by Cara North
They pulled into a parking spot and got out. The breeze was cool on her skin. The aromas of the restaurant permeated her nose. It pulled them both, silently toward the building. He found them a table as she went inside to place the order.
Frankie returned with a tray full of food and sat it on the table.
“Oh, that looks so good.” He practically drooled. He grabbed his burger and took a bite. The bliss in his expression made her wonder why he would torture himself like this in order to fit into a tux that looked like a million other tuxedos from what she could tell. Did he really think it made that much difference?
She chomped on a French-fry and watched him devour the sandwich. The burgers were already cut in half, so it was easy to pick up half of hers and place it on his plate. She didn’t need to eat the whole thing anyways and rarely did. Normally, Shay would be there to split it with. Shay, the friend she had not had a lot of time to see since taking this job.
“What?” he asked around a bite.
“I was just thinking about Shay. I mean I’m used to seeing her almost every day and now…”
“I’m hogging all your time.” He nodded as he picked up his drink.
“It’s not like that.” Frankie tried to assure him.
“It’s exactly like that.” He winked. “I’m selfish. I know this. I’ve been told this by every woman in my life, my family members included.”
“You’re not selfish…well…not all the time.” Frankie couldn’t think of any time out of the bedroom he wasn’t selfish, but in the bedroom he was the most unselfish man she knew.
“That’s new.” He sighed. “I used to be pretty selfish there, too.”
“What? Where?” She could feel the heat crawl up her neck and over her face.
“Look at you blushing,” he teased. “You know what, and where.”
“Yeah right.” As much as she liked to think they shared something special, she was sure any woman who flipped through countless magazines to see his face, was there in line for the first showing of any of his films, had recorded his interviews on Tivo or DVR, who thought the sun rose and set on his abs would certainly feel the same thunder she felt in the bedroom.
“Seriously.” He shrugged, “I don’t know what other people feel when they have sex with someone. I know what I feel. I know that what we do is not what I normally did. I heard that song the other day, I think it’s by Kings of Leon, Sex is on Fire. Anyways, I picked up the ipod on the counter…”
“That’s where it went.” Frankie worried she had lost her music.
“Anyways,” he said. Annoyed she had interrupted him. “And your image popped into my mind. I spent half the run thinking about my role in this upcoming movie and the other half about undressing you.”
“I’ll adjust my playlists then.” She laughed. He didn’t think it was funny. He looked at her for a very long and intense moment.
“Aside from my family, I’ve never loved anyone but me. I have no idea what it is like to do what my characters have done. It’s easy for me to pretend, at the base of that emotion is sex and I can imagine the moments leading up to it, the actual act, the afterglow or lack thereof. I can make myself cry if I think about losing my family or a close friend. I can act like I understand what my brother-in-law felt on his wedding day. You should have seen how happy he was to marry my sister. But I don’t know what that feels like. I’ve never romantically loved anyone, ever.”
The speech sounded very much like a warning to her. “I hope one day you will.”
“Have you ever been in love, Frankie?” He pulled the cup with his fingers causing it to rotate on its base. She wondered if he was nervous. This was the most personal conversation they had had.
“Yes,” she shrugged. “Twice.”
“And?”
“I don’t regret it.” Feeling the personal part of the conversation was beginning to shift to her she stood up and grabbed the plates.
“I’m jealous. I thought I was the only man you adored.” His expression was a new one, somewhere between sincere and playful. She could tell he was trying for one and avoiding the other. She just couldn’t figure out which was which.
Frankie smiled, she could feel her cheeks blush, but she had to say it. “You are the only man I’ve adored since you played a psychiatric patient tortured by aliens.”
“That was years ago.” He laughed. She liked to make him laugh.
“I know.”
She started walking away from the table with the tray in her hands and heard him say, “I guess I’ve got that going for me.”
Danger. The more time they spent like this the more danger she would be in of losing her heart to him for real. Not just in her fantasies.
A week later…
Frankie felt the hand on her ass and the push upward as she tried, again, to get her foot on the ledge of the rock.
“Frankie, you are killing me here. I can’t get any higher. You have to pull yourself up,” he groaned.
“What do you think I’m trying to do here?” She was exhausted. Her arms were spent. Her legs tired. She didn’t want to climb this damn thing, but he insisted.
“Besides break my arm?” he grumbled.
She was growing angry and it apparently gave her enough incentive to launch that foot one more time and finally, it gripped the ledge. She pulled herself upward and could hear him moving behind her, quickly, easily, until they were both at the top.
“Fucking-A.” He pulled the pack off of his back and then laid flat on the ground. “We need to get you in better shape if you want to do this again.”
He might as well have slapped her across the face. The words stung. It was the first time he had said anything about her physically that wasn’t flattering.
She looked off towards the clouds, the amazing view, and into the cool breeze blowing across her face. It helped to hold the tears at bay. Her feelings were hurt, crushed in fact. The moment his hand touched her leg she pulled away from him situating her body so that he could only see her back. She gripped her legs and rested her head on her knees.
“Frankie?” She could hear him sit up and then move closer to her. “What’s wrong?”
“I knew I wasn’t prepared to climb up this damn thing, but you insisted. And now, you think I’m too fat or too weak, or both. I’m not sure.” She closed her eyes against the sting of tears.
“Awe.” He sidled up against her and put his arms around her, rocking her into his body. His lips at her temple he said, “I was just teasing you. You’re here. You did manage to get up here. I love your shape, Frankie. In fact, I may be obsessed with it.”
“Don’t try to sex your way out of it. I get it. You’re a physical guy, you like adventures. I’m just not as…coordinated.” Frankie still refused to look at him.
“You’re serious?” He moved to face her. “Look at me.”
Frankie looked at the ground. He put his hand under her chin and lifted her face towards him. An errant tear streaked from her right eye against her will.
“Ah, shit.” He put his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I was teasing. I was a bit frustrated at the situation, not at you. Maybe a little at myself because I practically forced you up here to begin with. I don’t…know what to say.”
Frankie sighed. Life really wasn’t like the movies with Jonas. No one handed him a script to memorize what to say to a girl when he crushed her heart in a few sentences. Frankie shrugged. “It’s no big deal, you know. I…I’m just a little sensitive right now, is all.”
He frowned, and then a look of understanding crossed his features. “I get it. I’m still sorry for making you sad. Did you bring meds? I hope so because I don’t think we can get back down the hillside before nightfall and it will be too dangerous to navigate again in the dark.”
Fabulous, he thought she was PMSing. Frankie gritted her teeth and tried to do the math, maybe she was. “I’ll be fine.”
He kissed her forehead and then
moved to sit beside her. He let out a long sigh.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing. I was just hoping to…”
“You’re a mess.” Frankie laughed. She sniffed. He rocked into her side and left his head on her shoulder. She leaned her head against it. They sat there for a moment. “This really is a spectacular view.”
He let out a light chuckle.
“What?”
“To be honest, I pushed to come up here to ensure privacy and seduce you. I would have waited a week if I knew…”
“And we would still be on a rock in the middle of an authorized camping area where park rangers could come along. Not to mention there are no showers as far as the eye can see. I am already a mess, and you think having hot sweaty sex up here is a good idea?” Frankie shifted and pushed to her feet. She looked at the backpack, and her backpack strapped to it. He had to carry them both. She was not feeling especially confident at the moment.
“Where is your sense of adventure? Romance? I know you’ve read about romance. You teach literature for crying out loud. You can’t look beyond the complications and just live in the moment?” he asked.
She looked over her shoulder as he lay back on the ground. He was wearing a thin blue t-shirt with some indie band name she had never heard of on the front of it. His cargo shorts revealed a hint of thigh in addition to everything below the knee. He had on hiking shoes and comfortable socks. He was comfortable out here in this element. She had never been camping a day in her life.
“I don’t want to get eaten by bears, Jonas. Is it unreasonable to try my best not to draw attention to myself?” Frankie unclipped her pack and searched for the bottle of water in the side pouch. She took a long drink and then said, “I don’t have cell service.”
He growled then said, “You and that phone! We don’t need cell service, Frankie. You act like you’ve never been camping before. I know what I am doing here, woman. Trust me.”
“I haven’t,” Frankie said before taking another drink of the water.
He tilted his head to get a better look at her.
“This is the first time.” She shrugged.
A wry smile crossed his lips. He held a hand out in her direction. She put the water in it. He closed his eyes and then opened them as he switched the water from one hand to the next and extended the same hand to her. She slid her fingers along his. She absolutely loved the man’s hands. Strong, sure, how could she not trust him?
He tugged at her until she was on the ground next to him. The hard rock pressed warm against her back. He patted his chest and said, “Right here.”
As she adjusted to rest her head on his chest she took a moment to appreciate the situation. His shirt was warm from the heat of his chest, his heart thrummed a steady beat, she could smell the laundry detergent, the soap he favored, and the unique scent of him. He was so comfortable in his own flesh it unnerved her at times.
“You should have told me you were a virgin, Frankie.” He stroked the braid of her hair. “I would have taken it easy on you.”
She sighed to keep from laughing. In these moments it would be easy to confuse his affection towards her. They didn’t really know one another, and yet the attraction was undeniably mutual. She didn’t lie to him before. She did consider herself worthy of male appreciation. She just didn’t think a male such as him would be the one appreciating her.
“My dad used to bring us out here when we were kids,” he said suddenly. “Janice would try to race me to the top. Jed, my older brother, always stayed behind us. Always worried we would trip or fall. Janice was faster than me back then, older too, but she was fast.” He stroked the braid again making her wonder if he was even aware he was doing it.
Frankie thought about it a moment. She was an only child so there were no other siblings to compete with. “How did you race up here? You said she was a fast runner.”
“Around the edge over there is a path.” He pointed with the water bottle.
Frankie had been enjoying the moment, his story, the rise and fall of his chest beneath her ear. “That’s funny. You make is sound like we could have simply walked up here.”
He didn’t respond. He kept stroking the length of her braid between his fingers.
“Jonas.”
“On your resume it said you were interested in camping and rock climbing, and…”
Frankie pushed up to look down at him. He held on to the end of her braid restricting how far she could part from him. “The application asked what kinds of activities you would be willing to do if required.”
“Oh,” he said. “I thought that was hobbies and interests.”
“You made me climb up this stupid rock and I could have walked?” Frankie could feel her eyes stretch wide. The motion of her expression caused her glasses to pinch the back of her ears. The slickness of the sweat made them slide a bit so she had bent the ends more to keep them in place.
He bit his lower lip in response.
“I could strangle you.”
“I wouldn’t mind if you straddled me.” He winked.
“I said strangle!”
“I’m not worried about you strangling me since you don’t have cell service and can’t call for help.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
He let go of the braid and pulled her on top of him. She moved her legs to straddle him. He was half-hard and she tried to resist the urge to dry hump him like a desperate teenager. His hands traveled over her capri-length hiking pants, patted the cellphone securely placed in a cargo pocket she had sewn a second pouch inside of to ensure it was safe. He shook his head as if to express disappointment with her. It was quickly dismissed as his hands slid up to her waist and then higher to her breasts. He pushed them up slightly and said, “What kind of bra are you wearing?”
“A sports bra, why?” She had her hands resting on his abdomen, not pressing, not touching as she wanted to. She was letting him control this event, just as she had let him guide her climbing up a rock rather than letting her take the easy way around.
“It’s sturdy. Too sturdy. Normally, when you walk you have just the slightest sway, unnoticeable to those not paying attention to it…”
“But you pay attention?”
“Of course.” He frowned at her. “Today, I noticed when you walked towards me there was no movement. They were just suspended there motionless, and I felt sorry for them.” He stroked his thumbs over her nipples.
The bra may have been sturdy, it was supposed to be, but it did very little to quell her reaction to his touch. The sensitive flesh immediately pulled taut. Each turgid bud stood out against the bra, against the t-shirt, against the pressure of his fingers.
“This would be the moment I would pull you closer and kiss you.” He continued to torture her instead. Her hips disobeyed her will and pressed forward to rub against him. “Hmmm, but since I can’t, I suppose I should get the tent ready.”
His touch was gone so quickly she barely registered his retreat. He was practically lifting her weight off of his body as he moved to stand. She looked at him befuddled. “But…”
“It will be dark soon. We need to get the tent up.” He moved towards the backpacks, and then turned to say, “I don’t want the bears to eat you.”
Off in the distance a coyote howled. Frankie was on her feet and assisting him in the efforts to raise the pop-up tent. It proved much easier than she had imagined. The sleeping bags, thin and lined zipped together easily.
“So you are sleeping with me, not near me?” he asked as he entered the tent.
She was confused at his change of mood. She wasn’t sure if he was teasing her or if he was serious. It was hard enough to read the emotions of a normal man, since he was an actor she always had double the trouble reading his level of sincerity and triple the doubt she was accurate.
She started to unzip the bags.
“So you’re going to take your chances with the bears in your own bag then?” He waggled his eyebrows and she fought the urg
e to scream in frustration. She didn’t know what he wanted.
“I don’t know what you want me to do.”
“I want you to do what you want to do. If you want to sleep next to me, I understand. You might feel more secure that way. If you want your own sleeping bag, I understand that too. You’re at a delicate place right now. I get it. I have a mother and a sister. I know about these things.” He handed her the fleece blanket he had rolled to use as a pillow.
Frankie realized the reason he stopped tugging on her boobs wasn’t because he wanted to kiss her, it was because he thought she was near or on her cycle. “This is really a conversation I have never had with an employer before, but one I suppose I should have had with a sex partner.”
“Sex partner?” he scoffed. “Good to know.”
She wondered if maybe he was PMSing. Continuing she said, “I cycle once every six months thanks to this new shot. Birth control has come a long way, baby.”
“So you’re not…”
“No,” Frankie smirked.” Not this week anyways.”
“Take your clothes off.” He reached for her and she squealed in that girly way she hated.
His hand grabbed her ankle and she went sliding towards him over the slick top of the sleeping bag.
“You are incorrigible,” she said as he climbed up her body and she settled in on top of the sleeping bag.
“Why were you so cranky and sensitive earlier?” he asked.
She could smell the fresh mint of the chewing gum as he blew out a green bubble and popped it on her lips. He was careful not to kiss her, or come close to kissing her, but he found ways to touch them nonetheless.
“I was afraid of falling, then you said I was fat, and…”
“I never said that.” He wrinkled his brow.
“Not in those exact words, but you said I was going to break your arm, and then you said I needed to get in shape.” She crossed her arms and looked up at him.
His cheeky grin cooled her temper. The hand pulling her thigh so he could settle easier between her legs smoothed her frustrated expression into a heavy lidded sigh of lust. She wanted him. Anytime, anywhere. It was undeniable. Not because he was a superstar. No, that had passed. She wanted him because he knew how to make her come, repeatedly. He was generous with taking his time, not that he needed to, she was usually ready before he truly began.