Perfection #3

by Claire Adams

  Perfection #3

  By Claire Adams and Shawna Gleason

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2014 Claire Adams

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  Chapter One

  Lilly

  The sun streamed through the big picture window—it was nice waking up seeing the lake and the sun rising over it. I lay under the cool sheets enjoying the scenery and thinking about my vacation with Bullet. It wasn’t what I expected but honestly I had not expected very much. Bullet was smart, sexy—the guy could definitely get his own spread in Playboy Magazine. But there was one hitch—he was a complete and utter jerk. I sighed and stared out across the lake. What a waste of guy! I thought that I had feelings for him but he effectively killed that thinking with his tawdry offer. Just thinking of it made me feel cheap and disgusted.

  When I left his room last night, I was ready to steal his car and leave, but a deal was a deal. He promised to give me the boob job of my dreams in exchange for a weekend with him at his cabin. However, he failed to tell me that his creepy friends would be joining us. Rafe and Eve were a walking porno, ready to do it wherever and whenever they could. Now they wanted to include us in their shenanigans. Bullet said just to watch but I knew there would be more to it than that. I wasn’t going for it. After I shed a few tears and took yet another shower, I thought about Bullet’s offer. Of course, I would never consent to that but I kind of got the impression that he was fishing, testing me. Was it a test? Perhaps he wanted to see just how far I’d go? Well, now he knew.

  What would make him think that I would want to participate in a threesome or a foursome? Was I sending off some kind of weird vibe? Was I being too promiscuous? I mean, I fell into bed with him after seeing him out at a dance club just once. Maybe he thought of me as some kind of tramp, there for the taking. I didn’t know but now here I was, wishing he were different, that he cared about me and wanted me for something other than sex.

  I rolled over in the bed, feeling lazy and again, a little sore in certain places. I had to admit that Bullet knew how to make love to a woman. I had even told him that—maybe I shouldn’t have. Oh well, too late now. You can’t go back and unmeet someone, can you? Now I knew how good he was and I still wanted him, but I wanted him on my terms. What was going to happen? We only had a little time left together before our weekend came to an end.

  I could hear laughter from the living room so I hurriedly put on some pajamas, ran a brush through my hair and walked down. Rafe and Eve were sitting together in front of the fireplace chatting with Bullet. I wondered if he was breaking the bad news to them. Sorry guys. My uptight date isn’t going for it. Dressed for hiking, Bullet wore a grey, fleece jacket, dark blue jeans and hiking boots. The three chatted about something amusing and stopped talking when I walked in. How should I approach this? Be natural—and polite! “Good morning.”

  Eve smiled and said something that sounded like “good morning.” Rafe grinned his greeting but Bullet simply scowled at me. “Are we going hiking?” I asked him in as friendly of a voice as I could muster.

  “No, we aren’t but I am. Cold front moved in last night and it’s a bit chilly out. Why don’t you stay here and have some breakfast. Andre is making omelets and there is fresh fruit and coffee in the dining room.” His deep voice was all courteousness but his expression said something entirely different. I could see there was friction there. Bullet wasn’t happy with me—not in the least.

  “No thanks. I’d rather go for a hike.” I returned his icy stare with one of my own. I got the feeling that he didn’t want me to tag along. I guess he was none too happy with me. Gee whiz, is sexing with your friends really that important or is this a pride thing? I refrained from asking that question but there it was, on the tip of my tongue. Andre called from the dining room, letting the guests know that breakfast was served. An excited Rafe and Eve bounced out of the room leaving Bullet and I to continue our staring contest in private. “What’s the deal, Bullet? Is this about last night?”

  “Is what about what? I like exercising by myself in the mornings. It’s kind of my thing; it’s probably the only spiritual thing about me. No offense but I’d rather be by myself right now.” His dark blue eyes were cold and serious.

  “So that’s all I’m here for this weekend? I’m basically a blow-up doll with a pulse? Some kind of hooker that you call to your room when you want to have sex? That’s not going to fly with me, Bullet. I am not that kind of girl and I don’t appreciate being treated like I am.” I felt my pulse racing and of course, my face reddened.

  He slid off the edge of the couch and stood up, all six foot of him. “If I wanted a hooker, I would have called one. Listen, I don’t know what you think this weekend is but it isn’t a date—we’re not in a relationship. I asked you to keep me entertained and that was it. You’ve made it clear where the boundaries are and like I said, I’m not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to do.”

  I stomped my foot at him. “No, you’ll just ignore me, right?” I did not want to admit that the date comment stung a little. I knew this was no date—I didn’t need him to remind me.

  Bullet walked toward the door, tapping on his watch to set his timer. “I am going on a hike. I don’t have the time or the will to argue with you. I will be back in a few hours. We will talk more then. Goodbye.” With that, he walked out the front door, slamming it behind him.

  “Well, this sure feels like a relationship!” I yelled at him. Andre popped in to see what was happening but I pushed past him and ran up the stairs. From the window of my bedroom, I could see Bullet walking down the hiking trail and into the woods. “He thinks he’s having the last word? I am having the last word!” I rummaged through my clothing and grabbed some clothing. I put them on as fast as I could, half lacing my tennis shoes. I ran back down the stairs and out the front door, thankful that no one tried to stop me. I talked to myself the whole way, swearing and kicking rocks.

  About the time I stepped on to the hiking trail, I had to ask myself, “Okay, what’s my plan? Tag along when I am clearly not wanted? Force him to talk to me?” I had to admit I had no plan but that wasn’t going to stop me from following him. I would not have Bullet control me like that, telling me where I could go and where I couldn’t. Besides, there was no way I was staying alone at the cabin with Rafe and Eve. I had seen their naked bodies enough already.

  The hiking trail was a little sandy at first, but soon the canopy of fir trees took over the sky above and the ground became harder. It was strewn with leaves, pine cones and broken branches. The trail came to a fork and I stood wondering which trail to take but it was easy enough to detect. The ground was soft, perfect for tracking. Truth be told, I knew nothing about tracking but I had watched more than my share of mystery shows on television.

  Not to say I wasn’t outdoors a lot. As a sporting enthusiast, I spent plenty of my weekends and holidays outdoors, but that was usually in the company of a half dozen or more friends and none of us were people who lived in the country. I guess technically, I was kind of a city mouse or a city slicker rather than a country girl. It didn’t matter; I was so mad that I didn’t think about the dangers of running off
into the wild unknown—until I was already there. I could hear the birds on the nearby lake and heard small animals stirring up leaves looking for acorns. I continued on, following Bullet’s footprints, determined to see where he was going. As I climbed small hills and difficult terrain, I breathed a little harder but it did feel invigorating. I missed my daily workouts and this felt good.

  I began to try to guess the birds I heard singing and I spied more than one squirrel. Even a rabbit skittered across the path. Then everything went quiet, no birdsong, no animals; I suddenly got the feeling I was being watched. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. I paused on the path and looked around me. I didn’t see anything but I took the opportunity to calm my heart and adjust my ponytail. I couldn’t shake the almost paranoid feeling of apprehension and fear that crept over me. In my heightened mental state, I toyed with the idea of running at full speed in the other direction but I talked myself out of it.

  “Okay, Bullet. If that’s you, this isn’t funny,” I said to the air around me. Then I caught the smell, a whiff of something foul-—some kind of animal. That got my feet moving; I ran further down the path toward Bullet, I hoped, and away from the house. I sloshed through a muddy area, nearly losing my balance. I could hear something big, something very big crashing through the woods behind me! As I ran, I focused on trying not to trip over my own feet or a fallen branch. I glanced back, terrified to see a big brown bear running behind me. He was on all fours with matted hair and an open mouth.

  I ran as fast as I could, my lungs burning and my legs cramping. I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to outrun this animal. He wasn’t going to slow down, he was after me! Finally, I heard someone screaming and I realized it was me. “Help me! Someone help me!!” I kept running and screaming, praying to God that someone would hear me. I didn’t look back again. I could hear the marauding bear inching closer, so close in fact that I thought I could hear him breathing.

  That’s when I felt myself falling. In my panic, I hadn’t seen the log in my path and I had flown over it with the elegant grace of a drunk. “Oh my God! Help me!” The bear paused on the other side of the log, standing up on his hind legs showing me who was boss. He towered over me, his massive jaws wide and open. I leaned backed on my elbows, my foot pinned under a branch that was connected to the log. I couldn’t escape, I couldn’t move. All I could do was scream.

  Chapter Two

  Bullet

  I paused on the trail, thinking that I heard something. Someone yelling, maybe? After a few seconds, I didn’t hear anything so I turned back and began trekking down the path to the campsite. I had been back here before but only to check it out and that was over a year ago. The former owners had built a fire pit and cleared a nice area for tents or a camper. I thought it might be fun to take Lilly camping later. Besides, I needed a hike to clear my head. Lilly knew how to push my buttons—all of them at once.

  I didn’t much like her attitude—I mean, what did she want from me? She had made it clear from the beginning, well near the beginning, that she wasn’t into me, not in a boyfriend kind of way. The way she bolted out of the hotel room after our first night together, I thought she was going to claw my eyes out. I had been sort of relieved to discover I was just a fling to her because it would be difficult to change my life to accommodate a real girlfriend. I’d have to give up so much, like the occasional fling and fooling around with some of my clients, even though that last one was a bad habit I wanted to break. I knew that behavior could get me into trouble eventually.

  But if I were to have a girlfriend, it would be someone like Lilly. Smart, sassy, talented and of course, beautiful. However, after she has her boobs done, I may not feel the same way—I had seen more than my share of fake breasts in my time. I had no desire to date a woman that wasn’t one hundred percent genuine. I know that made me a hypocrite but I knew what I wanted. At least, I thought so. I guess that made me shallow but I didn’t care what anyone else thought about me.

  I heard the sound again. It was definitely screaming—it was Lilly! I ran back toward the sound of the screams. Lilly sounded as if she were dying. I pulled my pistol out of my holster; I always kept one on me when I went hiking. I ran as hard and as fast as I could. I breathed in through my nose and pushed the air through my nose to get the most speed and better endurance. Just a few hundred feet now, I guessed.

  “Please, help me!” I heard her begging, her voice weaker now. I didn’t yell back, I needed all my air for running. I ran into the clearing on the path to find Lilly lying on the ground, her leg pinned awkwardly under a log branch. Standing over her roaring like a hungry demon was a massive brown bear with an open mouth. He rocked the log, enjoying playing with his prey before he began his feast. Neither of them saw me. Lilly’s hands reached around trying to grab a nearby branch. I knew that wouldn’t do her a bit of good. One swipe from his paw and she would be dead. I held the gun up in the air and fired a shot. The bear paused and stared at me but it didn’t give ground. He leaned on the log with his front paws threatening to pounce on Lilly who lay frozen on the ground. I knew we were in trouble. I fired another shot, this time directly at the bear. Thankfully, I hit him; I saw the blood splatter and the animal broke for an opening in the nearby woods. I shot after him once more, just to encourage him to keep running. I didn’t know if the bear would return but I did not plan on sticking around to find out.

  I slid the pistol in the holster and squatted on the ground next to Lilly. “Are you okay?” Her eyes, wide with fear, told me she wasn’t. I unhooked her pants leg from the tree branch and helped her to her feet. “Lilly, we have to get out of here. I can’t be sure he won’t come back. Can you walk?”

  She nodded and I helped her to her feet. I was so relieved to see she was okay; I hugged her, forgetting all about being mad at her. She didn’t return my hug but she didn’t me push away either. I took her hand and led her down the path. “We have to move quickly but don’t run. If you see something, you tell me, don’t scream. Do you hear me?” She nodded again, “He’s injured now but I’m not sure that he’s dead. Stay close!” I whispered to her and we walked quickly down the trail that would lead us to the cabin.

  Something barreled through the trees about fifty feet to our left but I couldn’t see anything. Lilly whimpered a cry and squeezed my hand. “I know, I hear it. Keep moving, Lilly.” We didn’t see anything else and thankfully, didn’t see hide nor hair of the bear after that. I could see the trailhead just in front of us and was thankful when we finally made it back to the cabin. Once we made it to the trailhead, I told her, “Let’s go!” We ran the rest of the way to the cabin and barreled through the front door. I carried her to the couch and covered her shaking body with a nearby blanket. Tears were in her eyes and I rubbed her hands. “I want to check your ankle, just to make sure you haven’t hurt yourself. May I do that?”

  “Yes.” Lilly wiped away tears from her eyes and pulled her pant leg up. I eased the tennis shoe off her foot. Carefully, I turned her ankle to test her mobility. She winced a little but didn’t cry out. “Does that hurt?”

  “Just a little, I think I just sprained it.”

  “You’ve got a nice bruise—I think an ice pack might do the trick. I’ll be right back.” I went to the kitchen and filled a zippered bag with crushed ice. Andre had left us a nice lunch in the fridge. I didn’t know where Rafe and Eve were, probably good that they were out of sight right now. I needed to call animal control and report the bear attack but I needed to take care of Lilly first. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was in shock. An eight-hundred pound bear just chased her through the woods.

  I grabbed a bottle from the refrigerator and took the ice pack to the living room. I propped Lilly’s foot up on the ottoman and set the ice pack on her ankle. I cracked the water bottle open and handed it to her. She shook her head. “Come on now, don’t give me a hard time. Drink the water.” Obediently, Lilly took a swig from the bottle and handed it back to me. “I’m going to call Animal Control and
let them know about the bear. You going to be okay?”

  “Yes, I’m fine, Bullet. I just need a minute,” she snapped. She didn’t look at me, just stared off into space. Despite what she said, I knew she wasn’t okay but it looked like I would have to wait until she was ready to talk to hear what was really going on in her head. I looked up the number and called the authorities to let them know I had an injured bear on my property. After confirming my address, they promised to come out immediately and remove the animal.

  That had been a shocking experience—kind of put things in perspective. What would have happened if Lilly had been killed? If I had been the reason for her death? It was because of me that she was in harm’s way; if I hadn’t acted like a jerk to begin with, we would have been together and probably scared the thing away. Obviously the bear had no qualms of attacking one person, one small, blonde.

  I hung up the phone and watched Lilly in the living room. She had not moved from her spot, had not fussed over the ice pack, and didn’t say a word. She stared off into space, watching some film in her head. I should probably take her home. I didn’t know what this girl’s past was like. Did the bear attack trigger something? Should I be worried?

  Don’t be a selfish bastard! Think about someone besides yourself for a change. You know what, I was going to try to do that. I had practically coerced the girl to come here and then she almost died. God knows she deserves some kindness from me. Okay, you can do this, be comforting and kind. Don’t say stupid crap.

  Chapter Three

  Lilly

  For some reason, I kept thinking about my mother’s funeral. She died a few weeks after Daddy and Suzanna. She’d lingered on in that smelly hospital hooked up to that machine that did all the breathing for her. Once the tubes and hoses were gone, she had left, slipping away quietly into eternity with the rest of my family. At her funeral, her friend from work had read a poem to us; it was supposed to comfort us, I suppose. It seemed like a strange poem for the occasion. Something about the part of the poem that went, “Soaring on the wind, above the world below…” It made me think of the crash, how I had flown out of the open window and sailed through the air, almost flying. My child’s body landed on the grass, feeling like I had been smashed to the ground by an angry goblin.