MikasBlackCougar

by Marisa Chenery

  “I’ll be ready then.” Trent shifted against me as he adjusted his legs. He really was too big to be comfortable in my small tree fort. “How about we get out of here before your legs fall asleep?”

  “I think that would be a good idea. Not that I’m complaining, mind you, but the fort definitely lacks leg room.”

  Trent let go and waited until I moved a little away before he shifted over to the fort’s entrance. He turned and only climbed down the tree far enough to give me room to make my descent. I crawled over to the edge and looked down. I hadn’t realized how high up we actually were until now. The tree had to have grown taller over the last couple of years because I knew the fort hadn’t been this high the last time I had been in it.

  “I’m right here, Mika,” Trent said as if he sensed my sudden nervousness. “I won’t let you fall.”

  “Okay. I can do this.”

  I inched closer to the edge as I turned and put my legs over the side. Trent grabbed one of my ankles and put my foot on the piece of wood just under it for support. Once I placed my other onto it, he lowered himself to the next piece. He then waited for me to take the spot where he’d been.

  With care, I lowered my foot until my toes hit the next piece of wood below the one I stood on. The it creaked a bit, but I didn’t think anything of it. As I went to put my other one down, the piece came away with a loud snap. Caught off guard I started to fall. Unable to grab on hard enough to stop my descent, I let out a shriek before I crashed into Trent.

  I only had enough time to realize we’d both end up in a pile at the bottom of the tree. But that didn’t happen. Trent hooked one of his arms around my waist, then we seemed to twist in the air for a few seconds before he landed on his feet. He held me with my back to his chest and with me still off the ground.

  My heart raced after such a close call. I turned my head to look back at Trent. “How…how did you do that?”

  Trent put me down and let go. “I don’t know. I guess I just got lucky.”

  I shook my head. “No. You landed on your feet as if you just jumped off a small step.” I stared at him. “Your eyes!” They no longer were a pure brown but had lightened to the point they verged on gold.

  Before I could say anything more, Trent grabbed me by the upper arms and lowered his lips to mine. My eyes fluttered shut at the sensation. As he kissed me it made thinking impossible. Everything flew out of my mind. It now didn’t matter he was able to jump from such a great height and land on his feet like a cat. Nor did I care that his eyes seemed to change color from one moment to the next.

  The kiss had just started to get really good when Trent suddenly pulled away. I blinked my eyes open to find him standing with his hands fisted at his sides and his back toward me. I tried to reach out to touch him, but he stepped away before I made contact.

  “Trent? Did I do something wrong?” I asked in a soft voice.

  He shook his head, but didn’t turn to look at me. “No. I have to go. I’ll pick you up tomorrow afternoon.” With that said, Trent walked away at a brisk pace.

  “See you tomorrow,” I said as he disappeared.

  I stayed outside in the backyard until I heard the sound of Trent’s car pulling out of the driveway. Now that he no longer kissed me, I regained my ability to think. I rubbed my hands up and down my arms as my skin broke out in goose bumps, just thinking of what could have happened if Trent hadn’t caught me. Contrary to what he said, that hadn’t been a fluke. He had landed lightly on his feet as if he did stuff like that every day. I couldn’t have done it. If I jumped from that high and landed on my feet I would have broken my leg. The jolt alone would have been enough to knock my teeth together.

  I walked toward the glass sliding door. As for Trent’s eyes—this time I knew my mind hadn’t played tricks on me. The color change had lasted much longer than the first time I’d seen it happen. I also got the distinct impression he had used the kiss to deliberately distract me. That didn’t bug me. What did was the fact Trent felt he had to try to cover it up. If he had a secret, I’d be the last person who’d go around telling everyone about it. Besides, who’d believe me? No one.

  My mind awhirl with thoughts, I walked into the house and then collected my books from the dining room table. I absentmindedly went upstairs to my room. In the end, I decided I wouldn’t say anything more about it to Trent when I saw him tomorrow. If he wanted to tell me, that would be fine, but if he didn’t, I wouldn’t force the issue. I didn’t want him to push me away because I touched on something he didn’t want me to know.

  * * * *

  That night I didn’t sleep very well. I had the strangest dream. In it I was with Trent and we were holding hands as we walked down the school’s hallway. We went past Silvia. She scowled at us. Trent said something, and I laughed, even though I had no idea what he said. We continued walking. Before we reached our homeroom door, Trent stiffened and made the animalistic growl I heard him make before in the cafeteria. I looked in the direction he stared to see what had caused him to act this way. Brad, the boy I used to like in grade nine, stood close to the door with a bunch of his friends. He pointed at me and laughed. Just as he had when he found out I’d liked him. Trent let go of my hand and growled louder. Unsure what he’d do, I stepped to stand almost in front of him. I sucked in my breath as I watched his brown eyes lighten to gold and his pupils become mere slits like a cat’s. When Brad laughed again, Trent pushed me aside and launched himself at Brad. In midair, a shimmering glow outlined his body as it began to change, to shift. One moment he was Trent and in the next a black cougar had taken his place.

  As the large cat in my dream growled with rage I woke myself up. Sitting up in bed, I tried to calm my rapid breathing. I told myself it had only been a dream. Somehow the black cougar subconsciously had become connected to Trent. Maybe it had to do with the web search I’d done on the Okanagan people. Even though I knew the dream had only been a product of my overactive imagination, I tossed and turned for the rest of the night, unable to go back into a deep sleep.

  * * * *

  The next morning I awoke with a headache caused from lack of sleep. Rolling over onto my side, I looked at my alarm clock. It was only nine in the morning. I groaned, but knew I wouldn’t try to go back to sleep. I debated whether or not I should take a shower since I planned to work out with Trent later in the day. In the end, I decided to take one. I could always take another afterward. The shower would help clear the cobwebs out of my head.

  Feeling a bit out of sorts since I hadn’t gotten a full night’s sleep, I dragged myself out of bed and headed down the hall to the bathroom. The sound of Mom and Dad talking downstairs drifted up the stairs. They always got up before I did on the weekends. I locked myself in the bathroom and brushed my teeth before I turned on the shower. The warm water helped wake me up, but it didn’t get rid of my headache. Back inside my bedroom, I dressed in a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt, then went downstairs to get something to eat.

  Mom shook her head when she saw me. “Are you sure you don’t want to go back to bed, Mika? You look as if you could use some more sleep.”

  “I wish I could sleep.” I sat at the kitchen table and massaged my aching temples with my fingertips.

  “Did something keep you awake?”

  “Just a bad dream. I couldn’t go back into a deep sleep after that. I think I spent the rest of the night half-awake and half-asleep. Now I have a headache.”

  Dad got up from the table and went over to the coffeemaker. He took out a mug and filled it. He mixed some cream and sugar into it before he placed it on the table in front of me. “This should help. I put lots of cream and sugar in it just the way you like it.”

  “Thanks, Dad.” I prefer tea, but the coffee would give me a caffeine boost quicker than that would.

  “So what do you have planned for the day, kiddo?” Mom asked.

  After a couple sips of coffee I answered. “Trent’s going to pick me up this afternoon to take me to his place.
He’s going to show me how to lift weights.”

  Dad choked on his coffee. Mom whacked him on the back until he got his breath back.

  “I think it’s great he would offer to do that,” she said. “There’s nothing wrong with a girl your age wanting to lift weights.” She gave Dad a hard stare before she turned back to me. “Just make sure you’re home for dinner.”

  “I promise.”

  The caffeine slowly kicked in while I drank the coffee. My headache eased enough so I didn’t think my head would fall off if I bent over. Not feeling up to cereal this morning, I stood and put some bread into the toaster. As I waited for it to be done, the images of Trent shifting into a black cougar played through my mind. With a shake of my head I pushed them away. Trent could no more shape-shift into a black cougar than I could. Sometimes it didn’t pay to have a vivid imagination.

  Chapter Nine

  Shortly after one in the afternoon the sound of a car pulling into our driveway reached my ears where I sat in the living room. Not wanting to look as if I’d been anxiously sitting there for him to arrive, I waited for Trent to come up to the front door and ring the doorbell before I got up. When it did chime, I shot off the couch and went to answer it.

  Trent smiled after I pulled open the door. “Are you ready to go?”

  With a nod, I turned back to the house, and yelled, “Mom, I’m leaving now.” After I heard her call down from upstairs to make sure I came home on time, I stepped outside onto the porch next to Trent and shut the front door behind me.

  I followed him off the porch to where his car sat parked in the driveway. After doing a double take at the not very old black Ford Mustang, I looked over the roof of the car at Trent. “This is your mom’s car?”

  Trent nodded. “Yup. Mom’s always wanted one, so on her birthday a couple of years back my dad surprised her with it.”

  “And she lets you drive this whenever you want?”

  “Not exactly. She only let me drive it yesterday and today because I told her I wanted to impress a girl I was going to see. So—are you impressed?”

  With a chuckle, I said, “I guess you could say I am.”

  Trent sent me a crooked smile. “Good. You can get in. The door isn’t locked.”

  I got into the passenger side and put on my seatbelt as Trent climbed into the driver’s. The engine roared to life as soon as he turned the key. He put it in reverse and backed out onto the street. Looking back at the house, I saw Jared standing in the living room window, watching us leave. To bug him, I stuck out my tongue before Trent pulled away.

  Turning to look at Trent, I cleared my throat. Now alone inside his car, the kiss we had shared the day before came to the forefront of my mind. “So.”

  “So?” Trent gazed over at me quickly before he turned his attention back onto the road.

  “I don’t know. Just thought to use it to get a conversation going.”

  “Ahh.”

  Trent wasn’t exactly helping. “So, your parents don’t mind you having me over?”

  “No.”

  “Good.” The silence stretched between us again. “You’re not real talkative today, are you?”

  “Sorry. I don’t want to get distracted while I’m driving. If I have an accident in this car my mom will kill me.”

  “Then I guess I’d better shut up and let you drive.”

  At least Trent got to drive his mom’s car. Dad hadn’t let me drive his new one. Not that he thinks I’m a bad driver, it’s just he’s a bit overprotective of it since it’s so new.

  I took turns watching the scenery go by and looking at Trent. Personally, I figured he was the nicer out of the two. Again, he had his long hair down. He wore a looser fitting t-shirt and a pair of sweat pants instead of jeans. I guess I’d picked the right clothes this morning to work out in.

  A short while later, Trent pulled into the driveway of a house that sat in a modest neighborhood in Vernon. Once he parked the car, we both got out and headed for the front door. Trent pulled open the screen door and then opened the inside one. I followed him into the house.

  “Mom? I’m back,” he called.

  A woman, who looked to be in her forties, stepped into the hallway from one of the other rooms. She had long, straight black hair that fell almost to her waist. She also had the same copper-colored skin as Trent. She smiled and held out her hand to him. “That didn’t take very long. Keys, please.”

  Trent placed the ring of keys on her outstretched palm. He then turned and motioned me over to stand beside him. “This is Mika, Mom. Mika, this is my mom.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Mika.”

  “It’s nice to meet you as well, Mrs. Hunter.”

  Trent’s mom shook her head. “No need to be so formal around here. You can call me Lynne.”

  “Okay, Lynne.”

  She nodded in approval. “Enjoy your workout, Mika, and try not to let Trent be too hard on you.” She then left us alone.

  “Come on, Mika. I have my weights set up in the basement.”

  I followed him through the a door and down some stairs. The finished basement was larger than the one at my house. Thick wall-to-wall gray carpeting covered every inch of the floor. It didn’t take me long to spot the workout bench set up in the far corner of the room.

  Trent walked over to the pile of stacked metal weights and put two of the largest ones on either side of the empty barbell that sat over the bench on supports. Each plate had the number forty-five painted on it. I quickly added up how many pounds he had put on. Well crap, no wonder he didn’t have any problem picking me off my feet. And I’m not exactly what you would call a lightweight, either.

  Trent sat on the bench and lay under the barbell. He grabbed the bar in both hands, lifted it off the supports and slowly lowered it to his chest. What seemed like little effort on his part, he pushed it up until his arms were straight once again. He did seven more reps before he placed the bar back onto the supports on either side of the bench. He stood, not even breathing hard, and motioned for me to take his place on the bench.

  I looked at the weights on the bar and then at him. “Hmm, I don’t think I can lift that.”

  He shook his head and laughed. “I didn’t think you could. I’m going to take all the weights off. You’re just going to be lifting the bar to start.”

  “Sure—make me look like a wimp, why don’t you?” I said as I sat on the bench.

  “I started off like that as well.”

  “Yeah, right,” I scoffed. “You just said that to me feel better.”

  “Come on. Let’s see what you can do. If it’s too light I can always put on some weights.”

  I lay back the way Trent had done and grasped the now empty barbell. He shifted to stand behind me. He made lifting the bar off the supports seem easy, but I couldn’t budge it. “Ahh, a little help.”

  Trent grabbed it in the space between my hands and lifted with me. He let go once I steadied the bar. With a deep breath, I slowly lowered it to my chest. It wobbled and tilted one way and then the other both on the way down as well as on the way back up. I managed to do five more reps before I had to give up. Of course Trent had to help me put the bar onto the supports.

  Sitting up, breathing as if I’d just run a marathon, I said, “Holy crap, that was hard.”

  “And you were worried you’d look like a wimp benching just the bar.”

  “Oh shut up.”

  Trent laughed as he put the weights he used back onto the barbell. “Once you learn how to balance the bar it’ll be easier.”

  “If you say so.” I highly doubted it.

  An hour flew by as Trent showed me how to use his dumbbells and the barbell to work out not only my chest but my arms and legs as well. By the time he called it quits I was sweating like a pig and felt as if I could drink a gallon of water. Trent was sweating as well, but nowhere near as badly as me.

  I just about swallowed my tongue when he pulled off his t-shirt and used it to wipe the sweat off hi
s upper body. I’d been admiring the way his muscles flexed as we worked out, but to see Trent’s naked chest with his muscles filmed in moisture—I couldn’t tear my gaze away from it. His physique made me want to drool.

  “Do you want something to drink, Mika?”

  “Wha…what?”

  “I asked if you want something to drink.”

  “Sure. Okay.” I forced my gaze higher and looked Trent in the face. “Water would be great.” The smile I saw in his eyes told me he knew exactly what I’d been staring at like a brainless idiot.

  “There’s some bottled water upstairs in the fridge.”

  My legs felt shaky as we walked over to the stairs. I let Trent start up them first. And my legs shook even more as I took the first step and then the next. If not for the banister I used to pull myself up, I’d never have made it to the top.

  Inside the kitchen, Trent grabbed two bottles of water out of the fridge and handed me one. I took off the cap and downed half the bottle in one breath. Taking a big gulp of air, I started to lift the bottle to my lips again, but I noticed Trent watched me. With a shrug, I said, “I’m really thirsty.”

  He chuckled. “I can tell.”

  I put the water bottle to my lips and finished the rest of the water. Trent took the empty bottle and placed it on the counter. He continued to sip from his.

  “I’ve a notion I’m going to feel this later. My legs are already like wet spaghetti.”

  Trent smiled at me knowingly. “Wait until tomorrow. That’s when you’ll really have sore muscles.”

  “Terrific. Something to look forward to.” Sarcasm laced my words.

  “Once you’ve worked out for a while, you’ll come to like the way your muscles ache.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, right. I’m so not into pain.”

  “Just wait and see.” Trent put the lid back on his bottle of water and stuck it in the fridge. “Let me just go and grab a clean shirt, then I’ll take you home.”