Smug Bastard - Stacey Marie Brown Page 0,11

there things… wrecking your life?” I shifted in the portable chair.

He exhaled, his attention staying above, not speaking for a while. “Don’t we all have things?”

“But I asked if you did.”

His sharp eyes slid to me, then back. “I thought you hated me.”

“I do.”

“Then I guess it doesn’t matter if I do or don’t.”

I scoured my forehead, annoyance itching my limbs. “I guess you’re right,” I clipped, needing to move, the tightness in my bladder giving me the perfect excuse to get up. “Forget I asked.”

“Already forgotten.”

My teeth ground together. What was it with this guy? No one seemed to aggravate me more quickly than him. Always had. Most everyone considered me very easygoing, never really getting mad. Even when I found Ethan screwing a girl in the bed I had been in the night before, I just turned around and walked out, never yelling or causing a scene. Even as he ran after me pulling up his pants, I calmly got in my car and drove away. Ignoring his calls, his pleas to forgive him and give him a second chance.

From an early age, with two very headstrong siblings, I was the one who didn’t want to make waves, who avoided conflict and drama, who stayed quiet in the background.

But Smith? Even when I was eleven, he roused my temper. His smirk and ego had me wanting to bring him down a few pegs.

I inched Goat off my lap. He was sleepy from running around chasing critters for the last two hours, but he snuggled back into the blanket as I rose.

“You going somewhere?” Smith peered over at me.

“To pee, if it’s okay, Dad?” My tone sounded a little snottier than I meant. It was beautiful out here, but one thing lacking was the amenities you’d find in RV parks… like bathrooms and showers.

“Just be careful.”

“Thanks. I think I have this bathroom thing down by now.”

“You sure, Baby K? Looks like you just got out of diapers.”

“Fuck off,” I snapped, grabbing a wad of disposable tissue and stomping deeper into the dark desert, hearing his rumble of laughter follow me out into the clear night. “God, he’s still such an asshole,” I muttered.

“Heard that!” His bark of laughter shot hot coals of fury into my nerves.

“Good!” I yelled back, moving farther out, not wanting him to hear me pee.

Venturing behind some brush, I tugged down my shorts, crouching low, starting to do my business, when something scuttered over my chucks; its tail curved up ready to strike at any moment as if it was saying, Come at me, bro! I dare you!

A scorpion!

Fear snapped at my lungs, my body reacting without thinking. A gurgled cry came up my throat as I kicked it off my foot and scrambled back. The shorts still around my ankles caused me to tumble back on my ass. Onto something… something prickly.

The sensation of hot needles piercing through my skin pushed a shrill scream from my lungs, lurching me forward on my hands and knees. The pain was so excruciating that darkness circled my vision, bile burning up my throat.

“Kinsley!” I heard my name being shouted, a massive figure running for me through the dark, Goat loping next to him. Smith’s feet stumbled when he spotted me…

My shorts and underwear were around my knees, my bare ass up in the air.

Kill me now.

Agony overtook any pride or decorum I had as I tried not to vomit, liquid trickling down my face. Goat reached me first, whimpering and licking my cheek, sensing something was wrong.

“Fuck! What happened?” Smith dropped down next to me. Peering around, he quickly assessed the spiky cactus behind me, which was good, because if I opened my mouth, I’d probably throw up. “Shit.” His hand came to my lower back, the other one touching my arm. His concern only added to Goat’s anxiety, whose whimpers grated at my heart. “I can’t see anything here. Can you walk?”

Taking deep breaths, debating between vomiting and passing out, I grunted, my head nodding, though I wasn’t sure I knew if I could even lift my head.

With another lick from Goat, I tried to push myself up. Smith’s hold tightened, taking a lot of my body weight as I slowly stood, swallowing back the bile. My bottoms dropped to my feet.

“Oh.” I grunted, reaching down for them.

“Forget them,” Smith ordered, snatching them off the ground. “You can’t put them on anyway. Not until I see if you have anything lodged in your skin.”

Tugging at my