The Cabin in the Woods Read Online Free PDF Page B

crumble. We’re all too chicken-shit to let it.”
    “I’ve missed your rants,” Jules said. Dana was pleased to see her throw Marty a smile. He grinned back and held up a beautifully rolled joint for her perusal.
    “You will come to see things my way,” he said.
    “I can’t wait,” she said. “Is that the secret stash?” “The secret secret stash.” I haven’t told my other stash about it because it would become jealous.”
    “A sign,” Dana said, suddenly excited. “Up there!” Jules turned to look back through the windscreen, then examined the map again quickly.
    “Yes. And... okay, left. Bear left.”
    “You sure?” Curt asked.
    “Not even a little bit.”
    Holden edged forward with more beers, taking Dana’s half-cup and replacing it with a full one. She smiled her thanks, but didn’t catch his eye.
    It was Jules’s voice in her head, though: Make him work .
    •••
    Holden drank most of his cup of beer in one swig. He’d already had two when he was filling the others, and was feeling a pleasant buzz. He didn’t usuallydrink so quickly. It was weird. But then again, so was what he felt happening here.
    He had never, ever been so attracted to a girl whom he didn’t want to instantly fuck.
    Oh, he did want to, at some stage. Without a doubt. Dana was gorgeous—beautiful brunette hair he could get lost in, blue eyes, soft skin, and a scintillating, gentle smile that didn’t say, Look at how beautiful I am . She was nothing like the girls he usually went for, and she was suddenly everything he wanted. So there was the sex thing, yes... but there was also something else. There was a need to know her, unlike anything he had ever felt before.
    And they were off together for a weekend in the wilds.
    “So what is this place exactly?” he asked.
    “Country home my cousin bought,” Curt said. “He’s crazy for real estate, found this place in the middle of nowhere, it’s like Civil War era, really. Said it was such a good deal he couldn’t let it pass.”
    “There’s a lake, and woods everywhere,” Jules said. “We saw some beautiful pictures.” She turned in her seat and looked at Dana. “You will be doing some serious drawing. No portraits of pedophiles...”
    Holden glanced at Dana just in time to see the end of the “shut up” frown she’d given Jules. He’d heard a bit about her from Curt, about how some slimy bastard shithead had used and dumped her. He didn’t understand how someone could do that to a girl like this. Taking a chance, heart thumping, he sat down onthe seat next to her, holding his breath just a little when their legs pressed against each other. A silence fell then, not intentional but awkward nonetheless.
    Across the table the guy they called Marty hummed some nameless tune as he packed his rolled joints. Curt and Jules looked ahead along the tree-lined road. Holden wondered whether he was the only one who could feel the atmosphere thickening, though he wasn’t quite sure what it carried.
    “You’re an art major?” he asked, breaking the silence and using the question as an excuse to turn to Dana.
    “Art and political science,” she said. Those eyes...
    “Oooh, triple threat,” he muttered.
    A frown, a smile. He liked both.
    “That’s only two things,” she said quizzically.
    “Yes, a double... threat. That sounds weird. Let’s just say I find you threatening.”
    “I thought you were dropping art?” Curt asked.
    “Uh, no, never mind...” Jules said, slapping Curt’s thigh and glaring at him.
    “I’m switching a few courses,” Dana said coolly.
    “How come?” Holden asked, and then he twigged it. Oh, so slimy bastard shithead had been a lecturer?
    “For no reason!” Curt blurted. “For very good reasons that don’t exist.” Then he pointed. “Hey look, trees!”
    “We have patterns,” Marty said, and Holden felt the pressure lift. He’d only known him for a couple of hours, but he liked Marty already. A chilled dude.