Exes and Oh's: Part 5

MARLEY

"What do you mean she ran off?! That woman will die out here!" I started yelling at Danny as he finished explaining what happened with Serena and I would've strangled him had Freddy not gotten in between us and stopped me from killing him. His hands were at my shoulders and the warm and subtle electricity in my body slowly stirred awake. It'd been years since his touch made me feel this way and I stepped away from him almost immediately. He looked offended and it hadn't been my intention but he had to have known this was a bad idea. We always started out good and ended worse.

"She couldn't have gotten far. Let's just look for some footprints in the mud and follow them. We'll find her," Michael reassured the group, while Danny rubbed his neck and gave him a short nod. Guilt had washed over his face as he was recalling what had happened with him and Serena before she took off and I realized I had to make it my mission to keep those two apart until we managed to solve this mystery.

Three hours had passed before we all met up at the park reservation miles away from the cabin. We were all exhausted and hungry and defeated. None of us could stop bickering long enough to think straight. So we decided to stay behind and let the rangers do their job and head out into the woods without us. We'd be no good to anyone in this state and we needed to refuel.

The small cafeteria area at the ranger station was deserted and had one vending machine and I reached into my pockets for some loose change. I managed to score a couple of bags of chips and handed them over to each of the guys. Danny, the one with the biggest appetite out of us all couldn't eat. He merely stared blankly out into the open country as he sat separately from the others.

I remembered the first time I met him. He was sitting next to me in history class, completely disinterested in the subject and I couldn't imagine why anyone could be bored listening to someone talk about the stupid mistakes humankind has made since the beginning of time. I had dropped a pencil on the floor when the dismissal bell rang and he had picked it up for me. He had noticed my favorite soccer team's logo on my binder and we immediately hit it off. I found out not too long after that he lived a couple of houses down from me and we decided to hang out more.

I'd been having a hard time with another close friend of mine at the time and he was a good listener despite his rebellious nature. He'd given me his shoulder to cry on and I fed him. It was the perfect friendship. But something made it all change. We both started dating around. Getting caught up in relationship drama and spent less and less time hanging out. Do I regret letting things go south between us? I do. Was it solely my fault? Absolutely not. The moment we started dating each other's best friends, we drifted further and further away from each other, leaving the tension brewing between the four of us at the time to stew and leave things unresolved.

I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt that he treated me more like a stranger now than I actually was. But maybe he wasn't too far off. Maybe we just didn't know each other like we used to. Still, against my better judgment, I put myself in the line of fire and sat beside him anyways, offering a shoulder for him to cry on.

"What's going on in there?" I asked him, pointing towards my head when he turned slightly to face me and rubbed his tired face. The cuts and bruises on his face were starting to heal but Danny hadn't. Gabe's death had done a number on him, and now with Serena being lost out there because of him only made him feel worse. If I were him, I would've downed a couple of drinks myself.

"My therapist says I have commitment issues. With relationships and friendships alike. I hope he's right. I'm paying him too much as it is," Danny explained, and a chuckle followed by a full blown laugh attack started rumbling out of him. My eyes widened at his actions and I turned to look over at Michael and Freddy for help. They got off their seats and joined us, sitting across from us at the table. Freddy touched his shoulder and Danny started wiping the tears away with the hem of his t-shirt as his laughter slowly came to a stop.

"If something happens to her because of me—" Danny began and cleared his throat, blinking away new tears as he looked away.

"Gotta give her more credit. She dealt with you for years. The woods should be a piece of cake," Freddy mentioned, trying to lighten the mood. It worked temporarily, causing all of us to laugh. It brought me back to a time where this was all we did. We shared whatever horrible thing was happening to us at the time, and the laughter had given us reason to get through the day. We all glanced at each other then, and realized if we were going to get through this, we'd have to trust each other enough to make each other laugh again. It was a start at least.

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It was nightfall by the time we got news that the rangers were heading back to the station. No new update on Serena. She was still out there and now it was too dark outside to keep looking for her. The deputy reassured us he still hadn't heard from one of his rangers who had volunteered to look for my best friend and he had high hopes if anyone could find her, it was him.

The rest of us were running on fumes. Michael had fallen asleep on one of the benches. Danny had gone out for a walk to clear his head, leaving Freddy and I to ourselves. We sat side by side in silence, watching an old soccer game being played on the antique television at the station. During a commercial for dish soap, I noticed he was looking at me and raised an eyebrow.

"Do I have something on my face?" I asked and started to touch my cheeks to find the culprit.

"You got a tattoo," he observed and I had no idea why my hand went straight to the tattoo at the base of my neck and covered it but it did. Freddy held my gaze, waiting for an explanation I didn't owe him.

"I did. It's a dragonfly. I was forced to get it after losing a bet," I added, giving him the explanation I didn't owe him and immediately regretted it once his lips curved into a smirk.

"It's sexy. I like it, chaparra." he complimented and I would've chalked it up to harmless flirting, but I knew better than that. He and Michael were in some kind of competition and I was the prize. I already knew who would win.

"Yeah well, try and keep your hands where I can see them." I ordered, pointing my finger at him. He took it and kissed the back of my hand, sending more electricity into my veins and I snatched my hand back. He was taken aback by my gesture but it didn't stop him from staring me down with his smoldering gaze. I hated him. And those stupid glowing pools of lust seducing every part of me at the moment.

"Do I make you uncomfortable?" he asked but he already knew the answer. Of course he did. He always did. He scared me beyond the point of no return and I wished he would be the grown up this time and pull away before we made another mistake.

"We have rules, you know," I changed the subject and watched him cock his head to the side in amusement as he watched me closely.

"No one is watching. No one will care if I pulled you closer to me, just like this," he paused for a moment and pulled me onto his lap, running his fingers through my hair, and I, like a damn cat, almost purred at him, "and kissed you, right here," he finished, placing a finger on my lips before he pressed his own to mine. My entire body was now engulfed in flames and I had no choice but to give in. He'd always been a good kisser, but it seemed like he'd only gotten better with age and I damned him silently in my head while his tongue swept over mine and took control. His hands held my hips steady as he continued to pull me in closer and closer to him until I could feel just how bad he had missed me.

"Are you two fucking serious right now?" the sound of Danny's angry tone made us pull our lips apart quickly as he stood a few feet away, glaring at both of us. I held back a laugh as we both stood quiet like a couple of kids who had just gotten caught breaking the rules.

"Does this woman belong to anyone?" the question came from a stranger and I quickly pulled away from Freddy as I stood up and stood at Danny's side, holding his hand as the stranger made his way around the corner to us. I could feel Danny's relief as he squeezed my hand and the stranger carried Serena into the room.

"Oh, thank God!" I exclaimed and let go of Danny's hand long enough to run over to my best friend, hugging her to death. She smelled like the wild and I was sure she was going to keep me up all night telling me how she was never going camping with me again.

"I can't breathe," Serena said in between ragged breaths and I quickly let go of her and tried to wipe off the dirt from her forehead. I was smothering her with my maternal nature but I didn't care. I've been worried sick all day.

"Thank you for finding her. Are you one of the rangers?" Freddy joined us and shook the strangers hand out of gratitude. The tall man nodded and showed us his badge which had been tucked behind his raincoat and glanced towards Serena appreciatively. She smiled at him in return. Leave it to her to attract a man under these circumstances.

"The name's Justin. I'm just glad she's safe and sound. I can give ya'll a ride back up to your cabin if you'd like," Justin the ranger offered and I instantly nodded. We were all exhausted and needed rest.

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Danny and Serena didn't say a word to each other on the way back to the cabin. Which didn't surprise me at all. But I was too tired to deal with them tonight. It was almost three in the morning when I glanced at the alarm clock and heard a knock on my door and I threw a pillow at the door, groaning in protest.

"Go away!" I grumbled and hoped Serena was finally done complaining about coming up here enough to let me sleep.

"Are you sure you want me to?" Freddy's husky voice sent my body into high alert and I was now fully awake. I wasn't sure how he found me in the darkness but feeling his warm and bare chest as he got into bed with me brought back memories of extremely hot sex. I was already hot and bothered and cranky, which I was sure he would have no problem curing. For now, he simply held me in his arms and rocked me back to sleep.