by Ivy Jordan
My belly was already grumbling, but I knew it was partly craving what Elijah and I had just started on the floor. “I am,” I exclaimed, lifting up from the floor. I headed into the kitchen, following Xander, amazed by all the fruit he’d collected right outside his front door. “You have everything you need here, don’t ya?” I asked, washing the fruit in the sink as he handed it to me.
“Just about,” he agreed, flashing a warm smile in my direction. There was something in his eyes I recognized: loneliness, similar to that of Milton’s. I wondered why he didn’t want to find a woman, someone to share his life, and possibly start a family with. He was a handsome man, rugged good looks with shaggy blond hair, a goatee, and muscles that rippled down his body, covered in smooth, tan skin.
“I’ve got some eggs in the fridge,” Xander motioned to the modern black side-by-side. This place was amazing, Elijah hadn’t exaggerated.
I grabbed the eggs from the small basket and began whipping them with some cream until they were smooth and well-blended. Elijah entered the kitchen, leaning against the doorway and watching Xander and I work together preparing the meal. “You need a woman out here; you’re getting too domesticated,” Elijah teased his pal.
“Domesticated? Boy, I’ll show you how domesticated I am when we go catch lunch,” Xander pushed back, a gleam in his eye that proved he was happy to be teased.
I cooked the eggs while Xander cooked some veggies he’d pulled from his garden: mushrooms, potatoes, and green peppers. It smelled delicious as he dumped the mixture into my eggs, smiling at me as I stirred everything together. He had a bowl of fresh fruit already prepared, which he handed to Elijah and told him to make himself useful. I couldn’t help but laugh at their teasing. It was like having two brothers in the room. It felt good.
“Are these wild chicken eggs?” Elijah asked, pushing the yellow substance around his plate like a finicky two-year-old.
Xander laughed. “Yes, but mine aren’t wild. I feed them oats, fruits, corn, and grains,” he stated proudly.
“What’s wrong with wild chicken eggs?” I asked. I’d never eaten them, even though we had several take a home in our yard when I was a girl. My dad would shoo them away, throwing away any eggs that he found.
“Those birds are rats with wings,” Elijah moaned.
“I have a system; my eggs are fresh,” Xander assured his squeamish pal.
I was starving, and I didn’t care where the eggs had come from; they smelled delicious. I dug in, shoving a large bite in my mouth. “Oh wow, that’s good,” I exclaimed, staring at Elijah, motioning him to try them.
I could tell he didn’t want to, but Xander called him a pussy, and he’d already seen me try, so he had no choice. He shoved a bite into his mouth, and then his eyes widened as he tasted the flavor. “Not bad,” he admitted.
We didn’t see too many of the wild hens in town, but Xander’s place was swarming with them, so he could have as many eggs as he wanted. “I mark the ones I don’t take, so I know what’s fresh and what isn’t,” he explained after Elijah had declared he liked the feathered rat eggs.
After breakfast, I was ready to ask about Tommy while I had the two guys together, figuring two memories were better than one. I sat down on the couch after getting dressed and slid my hand into Elijah’s.
“I’ve got some news,” Elijah announced, taking my opening for starting the conversation.
“What’s that?” Xander asked, looking up from his spear he held, sharpening it with a smooth rock.
“Remember Kellie?” he asked.
I knew what was about to happen, and I was grateful that he was finally talking about it and hopeful that Xander would help him make the right decision. I knew what the right decision should be, but I couldn’t tell Elijah what to do, but maybe Xander could.
“I remember: the prom queen with a bad attitude,” Xander described her without showing any signs of emotion, and little interest.
“Apparently, that night we hooked up, there was a… I… shit, I have a kid, she’s three,” Elijah blurted out.
Xander didn’t show much surprise, making me wonder if he’d already known about the kid. Elijah said he seemed to know everything about everyone, and being on this small island, it would make sense that he’d already figured it out. “So, what are you gonna’ do?” Xander asked.
It was a question I’d been wondering as well, but was too afraid to come right out and ask so directly.
Elijah let out a sigh, a deep, exhausted one filled with irritation and stress. “She told me she didn’t want me to see the little girl until I decide if I want to be in her life. But, you know how what my old man was like; what kind of role model was that? What business do I have screwing this kid’s life up?” Elijah questioned.
Xander laughed. “We don’t get to choose our parents, and they don’t get to choose us. But, I can tell ya, knowing a parent chose not to be in our life is far worse than any mistakes they make in raising us,” Xander stated profoundly.
I knew that hit a nerve with Elijah. His mother had left, vanished without a trace. His father never spoke of her, and his memory of her, if ever there was one, didn’t exist. She chose not to be a parent. That hurt him; I knew it did. “I just don’t want to mess some kid’s life up,” Elijah added.
Xander rolled his eyes and continued sharpening his spear. “You can make all the excuses you want. But, you have to man up, step up, and let that kid know she has a father, one that will support her, help her, and hopefully, love her,” Xander said without lifting his eyes from his spear.
It was obvious the respect the two men had for one another, neither getting upset at the other’s remarks. Elijah sighed. “But, Kellie fuckin’ Kamaka?” Elijah moaned.
“You fucked her, not me,” Xander laughed. “Sorry, no disrespect,” he lifted his eyes to me as he spoke.
“You know he has to step up, right?” Xander asked me directly.
I nodded. Yes, I knew that all along. It was tough to swallow, knowing he had a child with another woman, one that glared at me with mean-girl eyes, but it was his child. Bailey was a beautiful little girl, and she deserved the best. Elijah was very capable of being the best.
“Get dressed, pansy boy; it’s time to catch our lunch,” Xander teased Elijah as he got up and walked out the front door.
“Do you think he’s right?” Elijah asked me once we were alone.
“I do,” I said softly, offering a supportive smile to his shaken eyes.
I loved the bond the two men had together, and I knew that my brother shared that same bond. It was nice being there with them both, witnessing the type of friendship my brother had before he died.
“I’ll meet you outside,” I kissed Elijah’s cheek before getting up and heading to the front door.
Xander had a bag hanging at his side and a set of spears in his hand as I stepped out of the cabin. “Choose your weapon,” he instructed, motioning towards the gear on the picnic table. A spear gun, a shotgun, a fishing pole, a net, and an ax. What the fuck are we hunting?
I grabbed the net and the fishing pole, deciding the other weapons looked too dangerous and scary. Whatever it was that you hunted with those weapons, I could live without.
“There’s the pansy boy, finally,” Xander called out as Elijah stepped towards us. He told him the same thing, prompting him to select his weapon of choice.
“I’ll take the bayonet,” Elijah said proudly, sliding the large, sword-like knife from the table. I hadn’t even noticed the weapon upon first glance.
“Now, let’s see who’s domesticated,” Xander taunted and led us into the woods.
We stopped at a large stream, about a half mile into the woods and away from the safety of the cabin. The noises in the trees made me nervous, unsure of what kind of animal hid beyond them, or just behind them.
“Drop your pole in there,” Xander motioned towards the water.
I sat down on the edge of the bank and attached the shiny spinner to the end of
the weighted line. It was deeper than I first expected, going down at least ten feet before dragging at the bottom.
Elijah was walking the woods, rustling leaves with his hands and peering around the trees. Eventually, he was out of sight. “You okay here?” Xander asked.
I nodded, even though I wasn’t sure I was.
Both guys were gone, and I got a bite on my pole. I pulled up a good-sized trout. I unhooked him put him in the wicker basket Xander left by my side, and dropped it back into the water.
After about an hour sitting on that bank, I’d caught at least six fish, more than enough to feed us three for lunch. A loud yell echoed through the woods, and then another. I stood on the bank, searching through the trees until I made out Xander and Elijah walking side by side. “We got dinner!” Elijah yelled.
A large boar was between them, each having a hand at dragging it towards me. It was bloodied, and obviously stabbed in the heart. “That’s a big one,” I gasped, surprised the thing didn’t kill them first.
“Elijah proved he’s still a man,” Xander boasted, giving Elijah full credit for the kill.
“Holy shit, you caught lunch,” Elijah beamed, looking in my basket.
“I found some lemons and wild ginger,” I smiled. I could see the appeal of living out here off the grid, even though he was more on the grid than he realized with his running water, electricity, Internet, and satellite TV. It was still nice, catching your own food, growing your own plants. I could handle it, maybe not forever, but at least for a couple more days.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Elijah
“Thanks for letting us hang out all week,” I slapped Xander on the back.
“It was good to have some company,” he admitted. I knew he didn’t like staying up here alone all the damn time, but I could see the appeal of being so far away from the rest of the world.
Taylor leaned in and gave Xander a long hug. I could tell there was some real emotion there, and it warmed my heart to know she’d taken to him so easily.
“Come back anytime,” Xander offered.
“Yeah. I don’t think we’ll be making that hike again anytime soon,” I laughed.
Taylor took my hand, and we headed back down the mountain, back towards society, our homes, and our problems.
“Thanks for coming up here with me,” I smiled, pulling her close to my side.
Her sweet giggle in my ear was nice, comforting, and at that moment, was the best noise I’d ever heard.
The trip down wasn’t much easier than the trip up. My calves were burning, and I knew Taylor’s had to be as well. “You want to stop?” I asked.
She nodded, and immediately sat down on a fallen tree, catching her breath and trembling a little from what I assumed was exhaustion and pain. “How about we camp out here,” I suggested.
Her eyes widened, and her lips curled into a smile. “And sleep in what?” she laughed.
I grinned as I pulled the backpack from my shoulder and dropped it on the ground in front of me. “I have a tent.”
“Why did you bring a tent?” she questioned, her eyes filled with curiosity, but satisfaction.
“I didn’t think you’d make the trip up the mountain all in one day,” I admitted.
“Wow, ye of little faith,” she shook her head.
It was true. I hadn’t believed she could make the trip. But, hell, she did better than I did. She was a tough woman. She’d proved that time and time again.
I pulled the tent from the bag and started setting it up while she tossed her backpack in front of her. “Well, I guess we can have some wine and crackers,” she grinned, pulling the ingredients for a little make-shift picnic from her bag. “What else do you have in there?” I questioned.
Taylor smiled, her eyes narrowing on mine, and then pulled out a sexy nightie, scented massage oils, and a box of condoms. My eyes widened. What the fuck?
“How come this is the first time I’m seeing all this?” I gasped.
“It’s the first time we’ve actually been alone,” she groaned.
I had stayed up late talking with Xander every night while she fell asleep on the couch. In the mornings, he was always up before us, even when we woke up super early. I wasn’t sure the man even slept. “I’m sorry,” I apologized for neglecting her.
“Don’t be. I’m glad you got to talk to him about Bailey. I hope it helped you with your decision,” she smiled.
It had. I hadn’t told anyone what I was going to do yet, but I would, after I was certain it was the right choice for everyone involved.
“So, you coming in here, or what?” I asked, opening up the door to the tent I’d just erected.
Taylor climbed inside, gripping the items from her bag, and I closed the tent so we’d have some privacy; not that we needed it out in the middle of nowhere. “I feel like something’s been on your mind all week,” I questioned.
Taylor had been quiet and acted distant a few times during our week together. I wasn’t sure if it was about Bailey, about me, or something else going on in her life. She never had told me what was on her mind when she’d come over that day, and there’d been plenty of opportunities. “Is it about Milton?” I asked, knowing he was someone she’d grown close to over the last few weeks.
“I have been worried about him,” she admitted. “I just get a strange feeling that he could take his own life,” she added, tears welling up in her eyes as she spoke. I knew this wasn’t just about Milton; it was deeper.
“Because of your dad?” I asked carefully.
She nodded, sniffling up her tears. “I should have been there for him. I knew how depressed he’d become after Tommy’s death. I thought he was strong, that if I could handle it, so could he,” she cried.
I pulled her in close, rubbing her back as she let out her sobs. “That wasn’t your fault. There’s no way you could’ve known,” I assured her.
“If I was here, I would’ve known,” she pulled back, looking into my eyes with a strong remorse and regret.
“Baby, you can’t blame yourself. I know how close you were with your father. I’m sure you talked to him all the time. If he wanted to cry out for help, he would have, and you would’ve seen it. He thought he could deal with it on his own, so you can’t blame yourself,” I asserted.
She nodded. “I know. It’s just, Milton, and I feel like I can at least help him,” she smiled faintly, her eyes still wet with tears, and her cheeks flushed with pain.
“Okay. So, you’ll help Milton. That’s not a bad thing,” I smiled, wiping a lone tear from her cheek.
I’d spent so much time talking about my problems; I’d neglected to see that Taylor had plenty of her own. I knew that being around me and Xander all week, hearing stories that included Tommy, had opened up a can of worms for her, but I thought it was doing more good than bad. I wasn’t sure right now. I felt like there was more, but in her fragile state of mind, I didn’t want to push. If there was more, she’d tell me when she was ready.
I unzipped the tent and pulled in the backpacks that we’d left behind, and quickly zipped back up. The sun was starting to go down, and the noises in the woods startled Taylor with each howl, hoot, or snort. I couldn’t help but laughing. Little Miss Betty Bad Ass was scared. She was human after all. “It’s not funny,” she squealed, slapping me gently on the shoulder as I teased her.
“I think you need some wine.” I pulled out the cork with the portable corkscrew she’d brought. “Glasses?” I asked, my eyebrows rising onto my head. She shook her head. “Really? And I thought you were prepared,” I teased.
After the first bottle was gone, and Taylor had relaxed, I was starting to feel frisky. “Why don’t you put on that nightie,” I suggested, biting down on my bottom lip as she reacted with a smile.
“Turn around,” she insisted as she dug through the bag.
I hated to do it, but I agreed. I could see the shadow of her silhouette in the tent as it shadowed from the small battery operated light. Fuck, she is sex
y. How did I get so lucky?
“Okay, turn around,” she announced.
I turned. My eyes dropped to her chest; thin white lace curled around each breast, leaving plenty of cleavage to admire. They lowered to her bare belly as the red baby doll top opened to her tanned, smooth flesh. Past her navel, a pair of silky red panties covered the sweetest flesh of all, the flesh that made my dick jump just thinking about it. “Damn,” I gasped, bringing my eyes back to hers.
I didn’t wait for an invitation or permission. I grabbed her by the small of the waist and pulled her onto my lap. My mouth sucked on the sweet flesh of her neck, slowly moving to the open cleavage she’d made available. She moaned, her head falling back against her shoulders, and then a soft sigh of satisfaction rolled from her parted lips. Fuck, she makes my dick hard as a rock.
Her body arched back as her arm stretched out behind her. I watched as she reached for the box of condoms. She handed them to me, and then slid off my lap, sprawling out before me on the tent’s floor. Her flesh was so smooth, so silky in the dim light of the tent that my eyes filled with pleasure just looking at her.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Taylor
Elijah worked quickly, undoing his jeans and slipping them from his body. On his knees over me, his cock standing at attention, he rolled the condom over the hard, veiny flesh like a pro.
His lips parted as his breathing grew rapid. My heart pounded against my chest in anticipation as he lowered himself against me.
The weight of his body against mine made me exhale with a satisfied pleasure, and the way he looked at me made my heart skip a beat. There was so much more to this man than I’d chipped away at, and I knew at that moment that I wanted to spend the rest of my life getting to know everything about him.
His hands pulled at my red thong, sliding it down my legs with a swift motion. His fingers immediately searched my pussy, spreading my plump lips, rubbing the hood of my clit back as he teased my sensitive pearl, and then plunged deep inside my already wet, ready cunt.
