Truthfully, I already knew her last name. I’d looked it up yesterday morning before taking her out on the boat. But I wouldn’t dare tell her that—for a couple reasons: I didn’t want to look like a stalker, and I wanted to know more about her, which wouldn’t happen if she knew my first question was one I already had the answer to.
The third reason I didn’t admit to knowing her last name—and arguably the most important reason—was my inability to think straight after watching her take a flask out of her bag and pour its contents into the cup of soda she was just given. If I had been a cartoon, my jaw would’ve been on the floor.
“Kenny!” It was a whisper-shout, but thanks to my unusually deep voice, it came out quite aggressive rather than expressing my shock and concern.
She stilled and stared at me, but all I could do was concentrate on the bottle in her hand.
“You can’t do that here.” I frantically glanced around, relieved to find no one paying attention to her. Leaning closer, I lowered my voice and did my best to calm down. “We could get in so much trouble if you get caught.”
Her eyes went wide, confusion lining her brow in deep creases as she quickly shoved her flask back into the bag on the stool next to her. “Really? I’m so sorry, Drew. I didn’t think it would be a big deal as long as no one sees me do it. Everyone’s busy with the trivia game they’re getting ready to start, and I haven’t done it in front of the staff. I’m really sorry—I don’t want you guys to get in any trouble.”
My shoulders drooped forward, heavy and exhausted. I’d gone from hesitant to content to shocked and worried to ashamed all within a couple of minutes. All because of one person.
I ran my hands down my face and sighed. “I didn’t mean to freak out on you, Kenny. I just saw that and reacted. You know I don’t care what you drink…in private. I just can’t risk someone catching you and filing a report. We simply don’t have the resources to go through something like that and make it out on the other side.”
“I totally understand, and again, Drew, I’m sorry.” Embarrassment cloaked her entire face, from her downturned eyes to her bottom lip tucked between her teeth. As much as I loved to see the color of this emotion on her cheeks, I certainly didn’t want to get it this way.
Every time she apologized, I felt worse and worse for saying anything in the first place. She was in the very back against the railing, meaning no one could see her from behind. And now that I took note of the crowd in front and on both sides of her, I realized she was pretty well hidden and wouldn’t likely get caught. But that wasn’t the point.
“Were you wanting to stay for trivia?”
Kenny shrugged and then pulled in a rather deep breath. “Not really. I just didn’t want to be all by myself again. When I decided to come on the trip alone, I guess I didn’t take into consideration that I would get lonely.”
I had an idea. “Let me get Barbara and close out your tab.”
“Oh, I already did that. She was only bringing me refills.”
With that, I pulled my wallet from my back pocket and left a cash tip on top of the table for the server. Taking Kenny’s drink, I stood and waited for her to follow. “Take it from me…it’s always better to drink with someone else.”
A soft smile crossed her pouty lips as she slid from her stool, grabbed her bag, and followed me to the exit. I had my attention on too many things while we moved through the crowd to notice anything about Kenny other than the fact that she was right behind me. But once we made it to the steps on the side of the deck, I couldn’t help but pick up on the slight wobble in her gait.
“How long have you been spiking your drinks?” I asked as I took her hand to lead her down the wooden steps.
“Since I was three.”
I stopped and turned to face her, confused by her answer. Then I played it back in my head, and taking in the crooked smirk on her face, I laughed. “I meant tonight.”
“Oh, well, long enough to get a buzz.”
“And how many did you have?”
“Enough to get buzzed,” she answered with a giggle that made it impossible to be upset with her. There was absolutely nothing wrong with her speech—not slurred or impaired-sounding at all—yet I doubted she could walk a straight line to save her life.
My original idea was to take her back to her place and have a drink or two with her there so she wouldn’t feel lonely while also not putting the resort at risk. That all changed the second I realized just how buzzed she was. With a new plan in place, I handed back her drink, took her by the hand, and led her along the dirt path.
The area around The Feeder was a lot more open than most of the resort due to it being a restaurant that people from neighboring towns visited. And because of that, it also had substantial lighting along the dirt road that ran in front of the building. This meant I could see her without needing night-vision goggles.
“Where are we going?” It didn’t take her long to question my motives—good girl.
“Well, you said you didn’t want to be alone, so I thought we could go for a stroll and walk some of the liquor off.”
“But I’m still allowed to drink, right?”
The bubble of laughter floated up my chest before I had a chance to stop it. “Of course.”
“Good,” she said with a teasing grin, right before pulling the straw to her lips in the most seductive way I’d ever seen it done. “And now that you have me alone…what else do you want to know about me, Drew?”
With my brain functioning properly—or as well as it could around her—I was able to think of something I wanted to ask. “You said the other night that you heard about this place in a book. What book was it? And what did it say?”
“It was just a diary, and it didn’t say much.”
Again, like the other night, I got the impression that Kenny didn’t care to discuss the book or its contents. Although, unlike the other night, I had no intention of dropping it. “Whose diary was it?”
“I’m not entirely sure, but I think it was my grandmother’s.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Well, it was in my grandfather’s attic with a bunch of my grandmother’s old things.”
I started to understand that maybe it wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk about it; maybe her reluctance had more to do with the fact that she completely sucked at giving information. It was like she only answered the literal question without offering anything else. I was sure this would’ve normally been a trait I’d laugh at.
An exaggerated huff ripped past my lips just as I dropped my head back, my arms outstretched in a very dramatic show of exasperation. I released a somewhat-convincing frustrated groan, reminiscent of a howling wolf, and then resumed my pace next to Kenny. “This is going to take all night.”
The way her mouth curled was just plain devious, as though this had been her plan all along—delivering me to the brink of insanity for her own amusement. “Now you know how I felt last night.”
“What does that mean?” I genuinely didn’t know.
“You dragged out that story way longer than it needed to be. You had me on the edge of my seat and then told me I wasn’t allowed to ask questions. Without prodding you, I might still be on your dock listening to your story right now.”