Aiden must see the doubt on my face. “Shit. You can just say no if you want.” He rolls his head back and looks toward the fire in the distance, like he might bolt. I grab his forearm and pull lightly.

“No, I just—”

“I’ll tell you what.” Aiden puts his hand out and grazes mine with his fingertips, sending a chill through me. “Rock, paper, scissors.”

I laugh, and Aiden smiles.

“I guess coin flips are more our thing, aren’t they?”

He’s right. I pluck a nickel out of my pocket.

Aiden takes the coin out of my hand, running his fingertips along mine again. He’s trying to hide a smile, but he can’t. What if this doesn’t go my way? Will I walk out of these woods and never kiss Aiden Emerson again? Fate, please don’t let me down.

“Heads, we…” I can’t say the word. It hangs in the charged air between us, but I can’t say it while standing this close to him. Aiden raises his eyebrows at me and tries to hide another smile. “Tails, we don’t.”

The coin flips in the air and as it’s about to land in Aiden’s hand, he steps forward. The coin falls onto the forest floor and my eyes follow it to the dark ground, and then to Aiden. He shrugs, with a pout that doesn’t look at all apologetic. And then his lips are on mine. They’re warm and full and soft. His hands settle on my waist, his fingers moving slowly as he pulls me closer, wrapping his hands around toward my back. My head feels foggy, like every thought I’ve ever had is suddenly spinning in circles there, kicking up dust like tiny tornadoes, spinning and whirring around. What are we doing?

I can hear the crackling of the fire in the distance, and footsteps as everyone shuffles around. I shiver and Aiden pulls his mouth from mine. His eyes look clearer now, more like himself and less like the guy who pulled me into the woods.

“We should go back to the fire.” He sounds concerned. Probably that this is another pivotal outdoor experience I’m missing.

“It’s not my first campfire.”

Aiden smiles and my lips are twitchy thinking about more time with him.

“No, but we should still get back. If we’re gone too long Ellis will insist we file some sort of paperwork.” He rubs his hands down my arms. “And you’re cold.”

I laugh, but I don’t totally agree. I am cold, but if it were up to me, we’d stay right here all night, locked together. A little paperwork to feed Ellis’s ego seems like a fair trade-off. Wondering if maybe he doesn’t feel the same rubs a raw little part of my heart. Don’t get attached, Olivia. Don’t chase him. This is just fun.