"Shaun's here, Bear's not. Well? What did you talk about?"
I finished rinsing my hands, but since there wasn't a hand towel in the bathroom either, I had to dry them on my jeans again. "oh, you know. Typical stuff. Mostly we talked about our backpacking trip."
Korbie looked relieved. "That's it? Just the backpacking trip? You didn't try to flirt with him?"
"And what if I did?" I said defensively. "I have dibs."
"You have Bear."
"Bear and I are going to different colleges in the fall."
"So?"
"So we aren't forever. What's the point of being completely loyal when I know our relationship is going to end? And I don't really appreciate your self-righteous attitude. You and Calvin were hardly the exemplary couple."
I turned, backing myself against the countertop to face her head on. "What are you talking about?"
"He kissed Rachel. At my pool party last summer." I gasped. "Rachel Snauely?"
Korbie raised her brows superiorly. "Nobody's perfect, Britt. Get over it."
The idea of Calvin kissing Rachel made me squeeze the ledge of the counter hard between my fingers. Calvin and I had started dating in April, a year ago. Korbie's pool party had been in July. I'd been faithfully devoted to Cal until he broke up with me in October, but obviously he hadn't returned the gesture. Was Rachel a onetime slip-up? Or had he cheated on me even earlier? And what about Rachel? How had she justified going behind my back?
”And it just now occurred to you that I might want to know?"
"You need a reality check. We have the rest of our lives to be committed. Right now, life is about having fun."
Is that what Calvin told himself while kissing Rachel? That having fun overrode his commitment to me? And how had Rachel justified her actions? I couldn't wait to ask her. Scratch my earlier plans. There was no way I was hooking up with Calvin over spring break.
"Dinner's ready!" Shaun hollered from the kitchen.
Korbie grabbed my sleeve before I could march out of the bathroom. "I have dibs,” she repeated more firmly.
I glanced down at where her fingers curled tightly into my shirt. "You only want him because I do,” she went on, irrationally angry. "You always want what I have. And it's tiring. Stop being so fake. Stop trying to be me."
Her words burned, but not because they were true. I hated when she turned on me like this. At these moments, our relationship seemed so dysfunctional, I questioned why we even stayed friends. I almost brought up the secret list in her diary-almost asked, if I was trying so hard to be her, why was she taking note of every little thing I did, said, and had, and making sure to top it? But doing so would mean admitting I'd looked in her diary, and I had more pride than that. plus, if I revealed I knew her secret, she'd make sure I never got a chance to look in her diary again, and I wasn't going to forfeit that opportunity just yet.
I pulled on a patient smile, knowing it would infuriate her. She wanted to drag me into a fight so I'd spend the night sulking, and I wasn't going to lose this game. I was going to flirt my ass off with Shaun. "I think we should go to dinner; the boys are waiting,” I said in a light, unruffied tone. I left the bathroom ahead of Korbie.
Before I reached the kitchen, I heard Shaun and Mason arguing in low, tense voices.
"What were you thinking? Are you even thinking?" Mason demanded.
"I've got everything under control."
"Under control? Are you serious? Take a look around, man.”
”I'm gonna get us off this mountain. We're fine. I've got this.”
”No one wants off this mountain more than me,” Mason hissed.
Shaun chuckled. "You're stuck with me, buddy. Damn unlucky weather. What cha gonna do?"
I frowned, wondering what exactly they were arguing over, but neither one said more on the subject.
Mason didn't join us for dinner. He retreated to the far side of the kitchen, propping one shoulder on the window frame and shifting his steely gaze between the three of us. He looked almost as morose as the stuffed buck head hanging over the mantle in the den. Every few minutes he raked his hand through his short hair, or rubbed the back of his neck, but otherwise he kept his hands shoved deep inside his pockets. Shadows pooled in the hollows of his eyes, but I couldn't decide if they were from fatigue or worry, or if he needed sleep. I didn't know why he was so upset, or why he didn't like having Korbie and me in the cabin, but it was clear he wanted us gone. If Shaun weren't here, he'd probably boot us out. Right into the storm. At that moment, he looked up and found me staring at him.
He gave a subtle shake of his head. I didn't know what it meant. If he had something to tell me, why didn't he come right out and say it?
"Hungry, Ace?"Shaun asked him. Shaun placed bowls, spoons, and napkins on the table, then began opening cabinet doors and drawers at random. It struck me as odd that he didn't know his way around his own kitchen. Then again, my brother, Ian, was always hunting for kitchen utensils, and we'd lived in the same house our whole lives. At last Shaun found what he was looking for: He pulled a trivet from the drawer beside the oven and laid it at the center of the table.
Mason, who'd been peering out the window into the darkness, dropped the curtain. "No."
"More for us,” Korbie said. I could tell she didn't like Mason. I didn't blame her. He'd hardly said anything, and his expression when he had one-fell somewhere between sullen and menacing.
"Still snowing?" Shaun asked him. "Heavily."
"Well, it can't go on forever."
Shaun ladled chili into three bowls, and the moment he sat down, Korbie plopped herself in the chair next to him. "So,” she said to Shaun. "What are you boys doing up here? You never told us."
"Skiing."
"The whole week?" "That's the plan."
"But you didn't bring any food. I looked in the fridge. It's empty. Not even milk."
Shaun shoveled a spoonful of chili into his mouth. He grimaced. "This is the worst chili I've ever had. Tastes like rust."
Korbie took a bite and made a face. "No, it tastes like sand. It's gritty. Did you check when the cans expired?"
Shaun gave an aggravated snort. "Beggars can't be choosers."
She pushed the bowl away. "Well, I'd rather starve than eat that.”
”It can't be that bad,” Mason said, and we all looked up. Mason's eyes flickered warily between Shaun and Korbie, like he anticipated something bad was about to happen.