Uncontainable Desire

Forget it All

Tia crossed her arms, scanning the group as if assigning roles in a play. There were five of them in total—Loyd, Nina, Garry, Tia, and Abe. The corners of her mouth twitched as she thought it through.

“Hmm…” she mused, tapping her chin. “We’ll split into two teams. One group gathers firewood, the other handles food prep. Simple enough.”

“How are we splitting the teams?” Loyd asked, genuinely curious now that Tia’s plan sounded more like an adventure than a study session.

“I’ve got something in mind,” Abe declared proudly, puffing up his chest as if he’d just been elected captain. “And it’s totally based on our skills.”

Everyone stared at him blankly. Abe, completely unbothered, continued his little speech.

“So, Tia, Garry, and I will handle the food like gathering ingredients, fishing, and all that. The more people we have, the more fish we can catch. And for your information, Garry and I are basically pros at fishing.” He grinned, clearly expecting applause. When none came, he cleared his throat dramatically and pressed on. “Which means the two of you, Loyd and Nina will go gather firewood in the forest.”

“What?” Nina’s voice rose before she could stop herself. Loyd’s eyes widened a little too, his surprise barely masking the hint of amusement tugging at his lips.

“No complaints,” Abe said smugly. “It’s just logic. Loyd’s not exactly the type to help much with cooking, and Nina… well, she’s not exactly Gordon Ramsay either.”

Silence fell for a moment before Tia and Garry both nodded in agreement, trying not to laugh.

Loyd and Nina exchanged glances. Hers sharp, his unreadable. What just happened? Were they really being shipped off into the woods alone together?

“Alright then,” Tia announced cheerfully, clapping her hands once. “Nina and Loyd, you two head out first. We’ll regroup here later. Ready, set—go!”

Before either of them could protest, the other three had already scattered, Abe and Garry toward the river, Tia humming to herself as she began unpacking supplies.

The world went oddly quiet around them. The sunlight was slipping through the trees, painting the grass with gold, and Loyd couldn’t help the grin spreading across his face.

“Well,” he said finally, turning toward Nina with that boyish smirk she both hated and secretly found dangerous. “Guess we’d better get moving.”

He started toward the tree line, hands tucked casually in his pockets.

“Wait, Loyd!” Her voice stopped him mid-step. He turned around, brows raised.

“You’re seriously planning to go in there?” she asked, gesturing toward the forest. The shadows between the trunks looked deeper than before, the wind whispering faintly through the leaves.

“Yeah,” he said simply, tilting his head. “We need firewood, don’t we? Unless you want raw fish for lunch.

Nina let out a long, weary sigh. “This is such a stupid situation,” she muttered, her voice tight as she brushed a few stray leaves off her sleeve.

Still, despite her words, she walked beside Loyd into the forest, their footsteps crunching softly over the fallen twigs. They began gathering small branches, stacking them neatly into a pile that they’d carry back later. The air smelled of damp earth and pine, and sunlight dappled through the leaves, catching on the strands of Nina’s hair.

“I don’t mind looking for wood,” Loyd said lightly, though his tone carried a lazy warmth. He noticed several good-sized branches nearby, but he made no move to collect them. Instead, he stayed close to her, as if gravity itself refused to let him drift too far.

“You know that’s not what I meant,” Nina replied, stopping to glance at him. “I’m talking about this… about us.”

“I know,” he admitted softly.

“I don’t want things to be like this,” she said, her voice trembling slightly now. “Maybe we should end it.”

He stopped in his tracks, staring at her. “You’re kidding.”

“I’m not,” she whispered, eyes downcast. “I’m serious.”

A silence settled between them, fragile as glass. Somewhere above, a bird called out, the sound thin and distant.

“Listen, Nina,” he said at last, stepping closer. “I miss you.”

Her lips parted, but she said nothing. She only nodded faintly, as if that single gesture held all the confusion inside her.

“You’re an incredible woman,” Loyd continued. “I don’t want to lose you just because you’re… well, you know.”

She laughed once, but there was no humor in it. “Because I’m what? A mess? Or someone who regrets how it started?”

He frowned. “Regrets?”

“We started this in the most embarrassing way possible,” she murmured, not meeting his eyes.

“Embarrassing?” Loyd chuckled softly, tilting his head. “I’d say it was pretty natural. Having that kind of connection… behind masks, in a storeroom during a masquerade party? You drove me insane, Nina. It was wild. It was hot.”

Her cheeks flared pink, and she turned away. “Ugh, don’t sayit like that,” she muttered, her embarrassment spilling into her voice.

Loyd couldn’t help the smirk tugging at his mouth. It fascinated him, the difference between the two sides of her. The bold, mysterious woman who’d once seduced him with a crimson mask, and the shy, flustered girl now blushing in front of him.

“How should I say it then?” he asked gently, stepping closer.

She took a shaky breath. “Maybe we should just… forget it all,” she whispered. “Pretend I never said yes to being your girlfriend.”

Her words hit him harder than he expected. For a moment, he didn’t move, didn’t speak. The forest seemed to still around them, the hush of the wind turning heavy in his ears.

Loyd searched her face, trying to read what lay behind those trembling lashes. Was it guilt? Fear? Or was she just trying to protect herself from something she didn’t understand yet?

“Nina,” he said quietly, his voice stripped of arrogance now. “You can’t really mean that.”