"And I can bait fish like nobody's business," Ivy supplied with a grin.
Hannah pouted. "What? Is nobody going to help me pick berries?"
Ben chuckled, a large grin taking up his whole face. "Oh, don't worry. Josh will help you out. I bet you won't mind going into the woods with him."
"Shut up." Hannah felt herself turning red. Swallowing hard, she avoided Ben's gaze after giving him a withering look.
In the meantime, Paul and Sarah cleared away their coffee cups and wished everyone goodnight. After one more drink, Ivy and Amber decided to turn in for the night as well, and Hannah and Ben got up to leave. "See you soon," Ben said, waving at the two girls disappearing inside.
They walked back to their own cabin in awkward silence, and both sat down on the porch steps saying nothing. Finally, Ben cleared his throat. "Uhm... I wasn't serious or anything." He lit a cigarette. "You know, about that stuff."
"What stuff?" She was trying to sound clueless on purpose. She knew exactly what Ben was talking about.
"About the woods." Ben glanced sideways. "About Josh. I didn't want to tick you off."
Hannah shifted. She couldn't really deny Ben's joke had made her uncomfortable - he'd seen her go red. On the other hand, she could hardly admit now that the idea of running off into the woods with Josh was kind of a turn-on for her. She had practically bitten Ben's head off when he suggested it.
"You didn't tick me off," she finally said, because Ben kept staring at her, his face a big question mark.
"Then what?"
Hannah sighed. She brushed an imaginary speck of dust from her skirt. "I felt caught."
"Something's up between you and Josh." It wasn't a question, but a statement. So he wasn't oblivious to the tension passing between them after all. Hannah looked sideways, suddenly so nervous she wished she could take a drag of Ben's cigarette. He followed her gaze and held out his cigarette. "Want to share?"
"No, thanks. I shouldn't start smoking again."
Ben shrugged. "So - what's going on?" he continued.
"I don't know," Hannah muttered, staring at a dark stain in the wooden floor of the porch, suddenly thinking of Josh's birthmark.
She looked up when her brother chuckled softly. Ben held her gaze. "How do you feel about him? Come on, tell me." He had a sparkle in his eyes.