To my surprise, she blushed. “Don’t phrase it that way. I was only going to spend the night chatting with him.”
She felt a little embarrassed and tried to explain further. “I actually wanted to keep you company tonight. Alas, I am caught between love and friendship! What a difficult decision that is!” she exclaimed.
“I am used to sleeping alone, so you don’t have to bother about me,” I stated as I crawled into the tent and started laying out my sleeping bag.
“Really? You can’t get mad at me if you get spooked in the middle of the night, and I don’t come running back to you, okay?” she muttered shyly.
“Don’t worry, my dear Nora. I won’t”
She grinned sheepishly, every inch a besotted young girl. “Young lady, get a hold on that dirty little mind of yours and stop drooling. Have some dignity.” I cupped my forehead and jested at her.
She gave me a sly smile and whispered, “I can’t help it. That man is too seductive. I can’t control myself anymore!”
I was left speechless.
Rachel came by with some snacks and invited, “We brought some snacks. Would you like to join us?”
Nora folded her arms defensively and rebuffed her. “No thanks. We brought snacks as well. We don’t need yours.”
Oh, my! How childish can she get?
Ashton walked over and took a glance around. When he saw all the tents were up, he proposed, “Let’s have supper together. If we are lucky, we may get to see shooting stars tonight.”
“Oh yes! We have a good view of the starry sky here,” Laurel concurred. “We can stargaze while we eat. We brought our grills, so let’s enjoy a barbeque under the stars! That would be so wonderful!”
“Set! Let’s get moving.” Nora was all for it.
In the end, the barbeque planned for the next day was brought forward and everyone started chipping in with the preparation. The guys began to set up the grills while the ladies started preparing the food.
Nora brought over a bag of vegetables and potatoes. We started cutting and skewering them.
Suddenly, Nora leaned closed and asked, “Scarlett, what do you think is the difference between a vixen and a siren?” She had a shifty look in her eyes.
I shook my head, clueless. “I am not sure. Seems to be the same to me.”
She sniggered and explained, “Not the same. They are all bitches in disguise, but a vixen is seductive, feisty, and out to get you.”
“What would a siren be then?”
She deliberated for a moment, then declared, “A siren is alluring. Before you can suspect anything, you have already fallen into her trap.”
“So, is there a difference between the two? Sound like they are both flirts, right?” Her attempt to explain confused me further.
She paused to reorganize her thoughts and then pointed in Rachel’s direction. “Try analyzing based on my earlier definition. What do you think Rachel is, a vixen or a siren?”
I was lost. All I saw was Rachel squatting next to Ashton, and they were helping to start the fire. Nothing seemed to be out of place.
“If I really have to match her to one, then vixen?” I hesitantly made a wild guess.
“Tsk. Now look over to Tessa and observe. What is she?”
Tessa was sorting out the ingredients, a short distance from Ashton. Her sight was fixed on Ashton and Rachel.
Watching Tessa made me realized she seemed to have been staying away from me the whole evening.
Usually, she would be hovering around me, directing sarcastic remarks at me. This evening, she was hanging around Ashton and Rachel. If Tessa’s looks could kill, Rachel would have been dead many times over by now.
I reckoned she has redirected her anger to Rachel.
“Honestly, I can’t differentiate. Based on your explanation, a siren and a vixen are the same.” I gave up trying to figure out her little puzzle.
Nora wagged her finger and shook her head at the same time to emphasize her point. “You have to be more observant and discerning. Look at Rachel. She has not left Ashton’s side since we arrived. No matter what Ashton does, she will be near him and pretending to help those around them. Next, watch her interaction with Tabitha and Laurel. They barely know one another, but Rachel is already acting pally with them, even feeding them fruit.”
“Now look, she is walking over to Tabitha’s fiancé with a plate of fruit,” Nora proudly pointed out.
“Are you reading too much into it? Everyone’s busy, so she brought them the fruit out of goodwill. Looks normal to me.” I honestly could not figure out what Rachel had done wrong.
“Are you dumb? There is nothing wrong with offering fruit. The problem lies with the timing! Why did she choose to bring the fruit to Tabitha’s fiancé at this exact moment? She could have brought it to them earlier,” she scoffed.
