Gone Too Deep by Katie Ruggle Page B

located lumps that dug into her posterior. Wincing, she shifted to the other side of the rock, which was just as uncomfortable. With a sigh, she gave up and just chewed on her trail mix.
    As she finished off the water remaining in the bottle, a twinge in her bladder reminded her of another biological need. She’d been dreading it, but Ellie knew that peeing outdoors—in the cold outdoors—was something she was just going to have to do. There was no sense in whining about it, even just in her head.
    George took the empty bottle from her hand and switched it out for a full one he took from a more inconvenient spot on her pack.
    â€œThank you.” She tried to stand, but the weight of the pack pulled her backward, and the rock behind her prevented her from taking a step back to catch her balance. As she started to topple, George caught her upper arms and pulled her upright, holding her there until she was steady. She looked at him, and their gazes caught for a long second. This time, she was the chicken who dropped her eyes first. “Thank you.” With a silent sigh, she realized she’d turned back into the one-phrase-Franny doll.
    He released her arms, and she waved toward a couple of scrubby pine trees ten feet away from them. “I’m, um, just going to go to the ladies’ room.”
    As she walked toward the dubious privacy of the trees, Ellie could feel him watching her, and she hoped he looked away before she actually got down to business. She’d never had issues with a shy bladder before, but these were new and trying circumstances.
    When she reached the far side of the trees, she purposefully didn’t look back at George to see if she was truly hidden. If he was watching, she didn’t want to know, or she’d never be able to go. On the other hand, being out of his sight and away from his protection brought its own set of worries about hungry predators. Giving the surrounding area a hunted look, she told herself firmly to quit being a paranoid city girl. Skimming down all four bottom layers, she shivered when the cold air met her bare skin.
    Belatedly, she realized she should have taken off her pack before attempting to pee. Using a nearby trunk to balance, she lowered herself carefully. It was trickier than she’d expected, and she promised herself that she’d never take a toilet seat for granted again.
    By the time she was finished, her teeth were chattering, and the tops of her thighs were beginning to go numb. A movement to her left made her whip her head in that direction as she abruptly stood, almost losing her balance again. Before she even identified what had drawn her attention, she’d dragged all of her bottom layers up to her waist.
    A rabbit moved cautiously out of the shelter of a tree, and Ellie’s muscles relaxed. It was all white except for the black tips of its ears.
    â€œHey, bunny,” she said very quietly, standing still so as not to scare it. “Aren’t you cute?”
    â€œSnowshoe hare.”
    At the deep rumble of George’s voice, both she and the rabbit jumped. The hare bolted for cover, disappearing into a group of pines. Ellie, on the other hand, turned to give George a look .
    He just raised his eyebrows back at her.
    â€œCan’t I have a little privacy?”
    His eyes dropped to her fully clothed body and then returned to her face.
    â€œYou didn’t know I was done,” she huffed, and then remembered her pledge to not be difficult. Residual adrenaline from being startled twice—once by the rabbit and the second time by George—had made her snappy.
    â€œYou took too long.”
    â€œSorry.” She must’ve been behind the pines for quite a while. “We can go now.”
    He turned and headed back to the trail, Ellie following.
    * * *
    Ellie focused on George’s broad back, trying to think about anything except her current misery. The top crust of snow had gradually gotten