by K. Mawhood
I stare at him wide-eyed. Is he joking? He has to be joking. Does he think I’m some kind of animal or something? Well, yes, I guess he does right?
“I am not peeing in the woods. There are snakes and bugs and God only knows what hiding in the brush. No freaking thank you. Besides, there’s no toilet paper. Gross,” I say, crossing my arms.
Barrett’s pulling a trail map out of his pocket while Liam responds to me. “Sweetheart, there aren’t any toilets around here. You really don’t have a choice.”
I shake my head at him. “No, nope, I refuse. I’ll just hold it until we get back.”
Cayden sighs at my prissiness and Wyatt’s still laughing at me. Liam just rolls his eyes and shakes his head. I’m not a super girly girl, but there are just some things I can’t do. Peeing outside is one of them.
Barrett speaks up then. “Looks like there is a trail a little ways back that branches off and leads to a rest area with a bathroom.”
“Oh, thank the Lord above. Give me the map, I’ll go back and then meet back up with you guys,” I say, holding my hand out to him.
Shaking his head no, he says, “I’ll go with you. I’m not letting you walk there alone.”
There’s no time to argue about this. Things are about to be at critical levels.
“Fine, fine. Let’s go quick,” I say, hopping from one leg to the other.
The walk to the bathroom is pretty fast and silent. There’s no time for talking. All my attention is focused on making it to the bathroom before I burst.
After washing my hands I head back outside to Barrett.
“Thank you for bringing me. I don’t know how much longer I would have made it,” I say, chuckling at myself.
Barrett laughs softly and tucks a stray strand of hair from my ponytail behind my ear. I can feel goosebumps rise from where his fingers touch my skin.
“No problem, doll, anytime.” I give him a small smile. Doll, I like that.
I can feel my cheeks turning red at his stare. We stand there a few moments, just looking at each other. He’s so handsome, and our closeness is affecting me. I want to kiss him. I want to kiss him so badly right now.
It’s like he’s reading my thoughts because his eyes go to my mouth then back up to my eyes. As if he’s asking me permission. I move slightly closer, and his hands come up to hold my face gently. He slowly starts to dip his head towards me. Our mouths are only a breath away from each other now.
Hell yes, I’ve wanted to kiss this man since I first laid eyes on him.
The sound of the trees rustling breaks our trance and we pull away from each other. Looking up, I see a bunch of birds taking off into the sky. Great, just great. They couldn’t sit there for just a minute longer? Ugh.
Barrett gives an awkward cough. “We should go meet back up with the guys now.”
Stepping away from him I say, “Yeah, I guess we should.” I pause for a second and give him a playful smile. “What are the chances you’d give me a piggyback ride? I’m exhausted.”
He laughs as he turns around and squats down. “Hop on up,” he tells me.
“Seriously? I was just kidding,” I say laughing.
Looking at me over his shoulder he smiles. “I don’t mind. Come on, we can’t have you passing out from exhaustion, can we?” he asks jokingly.
“Well, I’m not gonna fight you too hard ‘cause I definitely want a ride,” I say as I give him a wink. His face flushes as he turns forward again.
I hop on his back and he stands up. He runs his hands up and down the underside of my thigh causing me to shiver.
“You good?” he asks me.
“Yep, let’s go,” I say, giving his shoulders a squeeze. He has nice shoulders, I think, as I run my hands over them before clasping them around his neck.
It doesn’t take us long to meet back up with the others. They give us both odd looks. They don’t seem too thrilled to see me riding on his back.
I tap his shoulder. “You can let me down now. I’ll walk the rest of the way.”
He glances back at me. “No, if you’re tired I’ll carry you. Don’t let them bother you,” he says quietly.
I nod in response. Then look back to the others. “How much longer is the trail because honestly, I’m ready to go back now. If that’s cool with y’all?”
“I’m down to go back to camp too. This trail isn’t as good as the one we did the other day,” Liam says to us.
“Do you want to come back to our camp and have dinner and play a few games?” Wyatt asks me.
“Yes! Food and games. Now y’all are speaking my language,” I tell them seriously.
“I guess I could start the grill up and BBQ something,” Cayden says to us.
I look at him skeptically. “I thought you couldn’t cook?”
“Darlin, I can cook badass BBQ all day long. Throw me in a kitchen though, and that’s when you’ll get food that’ll make you wanna puke,” he says honestly.
“Alrighty then. Sounds good to me. I do love me some good BBQ.”
Chapter Thirteen
Returning to camp, we go our separate ways to get cleaned up and changed. I spot my friends sitting around the fire pit.
“Hey, y’all, how was the hike?” I ask as I walk over to them.
Nikki responds tiredly, “Freaking exhausting, dude. I’m about ready to crash.”
“Yeah, Lincoln took us on the longest trail he could possibly find. My feet are screaming at me right now,” Kelsey adds dramatically.
Lincoln rolls his eyes, “Man, it wasn’t that bad. Y’all are a bunch of wimps, that’s all this is.”
“Obviously, the girls can’t hang with the big boys,” Sawyer says, laughing at them.
Nikki and Kelsey just lift their hands and flip him the bird, then drop their arms back down to their sides pathetically.
Laughing at them, I say, “Well, the guys invited me to have dinner and play games over at their site tonight. I’m assuming you guys don’t want to join us?”
“That’s a hard no. I’m not moving from this spot, and I think I’m going to make Lincoln carry me everywhere I need to go tonight as punishment for making me hike today,” Kelsey says.
Lincoln just shakes his head at her while Nikki is trying to stifle her laughter. Sawyer already looks like he’s falling asleep in his chair. So much for hanging with the big boys, I think to myself.
“Alright, I’m going to take a shower then head over there so I’ll see y’all later,” I tell them before heading out to the showers.
Entering the guys camp I can already smell the pit going. I hope he can actually BBQ as well as he claims so we aren’t stuck with food poisoning later.
I hear Liam calling me from across the camp so I start heading his way.
“You’re on my team, sweetheart. We’re about to kick some serious ass at cornhole,” he says excitedly.
“I’m not very good at this game. Just a fair warning. You might want to pick a different partner,” I tell him seriously.
He just chuckles. “Nope, too late, you’re my partner. We got this.”
He’s putting way too much faith in me here but whatever, he’ll see the error of his ways soon enough.
“Get me a beer then. I play better with a buzz,” I tell him. Reaching into the cooler he hands me a Bud Light. I crack it open and take a few deep gulps.
“Ok, let’s do this,” I say as I grab my beanbags. He makes his way to the other board to stand next to Wyatt, while Barrett makes his way over to my board.
“Ladies first,” Barret says, waving his arm at the board.
I stand next to the back of our board and prepare to throw my beanbag to the one about thirty feet in front of me. There is a hole in each board near the top in the center. You get three points for every bag that goes in the hole and one point for each one that lands on the board itself.
Tossing my beanbag, underhanded, it veers to the right and lands about four feet from the board. Wyatt and Barrett start laughing, and Liam is
giving me a horrified look.
“Hey, man, I warned you I wasn’t any good at this game,” I shout to him.
“I thought you were exaggerating. I figured most people can at least aim their throw in the right direction,” he shouts back and looks at Barrett. “Get this girl another beer because we need all the help we can get.”
I start cracking up at that. “There’s a small window when I’m drinking where I’m pretty good. If we pass that then we are right back where we started.”
He looks around the group. “Let’s switch partners. I call Wyatt.”
Wyatt shakes his head at him. “You can’t switch partners in the middle of a game. Suck it up. You chose her.”
I feel like I should be offended right now, but I’m finding this way too funny.
After about fifteen more minutes, Wyatt throws their winning shot. Kicking our ass twenty-one to ten. Poor Liam’s back must be hurting from having to carry our team the whole time. I believe I made exactly one point that whole game.
As Liam makes his way over to our side, he says, “Barrett, you’re on her team now. Go stand over there by Wyatt.”
Barrett gives me a wink and walks off. Cayden has made his way over now and is sitting on the cooler watching the show.
I walk over and stop in front of him. “Can I get another drink outta there, please?” I ask him sweetly.
He stands and pulls another beer out handing it to me, our fingers brushing as I grab it. Instant butterflies take off in my stomach, and I can feel my cheeks turning pink at his stare. “Thanks,” I say quickly before walking back over to Liam. I feel his eyes on me the whole time.
Liam puts his arm around my shoulders as I open my beer. He leans closer to me and says, “Ok, here’s the plan. Be just as bad as last time, so I can actually win this game.”
I give him the side-eye. Little does he know, I’ve had just enough beer to feel relaxed now. I think I’m at my sweet spot.
I whisper to him conspiratorially, “Sounds like a plan, I’ll do my best.” Chuckling, I add, “Well, not really I guess.”
He laughs and pulls his arm away, and I miss it instantly. Ugh, what are these men doing to me?
He claps once and says, “Game on!”
After another twenty minutes and another embarrassing defeat, for Liam anyways, he shouts, “What. In. The. Actual. Fuck. Just happened here?”
I’m laughing so hard right now. I’m bent over with my hands on my knees and tears going down my face. Standing straight again and trying to catch my breath, I tell him, “I told you I had a window of badassery when I drink. I guess we found it, huh?”
Liam looks to the ground and sticks his bottom lip out. “This game sucks, I don’t want to play with you guys anymore.”
I place my hand on his arm and rub it up and down consolingly. “Aw, don’t be a sore loser. It’s okay that you suck at this game.”
His head snaps up and he starts to say something, but I cut him off when I hear Cayden call out that dinner’s ready.
“Hold that thought, mopey. Food’s ready!” As I’m turning around I feel a sharp sting on my ass. I slowly turn back around to face him. He did not just slap my ass! He smirks at me and starts to walk past me. Oh no. Oh no, no, no. He will not get away with that.
I walk beside him heading towards the food set up. “This means war, baby. Be prepared,” I tell him jokingly.
He slips his arm around my waist and pulls me close to his side. “That, sweetheart, is a war I will gladly participate in,” he says with a wink. I laugh and pull away from him to start making my plate.
A few hours and quite a few drinks later, I’m falling asleep in my chair by the warm fire. I can hear the guys talking around me but I’m barely processing what they’re saying.
“Should we carry her back to her camp or let her stay with one of us?” Barrett asks. They start discussing what the best option would be for me. I like that they are putting my feelings into consideration on whether I’d want to stay here or not.
Truth is, I don’t want to leave them. I’m perfectly content right here where they are. I start mumbling under my breath.
“What was that, Bray?” Wyatt asks, placing his hand on my thigh. I hear a few growls around the group before the hand disappears, causing me to shiver.
“I don’t want to go back to camp. I want to stay with y’all,” I mumble out tiredly again as I snuggle deeper into my chair.
There are a few more minutes of arguing before a pair of arms slip around my back and under my legs, lifting me to a hard chest. I wrap my arms around their neck and bury my face in their shirt.
“You’re sleeping in my tent tonight, is that okay with you darlin’?” A voice whispers into my ear. I nod my head and grip his neck tighter.
A few moments later, I’m being placed on an air mattress. He removes my shoes for me before placing a blanket on top of me. I sit up when I hear him zipping up the tent. He’s not in here with me anymore.
“Wait,” I call out to him. “Where are you going?” he unzips the tent and pokes his head inside. “I’m going to sleep outside by the fire.”
“No, please stay. I don’t want to steal your bed, I’ll go back to my camp if you don’t feel comfortable with me sleeping in here,” I tell him as I start to pull back the covers. He slips back inside the tent and zips it up.
“I don’t mind you being in here. I just figured you wouldn’t want me to stay,” he says, crouching down so his head won’t hit the top of the tent. I pat the spot next to me, “Come on, I don’t mind.” As he’s crawling onto the mattress I slip off my hoodie, so that I’m sleeping in my yoga pants and sports bra.
Laying back down, I snuggle into the blankets. I can feel Cayden behind me trying to get comfortable. I glance over my shoulder and see him lying on his side facing me. The air mattress isn’t very big, if I moved maybe half a foot I would be pressed up against him.
The alcohol is making me brave as I scoot back a few inches. Not touching him but close enough that I can feel his body heat. I hear his breathing stop for a second, and I think he’s about to tell me to scoot back over, but he doesn’t. After a few moments, I close the distance between us, with my back pressed to his front.
“You are so freaking warm,” I tell him as I shiver hard. He slides his bottom arm under my head, and wraps it around me with his hand holding my shoulder. At the same time, he wraps his other arm around my waist and pulls me into him even more.
I’m completely enveloped by his warmth now, and I fully relax in his arms. I think this is the most relaxed I’ve ever felt in my whole life. He buries his face into my hair and takes a deep breath. “Go to sleep darlin’, I’ll keep you safe and warm,” he says, giving me a tight squeeze. With those words and the effects of the alcohol finally taking over, I fall into a peaceful sleep.
Chapter Fourteen
Kieran
I can already tell this chick is going to be extremely fun. She has on a halter top dress that is metallic and barely covers her tits, let alone her ass. It’s matched with hooker heels and fishnets. Perfect for me. She’s a hit it and quit it kind of woman but she’ll be fun enough to remember afterwards.
I’ve never done any business in the Austin area and I’m starting to wonder why not. It’s amazing here. The energy and the amount of freedom each person has from how they act to the way they dress is unbelievable. No one cares about anyone. It’s just love and peace. The love part makes me sick but the peace part is super agreeable.
“So, after we eat, we should go out dancing!” she suggests.
“Sure, that sounds good,” I say, giving her my panty-dropping smile. Her face flushes instantly, the normal reaction women have around me.
We met at a restaurant on the lake, which is a little too romantic but now I know I don’t need to worry about her being a clinger. She’s just looking for a good time, and I’m more than willing to oblige. A cold front blew in yesterday, and the air smells so good. I love cold weather. I don’t know i
f that’s just a vampire thing or what, but I definitely love how a woman's body reacts to the frigid air. I was hoping all the college kids wouldn’t be out but it seems all the alcohol is numbing them to the cold air, since I can hear them screaming while they cliff dive into the water below.
We get our food and start making small talk. I do my normal moves like a touch on the thigh and the whole cheesy footsies. I’ve got my game down to a T. It should be since it took me nearly seventy years. We finish our food and I settle the bill. I stand up and take her arm as we head to my car. I open the door to my rental and let her in. I can be a gentleman, sometimes. I walk around the car to the driver’s side and then freeze.
“What the fuck,” I scream as my fangs emerge. I look around to try and figure out what would’ve caused this reaction but nothing and no one is around. They suddenly disappear and as I open the door, I feel as if I got punched in the gut.
“Follow me,” says the most angelic voice I've ever heard.
Was that in my head or out loud? I still don’t see anyone.
I get in the car and ask her, “Did you say something?”
“No, why?” she answers.
“Follow me,” I hear it again. This time I know it’s in my head. I’ve never experienced this before. I don’t do well with commands but something inside of me is telling me to act on it.
“Get out,” I demand. “I have to go.”
“What the hell? What’s your problem?” she whines.
“It’s an emergency. Call an Uber. I’ll be in touch later,” I say, as I lean over the console and open her door.
She gives me a look like she still can’t believe this is happening but apparently my face must look more serious than I think because she reluctantly gets out of my car and pulls out her phone.
I start the engine and peel out as fast as I can. I have to make sure I don’t lose whatever or whoever is whispering in my head. As I get to an intersection, I have no idea which way to go. Without even telling my arms what to do, they start to turn my car left.
