by J. S. Cooper
“Yeah, you can get me one.” Nate nodded and then looked at me. “You want one?”
“Why not?” I said. “I might as well catch up with all you drunkards,” I said only half-joking.
“Now that we all know one of your secrets, I think it’s only fair that Nate share one of his secrets,” Dylan said with a wicked grin.
“What secrets can Nate possibly have?” Anabel scoffed. “Wait, don’t tell me. He has a secret baby out there somewhere?”
“You don’t do you?” I held my breath as I looked at him.
“What?” He looked at me with a sardonic stare that made his face look even more handsome. “I can’t believe you’re even asking me that, Janie. How could you think for a second that I have a secret child?”
“I don’t know,” I mumbled. “It wasn’t me that said that.”
“I don’t have a secret child, Janie.”
“I know.”
“Do you really?” He started laughing. “Did you really think I had a love child out there somewhere?”
“I don’t know. I mean of course not.” I sighed and then looked at Dylan. “So what’s the big secret?”
“Nate is a writer.”
“What?” I wasn’t sure that I’d heard him correctly. “What do you mean a writer?”
“I mean he likes to write short stories.”
“I didn’t know that.” I turned to Nate and searched his face. “Is this true or was that another joke?”
“It’s true.” He nodded. “I write short stories. Big deal. Many people write short stories.”
“I didn’t know that,” I said again, all of a sudden feeling sad. How did I not know that he wrote short stories? He was one of my best friends. I thought we shared everything with each other. Why hadn’t he told me? I nibbled on my own lip and all of a sudden a thousand doubts hit me again. How could I think I was in love with him if I didn’t even really know him?
“It’s not something I share,” he said softly. “I don’t write that much.”
“What about that story you wrote about the kiwi’s,” Dylan said and I could feel my stomach churning again. How did Dylan know this stuff and I didn’t?
“That wasn’t supposed to be shared.” Nate glared and sighed. “I wrote this flash fiction piece and entered it into a competition. Some of my friends found out about it.”
“He won the contest,” Dylan exclaimed. “Come on then, Nate. Let’s hear it.”
“No one wants to hear it.”
“I want to hear it,” I said softly, gazing at him. “Please.”
“It’s sappy and not that good.” He shook his head. “I’d rather not.”
“Please, Nate.” I gave him my puppy dog eyes. “I want to hear about kiwi fruit.”
“It’s not about kiwi fruit.” He laughed.
“Dylan just said it’s about kiwis.”
“The birds.”
“Oh.” I thought for a moment. “I didn’t know there was a kiwi bird.”
“Now you do.”
“Oh, Nate, please.” I grabbed his fingers impulsively. “Please.”
“Okay. Let me think.” He looked thoughtful and I could see his blue eyes sparkling. “Let’s make a deal.”
“What’s the deal?”
“You’ll go for a swim with me afterward.”
“What now?”
“Yeah,” he said with a wide grin. “To remind us of old times.”
“Oh.” My face turned beet red. “I’m not going to skinny dip,” I whispered at him and he just winked at me.
“I’m curious to hear this story as well.” Anabel sat forward. “Though I’m not going for a nighttime swim.”
“I’ll join you guys,” Dylan said with a grin. “I’d even go naked. Sure you don’t want to come, Anabel?”
“Dylan!” Anabel giggled. “Don’t be bad.”
“I could never be bad.” He winked at her and I could feel my body stilling. What the hell was going on here? I didn’t care that they were flirting with each other, but this wasn’t really helping my game with Nate. He was in no way going to be jealous of Dylan now that he could see Dylan was into Anabel.
“I don’t need you two to come. Just Janie,” Nate said with a small smile. He clasped my hand in his as I tried to pull it away. “So you’ll come with me, Janie?”
“Fine.” I stuck my tongue out at him. “This story had better be good.”
“I can’t promise that.” He laughed and then jumped up. “Hold on, I have to get my laptop. I have the story saved in my Dropbox account.
“Yay.” I curled my legs up on the couch and lie back slightly. I grinned at Nate as he came back into the room with his laptop and sat back down next to me.
“So this is a bit angsty.” He made a face. “I apologize in advance.”
“You don’t do angsty,” I said, but I looked over at him eagerly. “I’m listening.”
“Okay,” he said. “Here goes. I called it ‘Mayday of the Kiwis.’”
“Cool,” I said and then closed my mouth as he started talking. “Mayday, Mayday,” he started and then stopped. “I can’t read this out loud,” he groaned. “I’m too embarrassed. Here, take my laptop and read it.” He handed me his laptop and I immediately started reading the document on the screen.
Mayday, Mayday. There’s been some sort of accident near the Silky Peaks. Calling all cars to respond. Mayday, Mayday.
Dear Jenny,
It was nice to get your letter the other day. I’ve not had one of those in years. Well since the accident I’ve had about ten, but yours was the nicest. So I had to respond. That night was crazy. To be honest the beginning was pretty much the end. Or if you look at it another way the end was the beginning. I don’t really know anymore. It was on a Thursday evening, quite near dusk that my curiosity got the best of me. It was late; the moon was full and bright. Its luminosity was a bright white, stark in contrast against the midnight blue sky. There were a few stars sprinkled around and a lone bird was flying back and forth above me as I walked down to the riverbank. I heard the kiwi before I saw it. The noise it made scared me as I walked along, my head full of thoughts and dreams. I jumped in fright and tripped on some small rocks that were covering the dirt road. I sat on the ground for a few seconds and laughed to myself. Only I could trip in fear from a small bird that I didn’t even see. I sat there for a few seconds to see if I would hear the nocturnal animals again. But I only heard my dog, Andy. Andy whimpered next to me in distress. He didn’t know what to do. Frankly, I didn’t know what to do either, but that’s just between us. Hope to hear from you again.
Kiwi
Hello Kiwi,
I’m glad you liked my letter enough to respond. When I heard about your accident I just had to write. I think you’re awfully brave to have climbed up that mountain late at night. I’m not sure I could have done it, even with my golden lab, Ella, and she’s just a wonder. And she loves the outdoors. In my defense her legs are more agile than mine though.
I do try to keep active as possible. I think that’s important, in fact, Sunday’s are spent up at my grandfather’s lakeside cabin and I have to admit that those are Ella’s and my favorite days. I’ve been going there since I was a young girl and now I feel like I know the landscape like the back of my hand. Frankly, I do know it better than the back of my hand. I know the path from the cabin down to the lake. All two hundred and thirty-five steps. I know the opposite path as well. The one that takes you into the woods. I know when the owls are out, looking to mate. I know when the deer are running from guns. It’s their footsteps that stop me from getting shot.
Was the moon very white that night? Were there shooting stars? I often think that my greatest wish would be to see a shooting star. Ironic that I’d have to see it before I could make my wish. Oh well, one can dream.
Why do you call yourself Kiwi? I thought your name was Dave?
Jenny
Jenny,
The moon was as luminescent as I could imagine it
being. In my mind’s eye it was full and bright. Though Lisa, my caregiver, says that it was a quarter moon that night with low visibility. I guess I wouldn’t have been able to have seen the stars after all.
Andy is a golden lab as well, but I suppose most Seeing Eye dogs are. Ella sounds like a beauty. Andy doesn’t really like the outdoors or the woods. It makes him nervous. I’m not sure if his nerves are for me or for him. He’s even more nervous than Lisa and that’s saying something.
I saw a shooting star once; when I was a young boy. It was magical. I felt like I was living in some alternate reality. Can you imagine what it must feel like to shoot through the sky? Faster than a bird. Faster than a plane. The ability to move quickly and see everything. I must admit that I was then and I still am quite jealous of shooting stars. Quite jealous, indeed. To be a star would almost be better than being able to fly.
Kiwi
Kiwi,
I have to admit that I’ve never wondered what it would be like to be a shooting star. Though I have wondered what it would be like to be a bird. There’s this saying I heard once from my dad, if you’re afraid to fall, you’ll never fly. I’ve thought about it often, as I’m often scared and afraid. Even now. I’ve always thought if I was a bird, I wouldn’t be afraid of falling or flying across the sky. Did it feel like you were flying when you fell?
Jenny
P.S. You still didn’t tell me why you call yourself Kiwi.
Mayday, Mayday. Requesting backup. We’ve found two dogs. Calling for a rescue team.
Dear Jenny,
They call me Kiwi because they think that I think I can do anything, and they like to remind me of the fact that I can’t fly.
Kiwi
Kiwi,
Let’s prove them wrong.
Jenny
Dispatch, this is Officer Jones. Two bodies have been found at the bottom of the mountain. Deceased. Send for the ambulance. One male. One female. Hands interlocked. Smiles on faces. No foul play. Looks like they jumped together. A backpack with a radio was found at the top. Dogs are in good condition. We’ve been in contact with their relatives. Emergency contacts are unavailable, but grandkids for both are on the way to the hospital.
“Wow.” I looked up at Nate with tears in my eyes. “That was beautiful. Really beautiful.”
“Thanks, but it wasn’t that great. I know that.”
“No, it was really deep. It was short, but really intense. It made me sad. Did Jenny and Dave jump?”
“No spoilers, Janie. I want to read it,” Anabel said, her eyes barely open. “But now, I’m going to bed. I’m about to pass out.” She stood up and stretched. “Night guys.”
“Night,” We all chorused together and I watched as she headed to her room.
“I think I’m going to head to bed as well.” Dylan stood up and yawned. I watched as he ran his hands through his golden-blond hair and wondered how I had ever been attracted to him; especially when compared to Nate. I’d just been fooling myself. There was only one man for me. Though it made me feel stupid for even having invited Dylan on this trip. I barely knew the man. I was a real fool and an idiot. Who got caught up with some guy just because he looked hot on a dating app and flirted with her? Yeah, he’d made me feel good about myself, but was that all I needed to feel good about myself? Was I really dependent on having a guy like me?
Chapter Five
Nate
As we walked down to the beach, I wondered if I could take a hold of Janie’s hand. It was something that I’d done many times before without ever thinking about it, but now, well now I just wanted things to be normal, to be even. To go back to a time when we were okay. When we had each other and she didn’t want anyone else. When she didn’t need a real relationship. I knew that was selfish of me. In my own way I knew. I just didn’t know how to change.
“I’m not skinny-dipping, you know. If that was what you were hoping and thinking.” Janie’s voice interrupted my thoughts.
“I wasn’t hoping that,” I lied as I stared at her in her red one-piece bathing suit. She was smiling at me and her face glowed in the moonlight.
“I hope the waters not cold.” She shivered as she walked. “I don’t want to freeze to death.”
“It won’t be cold. It will be nice. Nice and refreshing.”
“It better be.”
“If the waters cold, I will keep you warm.” I reached out and grabbed her hand, not caring what the implications of that were. I pulled her toward me and she looked up at me in surprise.
“You’ll keep me warm, huh?” She grinned. “I thought that was Dylan’s job.”
“Janie …” I growled at her as I felt a mounting anger in me. “Dylan is …” My voice trailed off as I saw her laughing. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing.” She shook her head. “You’re just funny, that’s all.”
“Really? How funny?” I smacked her ass and she yelped and pulled away from me.
“Not that funny.” She giggled and then ran toward the water. “Catch me if you can.”
“I can catch you.” I ran behind her and then grabbed her from behind as I caught up with her. We both fell down into the water and her legs twisted against mine as her body crushed against me. “Got you,” I whispered in her ear as we splashed around in the water.
“Nate.” She turned to look at me, her face dripping with water. “You got me wet.”
“Did I?” I winked at her.
“Nate,” She chided me and splashed me with water.
“Hey, that’s cold.” I splashed her back.
“Well, you’re the one that said it was going to be warm. You’re the one that wanted to go swimming.”
“Yes, I did.” I jumped up and pulled her up with me and put my arm around her shoulders. “Look up at the moon, isn’t it beautiful?” I pointed up to the clear night sky and watched as she looked up. She gasped and her eyes widened as she stared at the stars. I felt a calmness fill me as we stood there.
“It’s so beautiful,” she whispered as she gazed at me. “Why are you looking at me?” She played with her hair. “Is there something on my face?”
“No.” I shook my head. “Well, nothing that’s not normally there.”
“Why did you never tell me that you liked to write?” she asked me thoughtfully. “I feel like I don’t even know you.”
“What are you talking about?” I made a face at her. “Why would you say that?”
“You’re a beautiful writer, Nate, and you never even told me that you wrote. I feel like there’s this whole side to you that I don’t even know. It makes me sad that you didn’t trust me enough to tell me.”
“It’s not that I didn’t trust you.” I reached down and grabbed her hand. “It is just that it hasn’t been a big part of my life anymore. And it’s always been something really private to me.”
“But you won a competition.”
“Yeah.” I made a face at her. “That I did.”
“It was so good, Nate.”
“Do we have to talk about this?” I sighed. “Let’s talk about something else.”
“Have you written anything else?”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “I have.”
“Would you share them with me?”
“I’ve never shared them with anyone before.” I looked away from her, feeling uncomfortable. I didn’t want her to know about my other pieces of work. I didn’t want to share them with her.
“But I’m your best friend, right?”
“You’re one of my best friends,” I said and she made a face.
“Who else is your best friend?” She raised an eyebrow at me. “And don’t say Dylan.”
“We both know Dylan is not one of my best friends,” I said and she laughed.
“You can’t say Anabel either.”
“What? Didn’t you know how much she loved me?” I winked at her and she laughed even more.
“You’re incorrigible. You know that, right?”
“I barely even know wh
at that word means, Janie.” I put a finger on her lips. “And shh, I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”
“What do you want to talk about then?” She was almost breathless as she gazed up at me, her eyelashes filled with drops of water that I just wanted to kiss away.
“I don’t want to talk,” I said and then leaned down and kissed her lips lightly. Her eyes widened as she gazed at me and her arms reached around my waist as she pressed her body into mine. Her breasts felt soft against my chest and I could feel myself hardening at the feel of her against me. My hands reached to her hair and I deepened the kiss and pushed my tongue into her mouth. She sucked on it eagerly and I groaned as her fingers reached up and dug into my back. My hands then fell to her ass and I squeezed her butt, loving the sounds that were escaping from her mouth softly. She shifted against me and I moved back slightly and kissed down her neck. I looked up at her face, her eyes were closed, and there was a blissful smile on her face. This made me even hornier and I reached up and pushed the straps of her bathing suit down her arms.
“Nate, what are you doing?” She gasped as my mouth went lower and I kissed the top of her breasts.
“What do you think?” I winked at her and then moved my mouth down lower so that her nipple was in my mouth.
“Oh,” she cried out as I sucked and nibbled, loving the wet taste of her in my mouth. “Nate we can’t do this here.” She reluctantly pushed my head away and pulled her strap back up. “Someone could see.”
“So?” My hands went to the side of her face and I kissed her again. “Do you care?”
“Yes, I do.” She shook her head at me. “We shouldn’t be doing this.”
“I want to and I think you want to as well.”
“Nate, I do, but I just …” Her voice trailed off as I kissed her hard again. I could feel my hardness throbbing against her stomach.