by J. C. Cliff
I return her embrace and smile. “How about a little picnic then?” I whisper in her ear. “It’s lunchtime, and I’m starved.”
She pulls back to look at me, wearing an unrestrained smile, and the contentment in her eyes tells me the extra few miles we hiked was worth it. “I’d love that.”
I step away, take off my pack, and then set up our little picnic underneath a canopy of trees right beside the stream.
Every now and then, I glance over at her as she sits on a boulder, watching and listening to the waterfall, daydreaming as she gazes at the beautiful scenery. Rich green moss has grown along the rocks and fallen tree limbs, making for a romantic background. I wish I had my camera. I'd love to capture this moment, but I don't want to pull out my cellphone and take a picture with it either, because I don't want her to think about calling anyone. I'm sure that's a selfish thought, but I want time to get to know her, and when she's with me, she appears relaxed and carefree.
I watch mesmerized as she stands up and takes off the ball cap I gave her to wear. She slips off the elastic hair band, then runs her fingers through her long beautiful hair, mussing it all up. I clench my hands into fists, because, damn, she looks incredible. Even after a long, sweaty hike she’s every bit as alluring to me. She turns and meanders through some brush to get a better view of the waterfall. The way her long brown hair flows behind her, reaching down to her curvy hips, is sexy as hell, and I simply can’t keep my eyes off her. I’ve always had a singular taste in my women, so needless to say, Lexi has caught me off guard. The women I usually date have their makeup done to perfection, and are always dressed to the nines. Their appearance was always important to me, but Lexi is different. She doesn’t need all that to be stunning. She's not concerned with needing makeup or designer clothes, and surprisingly, I like that. She’s incredibly beautiful just the way she is with her natural beauty, both inside and out. Despite her mafia background, you'd think she'd be rough around the edges, but she's not. I can tell she was raised within a loving family because she outwardly exudes a gentle, compassionate, generous heart.
She’s not skinny, but she’s not fat either. She’s built tough, not Ford tough, but a sexy tough in my eyes. Her physique exhibits a healthy looking, luscious, curvaceous, and desirable young woman. I imagine her toned muscles are from riding horses for years on end. She’s not a prissy, rich girl, and has no problem getting her hands dirty, which has been another surprise. I'd thought she’d come off more privileged and pristine. She gets physical and does things most women wouldn’t dare do. Plus, she doesn’t even whine about it.
She steps underneath a tree and stretches her body, her arms reaching upward for something, and as she does, I slowly scope down her sexy body from head to toe. I catch movement off to her right, and my heart stops cold.
“Freeze, Lexi,” I bark in a quick, sharp, and concise voice. “Don’t move.” It must be the tone of my voice, because she takes me seriously and freezes. I quickly give Kimber a hand signal to stay put, just in case she decides for herself that she needs to help. With practiced ease, I whip out my pistol from my side holster and aim.
“Don’t move, Lexi,” I repeat in a calmer tone.
“Quinn,” she whimpers shakily, and I know she’s scared.
Not wasting another second, I fire off a round, shooting less than a foot away from her right foot. Even though all of this happened in a matter of seconds, it felt like slow motion, as if I couldn’t execute the task fast enough.
I rake my gaze over the coiled up rattlesnake, which now lays there very fucking dead. One shot was all I needed. The bastard didn’t even shake his rattler to give warning, but it had been ready to strike.
Lexi’s trembling like a leaf as I quickly approach her in ten long strides. The second I’m by her side, I pull her away from the dead snake.
“Wh-what happened?” she asks, confused.
She turns around in my arms, looks down, and gasps. Horrified, one hand goes to her heart while the other covers her mouth. “Oh, my God!” she cries out.
“It’s all right,” I soothe. She buries her head into my chest, her entire body shaking profusely.
“Quinn...” she says in shock, not knowing what to say.
“Hush, now. It’s over.” I rub her back, trying to calm her down.
“I want to go home,” she chokes out. “I’m not cut out for this.”
“Hey,” I try to reason, “What just happened was a rarity. Trust me, those snakes like to avoid humans at all costs.”
“Yeah? Well, the feeling is mutual.” She fists my shirt in her hands, her grip fierce. “I don’t want to do this anymore. I want to go home,” she repeats in a mantra. The defeat in her voice is palpable, but I can’t let her go right now. I want answers, but I also want to explore why she affects me the way she does.
“Look, we’re kind of in the thick of it. There’s no going back right now. It’ll be at least a couple days hike before we get to a surfacing point.” With those words, she starts to quietly sob into my chest. I look down at the dead snake, in awe of its size. It had been at least five feet long. I re-holster my gun on my hip and wrap both my arms around her, holding her tightly to me.
“I’m serious, Lexi. Seeing a rattlesnake on the trail is actually very rare, and it’s even rarer for them to want to strike. They would prefer to retreat, or use their rattler to warn you to get out of their space. Most likely you got in the snake's personal space, and must’ve startled it when it was trying to sun itself.”
With it being springtime, these snakes are starting to come out of hibernation in mass numbers. There’s going to be more of them surfacing this time of year, but she doesn’t need to know this. There are a lot of critters that resurface in the spring. I knew this, and that’s why I brought my pistol, so I could keep it at the ready at all times.
“What would’ve happened if you weren’t here with me? So many things to go wrong out here by myself, Quinn.”
This experience has her all kinds of shook up, and it grips at my heart.
“I know, sweetheart.” I kiss the top of her head, trying to console her. If it truly was her friend who set this up, I’m seriously pissed. No one should be out here in the wilderness without the buddy system; it’s just plain stupid.
I glance back at Kimber, who’s still in the same spot I told her to be. I lean down and scoop Lexi up into my arms. She wraps her arms around my neck, clinging to me tightly. I walk over to Kimber, who starts wagging her tail, and I smile down at her. This dog is fucking nuts over Lexi.
I sit down beside Kimber while I place Lexi on my lap and cradle her in my arms. “C’mere, Kimber. Come make Lexi feel better.” She nudges her nose between my chest and Lexi's face, trying to lick her tears away. Lexi opens her arms, and Kimber nuzzles her face into Lexi's neck. “Kimber would be sad if you left us now,” I point out.
She rests her head against my chest as she continues to love on my dog. “I would miss Kimber, too.”
“Hey,” I interject, “what about me?”
Lexi peers up at me with glistening eyes, looking so sweet and innocent. “Of course I’d miss you, too.” I give her a chaste kiss on her cheek and smile down on her.
“You know, years ago, when I was little, and my dad and I went camping, he woke up to one of those snakes inside his sleeping bag. It was coiled up on his chest for warmth.” Her eyes go wide with horror. I nod my head in confirmation. “Yeah,” I laugh. “Talk about shitting yourself.”
I imagine it’s going to take her a while to calm down, so I’m not going to try and ease her mind about rattlesnakes by telling her the potential for spotting copperheads and water moccasins are exponentially greater.
I can’t calm down. God bless Quinn and everything he’s doing to distract me from having a full meltdown, but I’m still a nervous wreck on the inside. I don’t know how my best friend, Connor, thought this method of escape was his brightest idea, because it sucks. This real life survival shit is for the birds. I
shouldn’t have ventured out here on these trails alone. There are too many things that could go wrong. My entire body shivers with an aftershock.
“Shh,” Quinn murmurs. “I've got your back, sweetheart. You’re going to be okay.” I think Quinn is just as shook up as me, because my ear is pressed against his chest and his heart is beating wildly, which is in stark contradiction to his soft and calm tone. “Take some consolation in the fact you had on hiking boots,” he reasons. He's been trying to get me to view the glass half full, instead of half empty for the past five minutes, but it's not working.
“I am thankful for the boots, but what if they weren’t high enough to protect my legs, and then what about the next time?”
Quinn keeps my head pressed against his chest, not letting me go as he cradles me firmly. “Stop thinking of the negative. That’s not helping. You have to look at things in a positive light, not the other way around.”
This snake incident did me in. I’ve always had an aversion to snakes, but after this, I really do want to go home. I miss having a hot shower and all the amenities of modern day living. I would love nothing more than to wrap myself up on my sofa and watch a repeat of one of my favorite TV series. Of course, it would be even better if Quinn were with me. I’ve grown quite attached to him.
I know Connor said not to call him for at least a month, but fuck it. I know the cell he gave me has a full charge on it, because I checked it before I left and it’s been turned off this entire time. Who knows? Maybe Connor’s been trying to reach me, and perhaps it’s safe to go back now. But I’m sure that is wishful thinking on my part.
I miss my family and Griffen so much I feel the empty heaviness settling in my chest. Almost having come face-to-face with death today has me missing them even more. Kimber paws at my hand, begging to be petted, and at the same time, she tries to comfort me. I wipe my tears with the back of my hand and smile down on her. The whites around her irises become more apparent as she looks up at me through those puppy dog eyes of hers.
“Aww,” Quinn coos. “Look at that. She loves you.” I glance up at Quinn, his blue eyes glistening underneath the bill of his ball cap. He grins at me, and my stomach flutters. The man does something to me on the inside, and I know I can’t let myself get too attached, because he’s a player. He just said as much not two hours ago. I’d simply be another notch in his bedpost.
I turn my head and look down at my furry friend. “You love me, Kimber?” I ask in a small voice, and she wags her tail. I let go of Quinn’s shirt to pet her, and I realize I had a death grip on his shirt. I’ve left a huge puckered wrinkle behind on the fabric. Kimber leans in and licks my ear and I giggle, and when I try to move my head away from her to escape her tongue, she assaults my other ear. I let out a squeal. Quinn’s deep chuckle has his shoulders shaking, and I smile on the inside, reveling in the deep timbre of his laughter. Somehow he makes my heart feel lighter, and my problems appear smaller when he’s around.
I love the fact he likes me enough that he wants to spend his time with me. Why he feels the need to be my protector, I’ll never know. And why does being wrapped in his arms feel so right? He completes a piece in me I never knew was missing before. I can’t ever remember a time where I’ve felt safer than I do right now. I only wish Quinn could fight my predators back home, and then life would be perfect.
All I want to do right now is call my parents and my brother, Preston, but they would ask too many questions, and I’m not prepared to answer them. I will have to settle for Connor, and at the very least, I should be able to find out what’s going on back home.
I pull away from Quinn and instantly miss the feel of his toned body pressed against me. I make an excuse for wanting to slip away. “I need to use the powder room in this first-class establishment,” I try to joke, but my voice still comes out on the melancholy side.
“Are you sure you're okay?” he asks, tilting his head to the side showing much concern.
I nod my head, and he narrows his eyes as if he doesn't believe me. He’s been holding me for ten minutes or more, and I swear I could stay in his arms all day, but the urge to talk to a familiar voice wins out. “I promise I'm fine.”
“All right,” he relents. Quinn gets up and then helps me to my feet. Holding my hands in his, he softly tells me, “I’ll start making us some lunch.” I really don’t have the heart to tell him I’ve lost my appetite. He’s been so sweet, having planned this side trip as a surprise just for me.
I tilt my chin up to meet his eyes and give him a small grin. “Okay, I shouldn’t be too long.” He gives my hands a squeeze and then lets me go. I turn around, head over to my backpack, and pretend to rummage around for the toilet paper, even though it’s sitting on top of everything in my pack. I finally find my cell phone in the bottom of the bag, and before I lift it out, I covertly shift my eyes to make sure Quinn isn’t watching me. He’s busy getting the food out from his gear, so I stealthily slip the phone into my front pocket.
For some reason I can’t really explain, I don’t want him to know what I’m doing. Perhaps it’s because I don’t need him asking questions that will lead to an interrogation about my messed up life. He’d all but run the other way, and I’m not ready for that. Plus, it wouldn’t be fair to drag him into all my crazy drama anyway.
I grab the small roll of toilet paper and start walking away. I call out over my shoulder, “Be right back.” My boots crunch through the dried leaves on the ground as I start to take off in search of a place that will allow me the privacy I need to make a phone call. Hopefully I can get a signal.
“Kimber,” Quinn growls, “you stay. Lexi doesn’t need an audience.”
I glance back and smile at Kimber, who's wagging her tail, wanting to follow me. She’s so damn cute. I don’t know why or how we’ve bonded the way we have, but she stole my heart at first glance.
Each step I take is with nervous caution as my eyes dart from side to side like a crazy lady. I would just die if I ran into another snake. I’m on full alert as I fumble my way around low-lying tree limbs and underbrush, careful of where I put my feet. My poor insides are still a wreck. I feel like I’m in a damn jungle, and just when I think there will be no clearing from the trees in hopes of getting a signal, I finally step out into one.
I chew on the inside of my cheek, already worrying I might’ve strayed too far from Quinn. I hope he doesn’t come looking for me, especially if I’ve been gone too long for his liking.
I pull out the phone Connor had given me from my front pocket and wait on pins and needles as it fires up. “Please, please, get a signal,” I mumble anxiously under my breath as it slowly comes to life. It seems to take forever for the phone to power on, but I know it’s my nerves making it seem as if time is dragging.
“Yes!” I quietly exclaim to myself when I get one bar of signal strength on my phone. Hoping that’s enough to make contact with the outside world, I dial Connor’s cell. My heart beats wildly in my chest with excitement as I listen to it ring. Please pick up.
“Lexi, I told you not to call,” Connor growls tightly into the phone. His unexpected salutation catches me off guard. I need a friend right now, not a hostile greeting.
I shake myself from the shock of his terse voice and cut him off. “Connor, I want to come home.”
“You can’t come home, dammit.” His tone is cold, hard, and full of frustration. “You really shouldn’t have called. Vince is on a warpath looking for you.”
Is he kidding me? He's really going to dismiss me in a hateful way? He's not even going to ask me if I'm calling because of an emergency. Vexed, I place one hand on my hip and give him attitude right back.
“I don’t think you realize the enormity of my own stress,” I shout, my voice cracking on a high pitch. I’m distraught, riled up, and on the verge of crying.
He must realize his rudeness has hurt me, because he takes a deep, cleansing breath, and then his tone changes into apologetic softness. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I didn’
t mean to snap at you, but it’s a stressful and dangerous time for you to be calling.”
I bite my lower lip with worry, look up to the bright, cloudless sky above, and blink back the tears. With a raspy voice, I apologize too, “I’m sorry I called, but I needed to hear a familiar voice, Connor. I’m scared.”
“I know you’re scared, but you’ve got to stay strong. I know you can do this,” he encourages. “Obviously, you were calling because you were upset about something, and I reacted by snapping at you. I'm sorry I didn't give you the chance to explain. I didn't mean to be so callous. It’s just…things have really been tense here too. Promise me you’re all right.”
“Yes…no…I don’t know. I’m all mixed up inside. All I know is I want to come home. I’m tired, Connor, and very homesick.” I try to restrain my sniffles from being heard. I'm struggling to hold it together.
“You haven’t run into any trouble, have you?” he asks in a gentle, concerned tone.
“Besides confronting the usual outdoor creatures like rattlesnakes, bears, and bugs, I guess I’m okay, all things considered.” I don’t know why I feel like I need to keep Quinn a secret. Maybe I think Connor will get jealous, but that’s just stupid, isn’t it? He’s my childhood friend.
“Where are you on the trail?”
I look over the high grass and off into the thick trees, thinking about the layout of the map, but since this was Quinn’s surprise, I don’t really know where I’m at. “I don’t know,” I say, slightly embarrassed. “Maybe thirty or forty miles south from where I started.”
“What do you mean you don’t know? You should be able to look at the map and tell me exactly where you are,” he says with annoyance.
“My map is not with me at the moment,” I explain with irritation in my voice. What does it matter anyway? It's not like he's going to come get me, so why is he getting irked? The map is back with Quinn, and I’ve already been gone too long. “I had to walk a bit to get a signal,” I half lie, “so my backpack isn’t with me.”