Chaos Theory (Nerds of Paradise #2)(39)

They picked up their pace, trying to give the happy couple some privacy, but Melody kept looking back over her shoulder at them. “There’s definitely a sense of…fertility about this whole endeavor.”

“I don’t see it.” He clipped his words.

“Oh, come on.” She was close enough to poke him in the arm. “The romance novel in my backpack? The…the fresh, spring air?”

His face heated even more, and things grew distinctively uncomfortable in his walk. Did she know about the condoms after all?

“This is a mixer, after all, no matter what other competitions Howie might—oh!” She stopped suddenly, fumbling for her pocket.

“What?” Will frowned.

Melody drew the camera out of her pocket and took a few steps back toward the deer. They were just finishing up, but that didn’t stop her from attempting to snap a few pics.

“Don’t take pictures of that,” he scolded her, walking back and tugging on her sleeve to get her to move on.

“Why not?” she giggled. “It’s nature at its finest.”

Will let out a frustrated breath. Nature at its finest was going to drive him nuts. “Give them a little privacy,” he told her.

The deer finally figured out they were being watched and hopped off into the trees. Melody continued to giggle as they hiked on.

“Have you got a problem with sex?” she asked him point blank.

He should have expected the question, given everything he knew about her, but it still made him blush scarlet. “No, I don’t. I just think it should be private.”

“Have you had a lot of lovers?” she asked.

It would have been nice if a hole had opened up in the ground right about then and swallowed him. “Have you?” he shot back.

“Uh-uh, I asked you first.” Her grin was growing to dangerous levels of teasing.

“No more than a man my age should have had,” he muttered, looking straight forward without seeing all that much.

“That’s a bullshit answer, and I’ll tell you why,” she replied. “Different people from different backgrounds have entirely different standards of how many sexual partners a man should have by the time he reaches his, what, early thirties, right?”

“Thirty-four.”

“Thirty-four.” She nodded. “Ask some people, and they’d say a man shouldn’t have any experience before he’s married. Although these days, those people are few and far between. On the other hand, some people think that a guy your age who isn’t and never has been married—you’ve never been married, right?”

“I have not,” he answered, not sure if this was a legitimate conversation, something he should run from, or just another way for her to tease him.

She nodded and went on. “Some people think a man your age should have had dozens of sexual partners by now, maybe hundreds.”

“I have not slept with hundreds of women,” he told her, more embarrassed by the second.

“How many, then?”

“A real man doesn’t kiss and tell.”

He wished he had the nerve to turn and look at her when she didn’t immediately answer.

“You’re evading the question,” she said at last. “Spill it.”

He pressed his lips together, marching on, bristling with discomfort. “Two,” he mumbled.

“Really? Only two?”

Yep, any time that hole in the ground wanted to open up under him. “I don’t sleep around.”

“Good for you.” He could hear the smile in her voice. Was she amused that he’d had such bad luck with women, or was she pleased that he’d tried to be a gentleman? “Although my dad would say you should experiment more. I don’t necessarily agree with all of my dad’s free-thinking ideas, mind you. Unlike practically every other girl on the planet, I’ve had to make up boyfriends so he wouldn’t worry that I was developing hang-ups about sex. And at the end of the day, I’ve only slept with—”

She was cut off by a bone-chilling, ferocious growl. Will instantly cursed himself for getting so wrapped up in the awkward conversation that he’d stopped paying attention to their surroundings. They’d turned another corner and come face to face with the biggest bear he’d ever seen.





Chapter Eleven





I will not scream, I will not scream, I will not scream. Melody fought like hell to keep herself from panicking, but the scream wanted to rise up from her throat like nobody’s business. The bear was big. Really big. Probably a grizzly. It looked lean and hungry. And it was blocking their path along the stream. She tried to ask Will what they should do, but all that came out was a gurgling sound.

“Back away,” Will said, his voice low and rough. He held out his arm to either block or protect her and started stepping backward. “Slowly.”

Melody took a huge step back, then another, then another. The way her legs were feeling, there was no guarantee that they would hold her up, so each step was a small victory.

“Is that a grizzly?” she squeaked. She’d only ever seen bears on TV, and the small screen did not do justice to their immensity and power.

“No,” Will whispered. “Probably a brown bear.”

That didn’t make Melody feel any better. There wasn’t a shadow of a doubt in her mind that, whatever kind it was, if it wanted, the bear could crush her and eat her for breakfast.