somehow led them astray.

It wasn’t often that Nathan doubted his best friend, but there was a first time for everything.

Finally, just as the sun started to set, Lorcan let out a cry of triumph.

“Made it!” He was just through the trees ahead, and in fear of being left behind, Nathan picked up the pace to catch up.

“Oh…wow,” he heard Miles say in awe.

Even Jordie managed to whistle out an appreciative “Shit.”

What was it?

Eventually catching up, Nathan skidded to a halt beside Jordie.

“What—” Stunned, he couldn’t conclude his sentence.

Now he got why the entire hike had been uphill.

The campsite was perched on the edge of a ledge that looked out onto the entire expanse of the forest. And it was…definitely vast. So vast that Nathan couldn’t help but think of all the things that could be hiding there.

There were so many places to get lost. So many spots for things to hide.

Nathan took a subconscious step closer to Jordie.

“Right, time to set up camp,” Lorcan announced once he’d appreciated the view, clapping his hands together.

Spotting where Miles had left his bag, Nathan figured he should be able to put together a tent at the very least. He was pretty good at building things and figuring out puzzles. Both of those skills should translate to pitching a tent.

But as he picked up the damp tent in his hands, he turned to see Jordie swiftly advancing on him. Nathan managed to spot the glint of a knife in her hand before it was too late.

She was coming to finish the job.

“If this is for the stick thing—” Nathan quickly dropped the tent, ducking out of her way before she had the opportunity to take a stab at him.

“You’re ridiculous,” Jordie huffed hurriedly, tent in hand as she cut a sizable slit through the fabric. Then, she folded the pocketknife closed and lifted the tent up higher—displaying the hole.

“Nathan’s tent is torn,” she informed them, a frown on her face. “It must have gotten caught on a rock when he took that tumble.”

Oh.

Oh.

Okay, Jordie was good.

Nathan still didn’t regret throwing that stick at her.

“Ah, shit, Nate.” Lorcan sighed, and Nathan could hear the cogs in his brain going into overdrive. As though Miles’s sister wasn’t a big enough deterrent, somehow Lorcan still thought sharing a tent with Miles was in the cards.

“Sorry,” Nathan shrugged, not sorry in the slightest.

“You have a big tent don’t you, Lorcan?” Jordie asked, snapping her fingers as though it had just come to mind. Nathan had no doubt Jordie had sussed out the size of Lorcan’s tent before they’d even started walking.

His tent for sleeping in. Not his other… Nathan clenched his jaw. He needed to stop thinking about Lorcan’s dick.

“Oh yeah,” Lorcan replied, distracted.

“Perfect.” Jordie smiled as though everything had conveniently fallen into place. Which it definitely had, thanks to the puppet master. “Nathan can share with you.”

Lorcan didn’t look disappointed, no. He wasn’t that much of an ass. But he definitely didn’t look enthused about the concept of sharing a tent with Nathan even though they’d slept in the same bed plenty of times before.

Except this time, Nathan was definitely in the way of Lorcan getting some.

While Lorcan and Miles pitched the tents, Nathan volunteered to gather firewood with Jordie. It meant going back into the thick of the forest, but it was the only opportunity Nathan had to get the plan straight. Jordie couldn’t keep throwing curveballs, or Nathan was either going to mess them up or get hurt if he didn’t plan his landings.

Probably a mix of both.

“Okay, so you gave me and Lorcan some awkward cuddling time. Now what?” Nathan couldn’t help but sound a little bitter, remembering the expression on Lorcan’s face when he realized sharing with Miles was no longer on the cards. But what about tomorrow night? When Lorcan would likely suggest switching around and for Miles to sleep in with him?

“Now what?” Jordie parroted with a raised brow as she picked up some sticks and deposited them into Nathan’s waiting arms. “Now you’re going to seduce him.”

Nathan snorted. “No one uses the word seduce anymore. No one.”

“Maybe not the people in your social circles,” Jordie replied pointedly, inspecting a rotten-looking twig before tossing it away. “You’re going to be in close proximity to him for eight-ish hours, so take off your clothes and get busy. It’s not that hard.”

Jordie spoke as though seduction was easy, a universally known skill.

“Eh, no. It is that hard.” Nathan was quick to correct her, briefly tripping over his own feet as they walked on a little farther. Nathan’s whole thing was being friendly, approachable. Not charming and flirty. “I’m great at making other people sound seductive. But me? Not a seductive bone in this body.”

“I thought you said no one uses the word seduce?”

“I said seductive; there’s a difference,” Nathan huffed.

“Listen, I can only make the opportunities. I can’t suddenly make you attractive to Lorcan. You have to do that yourself,” Jordie told Nathan sagely, and he had to admit she had a point. He wished she could just snap her fingers and make it happen, but even Jordie wasn’t that powerful and all-knowing.

Nathan had to own this part himself.