Hunt and Pray by Cindy Sutherland Page B

safe?” He didn’t want to hurt the other man’s feelings, but he knew he wouldn’t get far if he ended up sick from eating something.
    Chance just smiled at him. “Yeah, they’re pin cherries and wild strawberries. I know it’s not much, but I figured you’d be kind of hungry, and I spotted them as we walked up here.” He picked up one of the strawberries and popped it in his mouth. “Don’t worry, I washed them in the river and everything. Just make sure you spit out the cherry pits. They’re poisonous if you swallow them.”
    “Okay….” Drew was too hungry to argue. He grabbed a couple of the strawberries and put them in his mouth warily. When he bit down, he was pleased to discover they were crisp and sweet and had a strong strawberry flavor.
    “These are really good!” He tried a cherry next and smiled at the underlying tart flavor softened by the sugary aftertaste.
    He spit out the pits as ordered and looked up to find Chance gone from beside him. Looking around, he saw him gather up some rocks and bring them over to the back of the overhang where Drew was resting.
    Chance knelt down and put the rocks in a circle, making a fire ring. He glanced up at Drew. “It’ll have to be small, but at least we’ll be a little warmer than we were last night.”
    “Anything I can do to help?” Drew didn’t like feeling like a burden.
    Chance just shook his head. “Nope, won’t take me long at all.” He worked quickly and efficiently, and Drew had to admit it was kind of hot how capable the man was.
    Then something occurred to him. “Uh, how are you gonna light it?”
    Chance looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. “I was a Boy Scout for a few years. I know how to rub wood together to make a spark.”
    Drew looked up sharply, almost choking on a strawberry for his trouble. Did Chance really just flirt with him? From the blush on his face, Drew was almost positive he had.
    “That’s one of the worst lines I ever heard.” Drew smiled up at Chance, enjoying the moment.
    Chance shrugged his shoulder and chuckled. “Sorry, don’t have much practice.”
    It was meant to be funny, but it hit Drew a different way. He looked down at his fingers, rolling a berry around and watching the way the red juice stained his fingertips.
    “Can I ask you something? I mean, it’s really none of my business, and you can tell me to shut up if you want.” Drew held his breath as he waited for the answer.
    “Go ahead. At this point, I don’t really have anything to hide.” Chance dug into his pocket and pulled out a book of matches, showing them to Drew. “Swiped them from the counter in the shed they locked me in.”
    Drew smiled before turning serious again. “Have you ever…? God, this is really none of my business. Just forget I said anything.”
    Chance cleared his throat and shook his head. “No, it’s okay.” He piled small pieces of wood in the makeshift fire pit as he spoke. “I’ve had sex with women a couple of times but never anyone I cared about. It wasn’t anything great.” He sighed, and once he had the wood the way he wanted it, he used one of the matches to light a small piece on fire.
    “I’ve never done anything with a man. I was so far in the closet I could almost see Narnia, and being in the service just made it harder.” He used the small piece to light some larger chunks of wood, and they both stared at the flames. “And I mostly didn’t feel attracted to anyone enough to take the chance… until now.” It seemed like Chance’s face got even redder, but when he glanced up, he held Drew’s gaze defiantly.
    “Oh, Chance….” Drew didn’t know what to say. He found the other man insanely attractive, and in any other circumstances he would have jumped at the opportunity to be with someone like Chance.
    But now… well, there was no way there could ever be anything between them. Could there…?
    “Don’t worry about it, Drew. I’m not completely stupid. I know you could never