Misunderstood (A Neighbor from Hell YA #1) - R.L. Mathewson Page 0,86

for them.

“Why are you always judging me?” she asked on a heavy sigh as he moved to put her down only to rethink it and carry her to the boat.

“Why are you always such a pain in my ass?” Sebastian countered as he carefully stepped into the boat, noting that everything they were going to need was already waiting for them.

Instead of answering him, she asked, “Would this be a bad time to tell you that I have to use the bathroom?” making him sigh.

“Why didn’t you go before?” Sebastian asked as he turned around, ignoring Braxton’s questioning look and stepped back onto the deck.

“You mean when I was cowering in my sleeping bag, hoping that you would leave me alone?”

“Yes,” Sebastian said, placing her on her feet only to end up narrowing his eyes suspiciously when he noticed the triumphant gleam in her eye. “You’re lying about needing to use the bathroom, aren’t you?”

Nodding, Mikey said, “I really am,” a split second before she took off running, leaving him standing alone on the deck, unable to help but sigh because she really was a pain in his ass.

*-*-*-*

He looked furious, Mikey couldn’t help but notice as she nibbled on the delicious s’mores that she’d made to help pass the time.

Upon further inspection, she couldn’t help but notice that he was also soaking wet from head to toe, caked in mud with bits of twigs and other things that she really couldn’t identify at the moment, tangled in his hair and he was definitely pissed. There was no missing the murderous glare that he was sending her way. Her gaze flickered to Braxton to find him in a similar state and for some reason he was glaring at her, too.

Well, that couldn’t be good…

Clearing her throat, Mikey held up her half-eaten s’mores in offering. When Sebastian’s eyes narrowed dangerously on her, Mikey returned to nibbling on her delicious treat as she watched Sebastian, who still hadn’t said a word to her, reach back and grab hold of his wet shirt and pulled it off. While he balled it up in his hands, she couldn’t help but sit there, appreciating the sight before her.

He’d definitely come a long way since she’d met him, Mikey absently thought as she took in his well-defined chest and abs. Then again, all the men in his family seemed to be built like that. She wondered if it was genetic when he tossed his soaking wet shirt at her feet.

Blinking, she looked down at the shirt already creating a muddy puddle at her feet that smelled like stale pond water before looking up and–

“Why are you covered in black leaves?” Mikey asked, unable to help but frown because she’d never actually seen a black leaf before. Then again, maybe the leaves were from the bottom of the pond that he’d clearly went for a swim in, she thought, but that wouldn’t explain why some of them looked plump and…

Were they moving?

Frowning, Sebastian followed her gaze and…

Made her realize that she probably should have kept that question to herself when Braxton suddenly screamed, “Leeches!” right around the time that both boys started to freak out a bit there.

Definitely should have kept it to herself, Mikey decided a moment later when she was forced to jump off the log that she’d been using as a bench when they started tossing the leeches that they’d managed to tear off, away.

That was followed by more screaming and a lot of panicking, which drew the attention of the rest of their family. That led to Mikey wondering why she hadn’t thought to grab her phone when this all started so that she could record this. Thankfully, Mathew and Joshua were on top of this, so she didn’t have to worry.

“What the hell is going on?” Uncle Trevor demanded as he walked over and quickly jumped out of the way of a flying leech.

“Get them off!” one of them screamed. She really wasn’t sure which one at the moment. Not that it mattered, Mikey thought as she moved to help Sebastian. While he continued to tear the ones off the front of his body, Mikey focused on his back.

Trying not to think about what she was doing, Mikey tried to wipe them off, but they wouldn’t budge. That led to her taking a deep breath and reaching for a particularly fat leech on his shoulder. She grabbed hold of the slimy, wiggly body and yanked it off. When it wiggled in her