The Summer of Consent
Page 9
She caught the sound of hikers coming along the nearby path in one direction and more hikers coming down from another. Then she felt Nate’s body tense.
“Don’t move,” he whispered against her lips.
“What is it?”
“I see someone from the school.”
Gloria tried to see as much as her peripheral vision would allow. All she saw were about a dozen people milling around, and then she caught glimpse of a man who looked familiar. Tall, but stocky, with short gray hair and a weathered complexion. He stood head and shoulders above four kids and a thin, waif of a woman who looked just as tan as her husband as the result of active living outdoors.
“Shit,” Nate said, “It’s Dave Gilligan.”
Dave Gilligan was head of the PE department at the school. From the grimace on Nate’s face, Gloria guessed he wasn’t thrilled to be caught making out on a giant stone along a public pathway, and to be honest, neither was she. Gloria didn’t want to think about Darning High or anyone associated with it, apart from Nate, anyway.
They could hardly move apart and make a run for it. That would be too obvious and draw everyone’s attention. No, they were stuck where they were.
“Take off my bandana and run your hands through my hair. That should give us some cover.”
Nate complied and Gloria manoeuvred him back down into a lying position with his head on her lap again and her bending over him. Her hair fell over them providing a long, thick, black curtain. They kissed. Might as well let the people know they had no problem with public displays of affection.
A few whistles and cat calls came their way until someone called out in their direction.
“You two lovebirds might want to get back to base! The weather’s coming in!”
Nate raised his head, but not so much as to reveal his face, and waved in acknowledgement. Gloria watched him watch the hikers leave before he sat up with a grunt of pain from lying on the stone for so long.
He then looked up at the sky and Gloria studied his profile; the high cheekbone, the small cleft in his chin.
“Damn, that man wasn’t kidding,” he said.
Gloria looked up and saw how the sky had turned from bright blue to silver gray, and looking toward the west, the sky was darker still.
“That slim chance of rain that was forecast has changed to definite,” he said, standing up before holding out his hand to help her to her feet. “How do you feel? We got a ways to go to get back to the car, and I don’t know how intense the rain will be, but it’s best not to risk it.”
“I feel fine. I’m surprised, really, considering it’s the farthest I’ve walked in a long time.”
“We’ll need to pick up the pace,” he said as he folded up their picnic blanket, “but on the plus side, we’ll be going downhill.”
Minutes later, they were on the trail again, walking hand-in-hand. About a half hour into their return trip, Gloria could smell ozone in the air and feel a drop in the temperature. They also encountered more people on the trail than they did on the way up who were obviously making tracks to either leave the park before the rain started or to find shelter. However, they ended up slowing their pace a little when they caught up with Dave Gilligan and his family.
“I would stop and suggest we sit a while, but the last place we need to be is under a tree,” Nate said.
“No probs,” she said and hooked her finger in a belt loop on his shorts and tugged him close. When he gave her a questioning gaze, she gave him a crooked smile and slid her hands up his chest. “I don’t mind stalling a bit.”
They stood kissing in the middle of the path. Nate gripped her ass and squeezed her to him, and she could feel his cock twitch beneath his trousers. He lifted his head, allowing them both to catch their breath.
“I have to admit, Gloria, that I had hoped to take you into the woods and ravage you.”
“Oh, damn, Nate, now you tell me.” She hid her face in his chest and shook her head. “You’re cruel.”
“Not as cruel as this hard-on giving me grief.”
Raindrops started to fall.
“If we stall any longer to avoid the Gilligans, we risk getting soaked,” he said and then gave her a sly look. “We could run.” The panic on her face made him quickly add, “Just far enough to get ahead of them a bit. Not all the way back to the car.”
“OK,” she said slowly, still dubious. Nate took her hand and gave it her a gentle tug.
“C’mon. Let’s make the Gilligans eat our dust.”
And off they ran.
By the time they got to Nate’s car, the rain had begun and was starting to pick up in intensity. Cars were leaving the park and causing a traffic jam. When they finally made it to the highway that wound its way down the mountain, the heavens opened and the sky turned so dark Nate had to turn on his headlights.
Driving down the mountain was slow. At one moment there was a long trail of red tail lights ahead of them, and then the visibility worsened. Most drivers had the common sense to drive cautiously, but there were a few who thought they were too important to wait and sped past.
“The rain is definitely getting heavier,” Nate said. “We’ll pull over in the next town and wait it out.”
They crested a hill and saw The Burghdorfer Inn looking like a giant Swiss chalet. The main building was three stories tall, and branching off either side of the main building were two-story annexes. They were lucky to make it to the hotel. The clouds were bailing out the rain with giant buckets. The parking lot wasn’t full, but there were enough cars to make Nate park about twenty yards from the main entrance. They were soaked to the bone by the time they ran inside.
The giant lobby was panelled in dark-stained wood, and the dark green carpet had random flecks of gold, brown, and red that mimicked leaves on the forest floor. A stone fireplace dominated one wall where a fire burned. The rain had definitely brought a chill to the mountain air.
“We may as well get something to eat while we wait,” Nate said.
“Sure, but first let me find the restroom. Hopefully there’s an air dryer in there.” Gloria twisted the bottom of her shirt, wringing out some water to emphasize her point.
“Good idea. I’ll meet you back here in ten minutes.”
He kissed her forehead—a gesture Gloria now loved—and they parted company with him going right and she going left in the direction of the restrooms. Gloria wrung out her shirt in the sink and used the air hand dryer to dry out her hair and shirt as much as she could. She timed it perfectly, because by the time she headed to their meeting place, he was walking in her direction.
“Let’s go eat,” he said, nodding toward the far end of the lobby and the entrance to the hotel restaurant.
When he gently took hold of her elbow and escorted her to the entrance, Gloria couldn’t help smiling. It was something she’d seen couples do.
The restaurant carried on the Alpine theme, resembling a giant mountain lodge with high ceilings and wood beams from which rustic-looking light fixtures dangled. The huge space was divided into three sections, with the center containing most of the seating. There was seating along the outskirts, but most of that space seemed to be reserved for various self-serve buffets. People were eating, but the restaurant was hardly busy even though it was close to six o’clock.
A perky blond hostess greeted them.
“Welcome to the Burghdorfer Inn. Would you like the buffet or would you prefer table service?”
Gloria and Nate looked at each other. He gave her elbow a squeeze and smiled.
“Table service, please,” he said.
The hostess led them to a booth in the center of the restaurant. Similar to everything else, the booth was large and could have held a half dozen people on either side. Gloria figured that this place was swamped during the ski season.
“Your waitress will be here shortly,” the hostess said, giving them their menus.
She was hardly gone when the waitress showed up.
“Good e
vening, my name is Heather and I’ll be serving you tonight. What can I get you to drink?”
Nate ordered a Coke while Gloria opted for the peach tea.
“I’ll round those up for you.” Heather placed napkins and silverware on the table. “I must say...you made it before the storm got real bad. Weather forecast is for the rain to continue all night.” She poured water in their glasses. “Just got word that they closed the road leading to the city because the creek is swelling. The lower banks will definitely flood.” She clicked her tongue. “Looks like you’re going to be our guests tonight. At least you got a nice place to stay!” She laughed.
This time when they exchanged glances, Gloria thought Nate’s expression matched hers in being a mix of trepidation and excitement. This was supposed to be a simple day trip, but their behavior all day had been full of sexual innuendo.
“That being the case,” the waitress continued, “you might want to get your room now. The last time the area flooded at this time of year, we got a lot of stranded motorists in addition to the regular tourists. I’ll be back to take your order.”
She hurried away and Nate turned to Gloria with a sheepish expression.
“She’s right. There’s no point trying to leave.”
Gloria shook her head and wrung her fingers. He must have noticed and interpreted her actions to be nervousness.
“I’m sorry, Gloria. I didn’t pay too close attention to the weather forecast, and that was a mistake. It only said there was a chance of storms. I assumed it would be more of a shower, not a biblical flood.”
“It’s not your fault,” she smiled, shaking her head.
“I’m sure your brother won’t be pleased.”
Gloria shrugged. “Can’t be helped. He may not approve of us, but he’d definitely lose his shit if you attempted to drive us around in this weather.”
“Listen.” Nate began to slide out of the booth. “I’ll go to the front desk and get our rooms—”
“Room,” she corrected. Nate did a double take and she couldn’t help but laugh. “There’s no point in getting two rooms.”
He sat still. “Gloria, I can get two rooms. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
“Why should I be uncomfortable?”
He pursed his lips together. “How many men have you spent the night with—all night?”
“None.”
“And you’re not nervous?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Gloria....” He sighed.
She reached across the table and put her hand over his. “Excited. I’m excited. Not to mention wet. Literally.” She gave him a wicked smile. “Plus, did it ever occur to you that I may be afraid of thunderstorms?”
“Are you?”
“No.”
It was his turn to chuckle. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He got out of the booth and pointed to her bag. “Call home. I don’t want your brother to worry.”
He turned away so fast that he didn’t see her stunned expression. He sounded like a father telling his child to do something. But instead of feeling insulted...a shiver went up her spine. Whenever her father had spoken to her, it was either to bark orders or a jumble of slurred words. More often than not, she ignored him because he was too drunk to know the difference. But when he was sober, he was quick pounce if she didn’t move fast enough.
But Nate’s tone—and attitude—was that of protector, not tormentor. Smiling, she did as she was told and took out her phone to call her brother. As the phone rang, she steeled herself for another argument, but when his voice mail picked up, she relaxed and rattled off her message. By the time she was done, she looked up to see Nate coming back to their table.
“Did you call?”
“Yes, sir. I left a message.”
“Knock it off with the ‘sir’ business.” He frowned. “Did you phone home too, in case he was there?”
Gloria blinked, not comprehending.
“Did you try calling your home phone?” he clarified.
“No.... We have cell phones. Why would we want a house phone too?”
“For situations such as this.” He snapped his linen napkin to cover his lap.
“What would it matter? If he couldn’t answer his cell, it’s likely he’d be unable to answer any phone. Michael’s cell is glued to him, believe me.”
Then realization struck her.
“Nate?” She leaned in and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Do you still have a land line?”
His grimace said it all and she snorted back a laugh.
“I believe in having a Plan B.”
Their waitress returned and Nate ordered fish and chips and Gloria ordered a cheeseburger. As they waited for their food, she teased him some more.
“Speaking of Plan Bs,” she said, “I bet you didn’t expect to be stuck in the mountains on a Friday night. Hope you didn’t have any plans for tonight.”
He sort of froze and his eyes glazed over for a second, but it was long enough for her to notice. She didn’t really know how to interpret his expression.
“Something wrong?” she asked, hoping to sound casual.
“Mmm, no. Not really.” He gave a short laugh. “Funny you mentioned it, but I did have plans for tonight.” He shrugged. “Oh, well.”
“Hot date?” Again, she tried to keep her tone nonchalant but she curled her toes in her shoes and a sharp, cold pain stabbed her heart.
“I wouldn’t go as far as to say ‘hot,’ but a date.”
“Oh.”
Now Gloria wished that they had tried to make it back home. She could hardly be surprised that he would have a girlfriend—but why the fuck didn’t he let on? It’s not like he didn’t have a chance to say something in the last few weeks. If she had known, she never would have allowed herself to get so caught up in her attraction for him—or lose her virginity to him. Here she was thinking she was some grown-ass woman, but she was really just a stupid-ass kid after all, dropping her panties for the first man who looked at her twice.
Idiot!
“Jill invited me to her dinner party,” he said, unprompted, and she was glad he did because she didn’t want to pry. “I told her I may be late.”
“Well, you need to call her. Just like you made me call my brother.”
Nate looked away and sighed. “I’m sure she’ll figure it out when I don’t show up.”
“Maybe, but that would be rude. I may have no experience in dating, Nate, but I have plenty experience dealing with guys who are jerks.”
She didn’t mean to put it that way, but when Nate stiffened and looked at her, all she wanted to do was shrink out of sight.
“I didn’t mean—”
“No. You’re right,” he said, “I should call her since I should be there by now.”
Nate drummed his fingers on the table for a moment before finally getting his cell phone out. Gloria noticed he had Jill’s number on speed dial.
“Hello, Jill?...Yes, I know, I know. I got held up and I’m not going to be able to make it.”
Nate closed his eyes and she suspected he was getting an earful from Jill. Gloria never considered her former homeroom teacher to be a ball breaker, but considering her attitude lately, Gloria wasn’t surprised.
“Since it’s so late, I’m going to have dinner with a colleague.” He winked at her. “No, I’m going to stay out here and get an early start tomorrow. I’m not sure when I’ll get back home....Well, tell everyone I said hi and I’ll see you Monday. ’Bye.”
Gloria frowned. Not a very warm phone call. If anything, it was quite cold. If she were on the receiving end of such a call from her boyfriend, she’d be suspicious—and mad. Or at the very least dubious of her relationship status with the guy.
“I didn’t know you and Jill were dating.”
Nate sighed as he put his phone back into his pocket. “We’re not. Unfortunately, she wishes we were.”
“Can’t say I’m surprised.”
“Why not?”
“Well....”
“Well what?” Her eyes opened wide. “Did you and Jill...?”
“Once,” he admitted with a sigh. “Several years ago and it was a huge mistake.”
“Why? Because you work together?” Just like we do, she wanted to add.
“No.” He shrugged. “She’s just not my type.”
His admission surprised her. “How so?”
“She’s....” He made a growling sound. “How can I say it without sounding chauvinistic? She’s a stereotypical female. Loves to gossip. A busybody. Tends to horn in.”
Gloria nodded. It was true. All she had to do was look up and see Jill coming in the office or poking in her head around the door.
“Listen, I respect Jill as a teacher and a friend, but I’m not interested in her that way.” He made a hollow laugh. “You don’t know this, but she’s arranged for our teaching schedules to coincide with the help of her pal Melanie Ruiz. Now imagine if we were dating.”
Gloria shook her head. Apparently, Jill had it bad. Gloria could blame her. Nate was responsible for many schoolgirl fantasies at Darning High.
“You told her you were spending the night with a colleague. She doesn’t know about us...does she?”
Nate must have detected her fear and quickly replied. “Oh, no. No, no, no. I didn’t want her knowing I was going to the mountains today so I told her I was going up to the university to do some research all day. Otherwise, she would’ve made plans for both of us.”
He shivered and Gloria laughed and clicked her tongue.
“Ah-ah-ah! For shame, Nate. Lying to poor Jill.”
Their food arrived, and to her amusement, Nate looked relieved for the distraction.
Nate couldn’t believe it. Busted and schooled on manners by an eighteen year old, and here he was, a professional teacher. Pretty pathetic, but he knew he deserved it.
He knew he should have called Jill earlier when it became obvious that he wouldn’t make it to her dinner party, but it was just so easy not to think about it—or her. When Gloria started asking questions, he started to feel guilty. Hopefully she knew that if he and Jill had been dating, he never would have succumbed to the temptation Gloria presented.