“My turn!” Katherine chirped as they got seated. The others sighed in relief. “Never have I ever fallen in love.” The group drank. Except for Lily. She remained stoic, her eyes wide as if she were caught doing something bad.

Lily stuttered as she looked at Katherine, “I…”

“Drink,” Katherine said. Over her dead body would Lily worm out of this situation. A part of her wanted to protect her friend but no more running away. Lily should take the advice she preached and confront her demons.

Lily had helped her on numerous occasions. When Jonathan cheated and she wallowed, Lily had been the one who dragged her out and helped her recover. She wanted to carry out the same role in Lily’s life.

“Lily, have you ever been in love?” Katherine asked, pushing her with a smile. Encouraging her. Even Angelina who usually didn’t pay attention to such things looked like she wanted to shake some sense into Lily.

“How should I know?” Lily replied angrily. She didn’t like being cornered. Jared cuddled into her, wrapping his arms around her. Her eyes closed as she finally leaned against him.

“Come to me slowly. I’ll wait,” Jared whispered. Lily felt overwhelmed. “I know its scary to admit, but I know you love me…”

“Not so much right now,” she grumbled. And before everyone knew it, she took a gulp of her drink.

The crowd cheered, finally feeling like something productive had come from the horrifying discussion. They collectively decided that it was time for everyone to go back to their respective cabins. Volatile emotions could only lead to more explosions.

Cage got up and helped Katherine off the chair. Angelina and Stephen were quite a distance apart from one another as they walked back. In the small garden, only Lily and Jared remained. They kept hugging, oblivious to the rest.

“Let’s sleep in tomorrow,” Cage said suddenly.

“We’re going to have one of the worst hangovers ever,” Katherine groaned. But still, she felt a smile on her face as she imagined how he would look when they woke up in the morning. “I love you,” she proclaimed suddenly. She didn’t need alcohol or probing to say that.

Cage grinned. “I love you too.” His hands were wrapped around her waist. “You did well making Lily open up. Though, I think she will try to kill you when she is sober,” he said with a snicker.

“You’ll have to protect me,” she told him. She felt unbeatable when he was by her side. “Let’s go to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a great day.”

Yes, it was going to be a wonderful day.

– – –

Katherine didn’t get any sleep. Her alcohol-induced brain conjured up loads of images that she needed to perform. Having read all those romance scripts he had received, she wanted to give him something memorable. She couldn’t act like his pet or whatever, but one fantasy she knew would blow him away was the one with the librarian.

Thank god this cabin had an office that had loads of books. No doubt, she could carry out her plans there.

When the sun came up, Katherine slowly extracted herself from Cage’s arms and walked out of the cabin. Buzzing with excitement was never a good thing when one was in bed with Cage. Moreover, he had been naked for most of the part. She had to careful not to jump him while he slept.

Lily and Jared were still in the garden. The chairs remained intact, but the two were sleeping as they leaned on one another. The only addition was the thick blankets covering them. Katherine tried to tiptoe around them as she picked up all the bottles and cans. Seeing that the temperature was very low, Katherine moved forward and tried to shake Lily awake, albeit gently.

“Fuck off,” she groaned.

“No,” Jared whined.

Katherine almost burst out laughing. Of course, he had assumed she was talking to him. She must have told him this numerous times.

“Both of you need to get up and sleep inside your cabin,” she said loudly.

“Speak slower and lower.” Lily groaned. One of her eyes crinkled and she peered at her surroundings. “What is the time?” she asked, her throat scratchy.

“Barely dawn. It’s still a little dark outside so you can go back and sleep.”

“I’m sleeping today anyways,” Jared groaned. He was on the verge of falling off from his chair. At least he wasn’t drunk anymore.

“I can’t believe I said it,” Lily groaned suddenly.

Katherine snickered, knowing exactly what her friend meant.

“Oh, you remember,” Jared marveled. He let go of her and stretched, suddenly feeling rejuvenated. If he wasn’t so hungover, he would have pulled her in for a morning kiss. But he was sure that he stank and his mouth tasted like ass. No need to let the woman you love be tortured by your bad breath. “Lily loves me,” he said with a laugh. It boomed around them until he stopped abruptly, clutching his head.

“Yes, no need to say it again. We’ll talk about it when I am feeling better.” With that, Lily stood up unsteadily and walked over to the cabin. “Let’s go to bed,” she called out to Jared. He followed peacefully. Just as they were going inside, he turned to her with a smile.

“Thanks, Katherine. Have a great day!” Jared waved at her. Katherine smiled as she shook her head. The door closed and she stared off into the distance, looking at the range of mountains in the distance.

After sitting in the garden and watching the sun rise, she finally got up and went back to the cabin. She hurried to the kitchen and grabbed some water. First, she drank some herself and then placed a glass beside Cage’s bedside table. She took a notepad out of her bag and promptly wrote a note to him.

“Good morning, Mr. Cavanaugh. We have noticed that the books you issued from the library are overdue. Pertinent fees and punishment will be dolled out if further delay is recorded. Please return the books to the library immediately.

Sincerely,

Katherine”