by Kim Cormack
To Stalk and Protect
Kayn had been lying on her bunk, listening to the monotonous humming of tires for what felt like hours. She had awoken on this day as she did on most, with the overwhelming urge to go for a run. She knew this meant something but she of course was not a psychic and had no idea what. Perhaps it simply meant she was tired of being cooped up in this claustrophobic-feeling RV. It was possible she was reading way too much into every little thing. Sometimes she just needed to run her worries away. She waited patiently for the feeling to pass and attempted to shut her eyes for a moment more of sleep. The vehicle turned and began to drive down a gravel road. The sound as they arrived at their destination was always the same. They were the self-proclaimed kings and queens of the campgrounds of North America. The vehicle came to a stop. She heard rustling around outside. Kayn hopped up to get into the bathroom first and get ready for the day. She heard the front door of the RV open and someone try to get into the bathroom. “I’ll be super-fast,” she said. The door handle stopped moving. Kayn brushed her teeth and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. She would go for a run and then she would feel much better. She put on some shorts, a tank top and when she came out of the bathroom nobody was there. They must have found another bathroom. She fumbled with the door. She was exhausted. What was she doing? She didn’t even have the motor skills to open the damn door. She stepped out of the RV into the crisp moist air. Yes, she needed this. The isolated darkness of early morning to other people may be an unappealing thing but to her it was like a rebirth. She was in her own little world. Nothing was more soothing to her than the rhythmic sound of her feet hitting the gravel, pavement or rubber track surface. Gingerly she stepped down the few stairs, looking around. It was still nighttime. There were no rays of early morning sunlight to show her the way. It wasn’t scary to her, it was exciting. She loved to feel her way through the trails, her footing guided by nothing more than her instinct for self-preservation. It was a magical feeling, this miracle of running blind into the midnight wild. To miss the roots and rocks that blocked the pathway was like a challenge to her senses. She began running down the moist gravel road of the campground when she heard the gravel matching steps of someone else behind her. There was a time when the sound of someone running behind her would have scared her half to death. There was a time when that sound had brought her back instantly in her memory to her own Sweet Sleep. Not too long ago goose bumps would have emerged on her skin and her heart would have begun to hammer wildly in her chest. She had changed.
An all too familiar voice teased, “You’re not even going to look behind you? What if I was a serial killer?”
“You mean you’re not here to murder me?” Kayn laughed. She kept running without attempting to slow down. He was going to have to keep up.
Frost already sounded winded, “Protecting you, would be the phrase used by a woman who appreciated me.”
“I don’t need to be protected by you anymore. I’m eighteen now,” Kayn chuckled without breaking her stride.
“Call it a force of habit,” Frost huffed from behind her.
“Whatever will you do with all of your spare time?” Kayn teased. She opted to run the straight flat highway. It might have looked as though she was going to take pity on him. The truth was a little more twisted than that. She planned on running Frost until he dropped to his knees, if only to prove a point. She knew ego alone would keep him going until she was almost ready to drop herself. It was her turn to have some fun with him. The two of them ran towards the horizon as it burst into brilliant light. It was dawn and absolutely miraculous. She slowed her pace a touch, allowing him to catch up with her. He’d been running right beside her for miles down the straight stretch of road before they even saw the first car pass by them. Frost was attempting to keep pace. He wasn’t exactly inconspicuous. He had no shirt on and it did look a little nutty when it wasn’t particularly warm outside in the wee hours of the morning.
“Maybe, I like protecting you? Maybe, I don’t want to stop?” Frost huffed from beside her.
She was wearing him down. She could tell. She was far past her endurance level already but she couldn’t help herself. She had to push him much further if she ever wanted to run alone.
“At least you’re talking to me instead of running behind me like some shirtless mime,” she puffed along. She was sweating, soaked to the bone and so was Frost.
“Maybe, I just love to run? Maybe, I’m just into shirtless miming?” Frost teased. A blatant lie as he staggered a little behind her. A lie meant to make her laugh.
“Not stalking of course?” Kayn replied. She didn’t slow down. He was going to break her first, if she kept using her energy to talk. There was no steam for talking and running at this point.
“Oh come on, a stalker doesn’t bring breakfast does he?” Frost quipped back and patted his pocket.
“Oh, I will bet that is exactly what a smart stalker does,” Kayn laughed as a shot of adrenaline gave her a second wind. It was enough of a second wind that she found the renewed ability to spar with him. She almost lost her footing for a second and skidded before regaining her balance. The universe did not want to allow her a cool moment. She kept running and picked up speed, hoping he hadn’t seen her almost accident. When her feet had hit the ground enough times in a row at a steady pace, she attempted to speak and run again, “The question remains... Do you have duct tape in your other pocket?”
“Oh no honey, I’m just happy to see you,” Frost teased.
She couldn’t help but laugh. A car swerved on the road. She was forced to stop running for fear of the public’s safety. “You can come jogging with me as long as you put your shirt back on. I don’t want to be responsible for any traffic accidents.” She was more than a little annoyed that she had to break stride. She watched him put his shirt back on from his backpack. How could she stay mad at him once her eyes took a second to travel across his rippling abs? Frost was insanely hot. Kayn looked away for a second and thought, calm down, he is only a guy. She started running a few seconds before he was ready to start and he was forced to catch up. He was puffing behind her. She knew he was close to giving up. They had turned back down the trail towards the campsite again. Kayn had to tell herself she could do it as they began to run through a wooded trail. Frost went down into the grass, unable to run one more step. She cheered and did a victory lap around him with her arms raised into the air before allowing herself to collapse in the grass right beside him. They laid there together thoroughly exhausted on the area of lawn that divided the two turns into the camp sites. They both began to laugh.
He laid flat on his back in the grass, “Do you want me to continue to stalk you today or should I go stalk someone else? There are some cool cabins by the lake. I could stalk almost anyone. The options are endless.”
Kayn sat up, bent over and wiped the sweat off her forehead. Frost was up now sitting beside her. She admitted, “I think you’ve earned the right to stalk me for the day.”
Frost grinned as he took her hand, helped her to her feet and said, “I was hoping you’d say that. Come with me. I want to show you the cabins we’re staying in. They’re pretty spectacular.”
On some days, it’s just easier to give in once you’ve won the battle that matters to you. Kayn followed Frost through the winding trails but now they were both walking. The campsite was alive with the sounds of creatures. They approached the front door of a rickety old cabin. He grabbed a key from under the mat.
She teased, “They just randomly leave keys under mats around here?”
“Yes, they do.” He chuckled, “If you call ahead and ask them to.”
Kayn thought about what he’d just said, had he reserved this cabin for them? Were they all staying in the cabins tonight or had he rented the cabin of her dreams in an attempt to seduce her? But they weren’t allowed? She gasped as she walked inside and declared, “This is amazing.”
He grinned as he answered, “It’s pretty nice, isn’t it?�
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Saying it was pretty nice was an understatement. It was incredible. There was a king size bed and a giant hot tub right in the center of the room. A kitchenette with a table, it all just fell right out of one of her fantasies. They didn’t say anything to each other as they both looked at the sink at the same time. They walked towards it, grabbed glasses from the cupboard and drank so much water that they both began to laugh. She rubbed her round, water filled protruding stomach.
He pulled his shirt up over his and said, “Want to feel my water baby?”
Kayn almost spit out her mouthful of water. She had actually used that line in thought on many occasions when she’d eaten too much in one sitting. She swallowed another gulp of water and then lifted hers up a little. “I have one too,” she laughed. Her usually firm stomach rounded with the mass amount of water she had just chugged down. He touched her stomach and it growled loudly on cue. It had almost been an extremely sexy moment. No such luck. “Did you say something about breakfast?” She asked.
Frost smiled as he grabbed some granola bars out of his pocket and plunked them in her hand.
She laughed aloud, “Oh…Very fancy. That’s exactly what I wanted, how did you know?”
“Oh, you just wait,” he chuckled. He walked over to the fridge and opened it. There were bottles of two-million-dollar orange juice and a fruit basket. That was the Ankh’s long standing joke about eating or drinking from the mini bar. He pulled out a bottle of champagne and opened it with his mind. It shot the lamp and knocked it off the end table, smashing it onto the floor. “Um… Whoops,” he said.
“That’s what you get for showing off,” Kayn teased as she got up to help him clean.
Frost said, “No, just leave it. I’ll get it. You just relax for a second.” He cleaned up the mess and came over with glasses of orange juice, champagne and the fruit basket. Oh, it wasn’t just fruit. There were treats in there too. There were Twinkies and Swedish Berries under the fancy wrap. Damn it, she thought. He was pulling out all the stops in his attempt to seduce her. She was torn between feeling panicked and excited. She’d never been in this situation before.
Frost assured, “I was going to ask you to stay with me. I just wanted to be able to talk to you and get to know you without an audience. You’re safe with me Kayn.” He sensed her hesitation and teased, “I dare you to stay with me, as friends of course.”
She could read between the lines. He was daring her to pretend she didn’t want him back. He knew she couldn’t resist a dare. She was playing with fire and it was exciting. She glanced at the bathroom and asked, “Do you mind if I jump in the shower then... Friend?” She needed to buy some time to think. Why... Oh why, did she have to have a brain?
“Sure,” he teased, “But you probably shouldn’t jump, you might slip on the soap.”
“Ha, ha, ha,” Kayn sparred as she strutted to the bathroom, raised her hand in front of her and pushed the door open with her mind.
“Show off,” Frost called after her.
Kayn sauntered into the bathroom and closed the door the old-school way. She stood there for a second and wondered if she should lock it. She left it alone. He had told her once that he would never lay a finger on her unless she asked him to. She fought the urge to hop on one foot in the shower just so she could brag that she’d hopped in the shower and lived to tell the tale. As the hot water pounded her tired sore muscles the words he’d said traveled a seductive path across her thoughts as she lathered herself up with soap. This was crazy. What in the hell was she doing? His words replayed in her mind…Unless you ask me to. She wondered what it would be like to be the girl who asked someone to kiss her? She came out of the shower into a steamed-up room. She’d forgotten to turn on the fan. She flicked the switch, hoping the hum of the fan would drown out her thoughts, if he was attempting to listen. She wiped the mirror off with a face cloth and gazed at her image for a second. Kayn bit her lip and leaned against the counter. Get a bloody grip on yourself Kayn. What are you even thinking? You’re a smart girl. You are not a naive idiot. You have a brain.
Playing With Fire
Kayn emerged from the bathroom in her underwear, sports bra and T-shirt. It passed for swim wear… Sort of. With one of the oversized fluffy robes on, that was hanging on the back of the bathroom door. This place seemed to have everything under the sun but a hair dryer, so her hair was towel dried, sexy and damp. She could tell by the expression on his face that she looked fantastic. Then she heard a clinking sound coming from the kitchen; it was Lexy and Grey. Lexy was sitting on the counter swinging her legs, eating an apple. Grey was breaking into the basket of snacks with a white plastic butter knife.
“We weren’t interrupting anything, were we?” Lexy teased. She hopped off the counter and walked towards Kayn.
“No, you weren’t. We were just hanging out. We went for a run,” Kayn replied.
“Oh,” Grey teased “Just a run?” He’d opened the box of crackers but was struggling with the seal on the packet inside the box. Lexy shook her head as she grabbed it from him and opened it in one second flat. Kayn grinned as Grey just handed Lexy the jar of pickles without even attempting to open it.
“Just a run,” Kayn repeated. Grey gave her a handful of crackers and she popped one into her mouth.
He chuckled, “Some energy for you my dear. You know, for all of the future running.” He had a giant grin on his face. He wasn’t buying it.
Lexy playfully swatted him and said, “Quit being an ass Grey. I think this whole thing is kind of sweet, although it makes me want to gag just a little admitting that anything Frost does is sweet. This is quite a lot of effort for him to put into a girl.”
She decided that arguing with them to prove her innocence was pointless. Kayn asked, “Which cabin are you guys staying in?”
Grey very casually replied, “Everyone else is staying in the RV.”
Kayn had suspected that was the case. She also knew that this whole romantic seduction scenario was a lot of effort for the guy didn’t have to put in any effort at all. All Frost had to do was be in the room and he could have almost anyone he desired. She knew denying what was quite obviously going on was pointless.
“Stay and use the hot tub.” Kayn offered as she met Grey’s gaze.
“All right then, that’s all you needed to say,” Grey chuckled as he stripped off his shirt, removed the cover and got in. Lexy removed her clothes down to her underwear and climbed in with him. The situation was becoming less romantic by the second. Someone knocked on the door. It was Zach, Melody and Lily. Kayn opened it and they all just barged in.
Zach huffed, “I am personally offended. You guys attempted to have a hot tub party without me.” They stripped down and got into the suddenly almost full hot tub.
Lily whispered in her ear, “I tried to keep them away but the idea that someone might want some time alone is like speaking another language.”
It was true that privacy in this clan was kind of a foreign concept. Kayn was a little worried Frost was going to be upset. She knocked lightly on the bathroom door.
Frost said, “It’s open. Come in.”
She turned the doorknob and gently pushed the bathroom door open. He had obviously answered from the shower. The room was full of steam; she turned on the fan for him and leaned against the sink.
He stuck his head out of the curtain with a mischievous grin and teased, “Want to come in and wash my back?”
Kayn caught herself entertaining the thought; instead she rained on his parade by saying, “I just thought I would warn you that they are all in the hot-tub.”
He stuck his head back out and said, “Seriously... Everyone?”
She replied, “Yes... Everyone.”
Frost was quiet for a second before popping his head out once again and saying, “It’s fine. That was bound to happen.”
She was instantly relieved. Kayn was just about to leave when his gorgeous water dampened face peeked out from behind the curtain again. He tease
d, “Are you sure you don’t want to come in?”
With everyone outside…Right. Kayn bit her lip and laughed, “I’ll see you in a few minutes.” She heard him turn off the water and paused before reaching for the door knob.
He flung open the curtains and casually asked, “Can you pass me that towel?”
She looked away quickly but not before she got an eye full. She threw the towel right at his face and stammered, “Frost… Seriously?” Without looking back at him she bolted out the door. He was howling with laughter as she closed it behind her. Her face was a brilliant shade of red as she started to take off her robe.
Grey’s voice teased, “My dear, you are blushing all over...Everywhere.”
“Give it a rest Grey,” Kayn scolded as her robe dropped on the floor and she climbed into the tub with the rest of them. Frost stepped out of the bathroom in his shorts looking nothing short of the glorious force of nature that he was. He slipped into the hot tub right across from her. She was getting a little frustrated with the fact that everyone else in the clan was light years ahead of her life experience wise. I am eighteen for heaven’s sake. She thought about saying it aloud for a second then realized there would be a chorus of laughter and opted out of making a fool of herself. The hot tub immediately began to soothe her cramped muscles. She’d overdone it on the run this morning. Kayn closed her eyes and sighed as she sunk her aching body under the surface of the steaming water.