I laugh. “I beg to differ.”
“Anyway,” he growls, “we have dipped our toes in a few pools before settlin’ down with the retreat.”
“Did you like the idea of doing the retreat?”
He purses his lips. “At first, nah, not really. It seemed a bit feminine to me, but then when Rhett told me what he wanted to do with it longer term and why he was doin’ it, it actually made a bit of sense so I couldn’t help but agree with him. Been the best thing he’s done, got us out of doin’ some shitty things.”
“Like busting some caps in peoples’ asses?”
He glares at me.
I grin.
“It is pretty amazing what you two have done with the place. All of you, really. It’s going to change so many lives. I was skeptical about it, but now I’m so glad that I came. It has been the best thing I’ve done in a very long time.”
“What about it didn’t you want to do?” he asks.
“To be honest ...” I smile sheepishly. “I don’t do people. There’s something about that many people and team building activities that just makes me want to cringe. But, it turns out I actually didn’t mind it after all.”
“Well, you’ll be glad to know that when you’re back, we’re going on a four-day silence hike and camp.”
I blink. “I really hope by silence you mean the peaceful nature around us is so silent and beautiful that we feel compelled to enjoy it.”
He chuckles. “Don’t worry, it isn’t that kind of silence. It’s basically, no phones, no communication, nothing to help us. We’re going to hunt for our food and light our own fires, we’re going to go back to a time when people didn’t have all of the things we do. It’s an important lesson for everyone to learn, and it’s something we’re going to incorporate into all of our retreats.”
“I lost you when you said we’re going to hunt for our food. I do not hunt, and I do not kill innocent animals.”
“When you’re out there, and you’re using animals to eat, it’s different.”
“It is not different.”
“Didn’t see you havin’ an issue stuffing that steak in your mouth the other night.”
I gasp. “How dare you, that steak was from a shop.”
He bursts out laughing. “Where the fuck do you think they got it? From an imaginary cow?”
I glare at him. “I’m not stupid, I know where they got it from, but I didn’t have to see it, do it, or have any part in it.”
“What about fish?”
I frown. “I mean, I don’t mind that.”
“Then you can stick to the fishing part, we’ll do the rest. It’ll do you good, all of you. You ladies are running amok, and we’re goin’ to pull you back into line.”
“Wait, you’re doing this because we’re acting up?”
He stares at me. “Busted you skinny dipping drunk the other night, one bad move and you could have died. Today you got stung by wasps because you and your little posse decided to go off track. So yeah, we’re doin’ this because you’re actin’ up.”
“I suddenly feel like a scolded child.”
“Do you all good, life is more than drinking and going crazy.”
“Says the man who has never had children. These moms, they didn’t come here to hunt rabbits, they came here to get away from their 9-5 jobs and their mundane lives where they do the same thing over and over again.”
“Then they’ll be up for the adventure, and we’re not hunting rabbits.”
I purse my lips. “Well, I’m not excited about it.”
He grins. “You will be.”
“Care to tell me how?”
“Because while we’re up there, my blood runs hot. I love the fresh air and the feeling of having nothing around me but nature. It’s like a drug. And fuck, it makes me crazy with lust. I don’t suppose you want to see that?”
God dammit. An image of Enzo in a stream, shirtless, catching a fish makes everything inside of me ache for him, in a sort of primal way.
“I mean, I’m not going to say no.”
He grins. “Go to sleep, sweetheart. You’ve got a big few days.”
I huff. “Okay.”
He stands, leaning down and pressing a kiss to my forehead. It warms me, right to my very core. “Night.”
“Goodnight, Enzo.”
I close my eyes, sighing happily.
Yep. He’s growing on me alright.
10
“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” I mumble, shoving some basic essentials into a hiking backpack.
We were all given a list of what we can, and cannot, bring. Basically, we’re allowed some clothes, a toothbrush, a few essentials, and that’s it. They’ll have any medications and an emergency phone, and they’ll be providing the bedding, which apparently, if it isn’t raining, is under some big fucking tarp and not a tent, which I’m not really okay with.
Still, we’re going and that’s that apparently.
I pack an extra jacket just in case I need to wrap myself in it to protect myself from a bug invasion. Otherwise, I follow the stupid rules. Rhett told us how important it was for us to follow them exactly, because it would ensure we had the best experience and he wanted us to really feel it. Basically, we’re going back to the 1800’s and we’re going to live hard.