by Payne, Jenna
Clothed in plain old running shorts and a sporty tank top, Erin made her way across the nearby meadows and then back into the cluster of trees beside the glistening lake. She had not felt as peaceful as she did at that moment since her toxic relationship with her ex-boyfriend Arnold had started and finally ended.
As she went through the front door of her stepdad’s vacation home, the delicious aroma of coffee and French toast immediately caught her attention and made her stomach grumble. To her surprise, she found Kale preparing breakfast.
“You’re up early,” she commented as she joined him in the kitchen.
Kale was wearing an apron over his usual black shirt and jeans. His sandy hair was still damp, and Erin could actually smell his aftershave. That’s when she noticed his newly shaved face. The fresh look and clean cut made him seem less intimidating.
“You’re up earlier…” he said with a grin as he placed some French toast on two plates and piled them with cheese, eggs, and bacon.
Erin was still a bit sweaty from her morning jog, but she couldn’t help staring at the mouthwatering breakfast plates, eager to devour hers. She quickly grabbed her towel and started wiping off her perspiration. As she did, she caught sight of Kale watching her intensely. All of a sudden, her heart beat faster. She turned her back awkwardly, muttering, “I think I’ll go change first.”
“Sure, go ahead,” he said. “I’ll wait for you.”
When she came back after a minute, she was dressed more conservatively in an oversized shirt and navy leggings.
“Shall we eat now?” Kale asked, positioning himself at the breakfast nook.
Erin smiled. “Thanks for waiting.”
As they enjoyed breakfast together, he told her how his mom had taught him how to cook and how his dad was the one who’d taught him how to make things such as wooden furniture.
“That’s nice,” Erin said, surprised yet happy that he was sharing something personal with her. By this time, they’d had more conversations since that first night they had begun talking. He wasn’t so bad, after all. He was perhaps just an introvert. And it was good that she was getting to know him better, which allowed her to feel more at ease with him.
“By the way, how was your jog?” Kale asked after taking another sip of his coffee.
“Great!” Erin said cheerfully. “I think I’ll be doing it daily now. Being away from the city has somehow transformed me into an early morning person. And besides, I vowed to myself that I will try to develop healthier habits this summer.”
“Good for you.”
“I know. It’s a lot better than jogging in the city park back home.” Erin had almost finished off her food. She looked up and found herself gazing into Kale’s deep green eyes which were fixed on her. She averted her eyes at once, feeling self-conscious. “What about you? What kind of activities were you into in San Francisco?”
“I worked out in the gym and ran a lot whenever I wasn’t busy,” he answered.
“What kind of work did you do there, anyway?”
“I was… in the IT industry…” he explained. “Carpentry is just a hobby.”
“Oh, I see. I think I remember my mom mentioning that Winston was in the same kind of business. Did you know that they actually met online?”
He chuckled, seeming as if he was really loosening up. “Yeah, I heard. My dad and I had our own apartments and we lived our own lives too since Mom passed away… But yeah, we still got together once a week and we got along pretty well…”
Erin suddenly remembered her own dad, whom she terribly missed. With a wistful look, she whispered, “I wish my dad was still here.”
Suddenly, Kale’s face darkened. His aura seemed to shift from light to heavy, from relaxed to gloomy. “Uh, excuse me for a while… I have to get back to working on the bedroom…”
Erin was startled when he abruptly got up and left without even helping her with the dishes. What did I say? she wondered anxiously. He’s really weird.
Throughout the day, Kale could not be disturbed from his work. He was actually able to finish making the bed and cabinets in the room, while Erin wrote a blog post on her laptop. When he was done, he just left the house without a word.
In the evening, she ate dinner by herself, silently wondering where Kale had gone. But then, she tried to remind herself that he was more than capable of taking care of himself. She shouldn’t care at all.
She heard the front door swing open just as she was getting ready for bed. Dressed in her pajamas, she peeked into the living room.
“Hi, Erin.”
The blood drained from her face when she saw the very familiar figure of her ex-boyfriend, sneering at her. “What are you doing here, Arnold?” she demanded angrily. She couldn’t believe he’d come all the way to Willow Stone to ruin her summer.
He strode toward her in several long steps. “I’ve missed you,” he told her, his expression changing into one of desperation and longing. “I want you back, Erin. You know I do.”
Erin stepped backward, but he took two steps forward and grabbed her shoulders. “Please come back to the city with me. We can work it out, I promise.”
She took another step back but found herself backing toward the wall beside her bedroom door. “I’ve had enough of your promises, Arnold,” she said firmly. She didn’t want to fall victim to his pleas and promises again. She wanted to love herself more this time. “Just go back to Brenda. Leave me alone.”
“I don’t love Brenda,” he explained in a wretched voice. “I got tempted. She seduced me! But it’s you that I want to be with forever!”
“I don’t care!” Erin said in a louder voice, wanting to stand up for herself. “You’ve already ruined everything we had, over and over again. So please, just go!”
When she tried to duck under his arm to get further away from him, he suddenly grabbed her and pinned her to the wall. Without any warning, he planted his lips on hers and kissed her angrily and hungrily at the same time. She attempted to push him away, but he was too strong. He kept kissing her lips then her neck, even as she whimpered.
“Don’t do this, Arnold…” she begged.
He did not listen to her. Instead, he seized her hands and dragged her toward the bedroom door before she could argue or escape. She started to scream, but he slapped her hard on the cheek, the impact making her drop onto the bed.
“I want you, Erin,” he kept repeating as he climbed on top of her and pinned her body under him so she could not move. “I’ll make you realize how much you want me too.”
“No!” she shouted. She started to scream again, but he covered her mouth with his hand to muffle the sound.
Kale, where are you?! she silently screamed in panic and fright. Kale!
At that moment, she heard the bedroom door open and saw a huge fist punch Arnold’s jaw, making him shout in pain. It was immediately followed by another punch, which threw him off balance and had him rolling off the bed.
Erin sat up quickly just in time to see Kale’s flashing eyes and scary expression as he punched Arnold repeatedly. Arnold’s face was bleeding, and his nose was probably broken. He tried to punch back, but he wasn’t any good against her bulky, menacing stepbrother.
“Stop! Stop!” Erin screamed. That was the only thing to make Kale stop.
Arnold had his hands up as he cowered on the floor.
“Get out of here before I kill you,” Kale said gruffly. “And don’t ever come near Erin again, or you’re dead.”
For the first time ever, Erin saw immense fear in Arnold’s eyes as he scrambled to his feet and ran out of the house.
She was so relieved and overwhelmed that she simply crumbled on the bed, sobbing. Kale was breathing heavily, just standing there and watching her. After a few seconds, he climbed on the bed with her and took her in his arms, cuddling her in his protective embrace.
*****
The following days went by without any mention of the incident. But somehow, that night had allowed another wall a
round Kale to collapse, letting Erin in completely.
“I can’t believe mom and Winston are in Venice now!” Erin exclaimed, showing Kale the Facebook photo from her phone before they left the lake house.
“Ah, cool,” was all he said. “I didn’t know they planned to tour the whole of Europe.”
“Don’t you have Facebook?” Erin suddenly asked.
He shook his head as they began jogging away from the house. It was still dark, probably around five in the morning, when they went out in their sweats just as they had been doing together for the past week.
“That’s crazy!” Erin said, laughing. “You’re the only person I know who’s not on Facebook! To think you’re in IT!”
“Yeah, well…” he said, grinning. “Not everybody’s into social media. I honestly don’t give a damn about other people’s lives.”
“Well, you have a point,” Erin agreed.
They jogged quietly for some time, before stopping to rest amid some tall trees and thick shrubs.
“I’m so tired!” Erin said, turning around to face Kale whom she knew was just standing behind her. But to her astonishment, he wasn’t there.
When she whipped back to the front, she stumbled backward in surprise upon finding Kale standing so close to her. “What-?”
“Ssshhh…” he said, his eyes darting toward the nearby tree branch above his head. Erin’s eyes shifted upward, following his gaze. She gasped when she saw a big, fat snake sliding toward them. Apparently, he’d blocked it from reaching her. She wanted to yank him out of the way but he mouthed, Quiet.
She watched the snake wide-eyed, trying to stifle the scream that was rising in her throat. It slithered to his shoulders and wrapped itself around his neck. He did not appear to be worried though, and he actually seemed to know how to deal with it.
The minute that passed felt like an hour. But finally, the snake went back to the branch and left them alone. Erin was so relieved, yet very much shocked. “Why’d it leave?” she whispered.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Let’s just be grateful.”
That whole day, Erin could not get the incident out of her head. It did not seem logical that the snake had almost bitten him or crushed his neck, but had ended up just going away. Nevertheless, she dismissed it as one of those strange things about him.
In the afternoon, Kale was busy painting the other room. Meanwhile, Erin tried to shake off her doubts about her stepbrother, reminding herself that it was best that the two of them became friends.
It was much hotter that day than the others. Hence she decided to head over to the lake for a quick swim. It was certainly a calming experience to take a dip in the shallow water near the shore, amid the astounding natural landscape. She soon forgot about her qualms and worries.
The sun had already set when she came out of the water, which had gotten colder. She was wearing her favorite blue bikini, which was not really skimpy but still very revealing. The night breeze was already blowing, making her shiver.
“Erin,” a familiar male voice said. She turned toward it and saw Kale approaching with a bathrobe.
She accepted it and put it on consciously, covering her exposed body. He didn’t seem to be ogling, although she suddenly felt uncomfortable that she was half-naked beside this strikingly handsome man who had saved her life twice already.
“Done painting?” she asked as they walked together along the side of the lake.
“Yep,” he said with a smile. “You’ll see it soon enough. But of course it can’t be used yet.”
Erin frowned. “You know, you can sleep in the master bedroom too. I mean, you can set up a mattress on the floor, ‘coz I know you’re too tall for the sofa.”
“Oh, it’s alright,” he said quickly.
“Don’t your back and legs ache in the mornings?” she wondered with concern.
“Don’t worry, I can handle it,” he assured her, placing a friendly arm around her shoulders and slightly squeezing them before dropping down again. “I’ve gotten used to it.”
Erin nodded. However, that quick gesture and touch had caused shivers to run down her spine. Her body suddenly seemed to grow warm all over. Stop it, Erin. He’s your stepbrother.
But a voice inside her answered, So what? You’re not related by blood at all!
She told the voice to shut up as she hurried inside the house.
“What’s that smell?” he suddenly asked, making her stop and look around in the living room. They both wrinkled their noses as they caught the whiff of the subtle stinky odor.
“There’s the culprit!” Erin suddenly said, pointing to a puppy that had just pooped on the sofa. She laughed then as the puppy wagged its tail and bounded down from the sofa. “Where did she come from?”
He laughed too, watching the puppy as it bounced up and down and then started to lick her legs. “She was wandering around outside. Looks like somebody’s got a crush on you…” he teased.
Erin giggled, crouching down to scratch the dog’s head and ruffle her golden hair. “You cute little thing!”
There were several loud knocks on the door. The dog yelped and ran excitedly toward it.
“Must be your master, little one,” Erin said as she opened the door. Meanwhile, Kale got some old newspapers to scoop and throw away the dog’s poop. He went on to scrub the area with soap and water.
An old, kind-looking woman stood in the patio. “There you are,” she said as she carried the puppy in her arms. “I’m so sorry for the trouble. I don’t know how he got here.”
“No problem,” Erin said. “I’m surprised someone else is actually in the area. Where are you staying?”
“My cousin owns the property a few miles away, but we had a picnic in the meadows earlier before my puppy had gone off exploring on her own. We’ve been looking around for her for two hours!”
“Well, it’s a good thing you found her here.”
“Yes, thank you.” The old lady said goodbye and left.
When Erin came back inside, Kale was already cooking dinner for the two of them. She saw the wet spot on the sofa, which still had a slightly distinct stench.
Kale saw her looking. When she strolled into the kitchen, he said, “Looks like I’ll be sleeping with you tonight, after all…”
Her heartbeat raced, despite her attempts to control it. The way he said it made her feel excited and nervous at the same time.
*****
Erin volunteered to do the dishes since Kale had cooked for them. After sharing a wonderful dinner, she found her thoughts drifting back to him. Although she tried her best to push them to the back of her mind, images of him just kept returning.
She’d almost forgotten about washing up because of the puppy incident and the memorable time at dinner. To top it all off, the prospect of sleeping in one room was too distracting!
When she finally finished cleaning up in the kitchen, she rushed to the bathroom inside her bedroom and quickly took off the robe she was wearing. She was eager to take a shower, freshen up, and go to bed- if she could actually fall asleep that night.
She turned to the shower, ready to strip off her bikini. But when she pulled the curtain aside, she was shocked to find Kale inside.
“Shit, sorry,” she quickly said, her heart pounding wildly. She felt her cheeks reddening, although he was still in his boxers and was not completely naked.
He was actually just about to turn on the shower. He looked a bit flustered too, but she did not miss the way his eyes seemed to bulge at her exposed body. “No, I’m sorry. Something’s wrong with the shower in the other bathroom so I went here. I forgot to inform you…”
“It’s okay, you go ahead,” Erin said. She was about to retreat when he made a move to step out of the shower.
Somehow the air seemed to be electrified. She could feel her heart hammering against her chest as their bodies pressed against each other accidentally.
She looked up then and met his penetrating gaze. It was probably a mistake, b
ecause the next thing she knew, their lips were on each other, kissing hungrily, passionately, madly.
His hands stroked her cheeks gently, then moved toward her neck and shoulders, caressing her skin in the most sensual way she’d ever experienced. Her entire body felt like it was on fire as the sexual tension between them increased, enfolding both of them in intense desire.
Her hands flew around his neck, just as his hands rubbed her bare back. She had no sense of right and wrong at that moment, nor was she able to make light of what was happening. All she could think and feel was the extreme passion that enfolded her entire being.
He pulled her into the shower with him as their kiss deepened. Their tongues pushed into each other’s mouths, twisting and dancing with each other in an erotic fashion.
She felt her ponytail loosen as they grew wilder. He couldn’t seem to get enough of her, kissing her neck, licking her chest, touching her entire body. She was literally burning with pleasure as her own fingers gripped the muscles on his shoulders and then on his back. Eventually, she found her hands exploring the little hairs on his chest, groping his abs, and then reaching downward.
She accidentally leaned on the lever behind her, turning on the shower. But they didn’t stop the foreplay. Even under the cold water raining on them, their bodies remained aflame with heated passion. They could not get enough of each other.
Her bikini top had a clasp at the back which he was quick to unfasten. She helped him then by pulling at the pieces of cloth tied around her neck. The top fell off, revealing her full breasts. In the process, the tie holding her ponytail fell to the ground, letting her soft black tresses cascade over her shoulders. They were drenched in a few seconds, along with their bodies.
He pulled back, his eyes sweeping across her face, hair, neck, and down to her breasts. Without any hesitation, he bent down a little and started sucking on each pink nipple, letting his tongue massage the tips and lick the surrounding areas.
Her fingers got tangled in his now messy hair as he fondled and kissed her breasts. He then grabbed one of her hands and pulled it down, positioning it on top of her soaked swimsuit bottom. He pulled down the panties for her and guided her fingers toward the mass of hair, which she willingly began stroking.
