Looking at her mobile phone, Amanda checked the time and decided to go and join her friends, to have breakfast with them and to get her attention to something else than the enticing memories of the handsome stranger. Otherwise her fantasies were going to take her to a new level, new world, where she was scared to set foot.
Chapter 4: Sudden Sparks
Turning into a human form and going to meet the people who were creating all the construction mess had had only one mission: to make them stop it. Roger shook his head, as he sat down by the river, his favorite place in the forest. He closed his eyes and remembered the encounter. The moment he had laid eyes on her, his inner world had changed. Initially angry and annoyed, Roger had gone out only to meet the most beautiful and innocent creature in the world. To his own surprise. Things didn’t turn out the way he had planned. Her sweet smell, gentle and arousing, was so enticing that he could still feel it in his nostrils. Her eyes, blue like the sea, bright and sparkling, looking at him with astonishment. Roger smiled at the memory of her. Such a beautiful creature, in the middle of the forest, in his territory. Roger started breathing deeply, as if trying to calm himself. But it didn’t help, as the memories of her innocent smile brought a new wave of tingling emotions to him, making him sweat and flare his nostrils. He remembered her petite body, so feminine and small, and probably soft to touch. He felt hot and confused, as he couldn’t get rid of the intense memories of the beautiful girl, Amanda, as she had called herself. He had to have her, he thought, as he took a small stone and tossed into the river. Of course he didn’t want to scare her, as he had already sensed her fright sometime during their conversation. He felt he wanted to protect her from everyone, to make sure she was safe and sound. He had to have her.
***
“Mandy, what took you so long?” Luisa asked when Amanda joined them near the boys’ cabin.
“Nothing,” she said, trying to hide the brand new spark her eyes had acquired after meeting Roger. She had decided to keep it a secret from everyone, as it was such a sensitive feeling that she was new to and wanted to feel it all alone, without sharing with anyone. She needed to understand what it was about, why it was making her feel on fire. She felt she needed to realize what was going on with her.
“Okay, so we can have breakfast now,” Andy said, smiling, preparing the plastic dishes and cups, while Maggie got the food ready.
“Picnic again?” Amanda asked, looking around the place there were going to have their picnic in, hoping to see Roger again.
“Yes, it’s the best thing we can do here,” Stacey said. “Fresh air and all,” she added, taking an apple.
“Amanda,” George said, “did you rethink our suggestion?”
Amanda’s face tightened. She knew what he meant: transferring the hotel construction to another location, far from that place. Far from Roger, she thought. Now more than ever she wanted to stay there and build a hotel. She wanted to make sure that she had a chance to meet him again. No bear, no wolf or any other animal could make her move away from the place where she could see him, the wild and strong, gentle and fiery handsome man. He who managed to make her stomach flutter with strange feelings. She realized that her choice was based mostly on emotions, because the potential tourists could get scared and leave the hotel, but she reassured herself that not only emotions, but also the scarcity of money was the reason for her firm decision of staying there.
“George,” she said gently, “I did rethink.”
Everybody grew silent. She continued: “I want to continue the construction here.”
The silence continued.
“I understand everything,” Amanda said, seeing that everyone was looking at one another. “I know the dangers and stuff. But, I can’t afford stopping the construction and starting from scratch. It costs money, which I don’t have. I have what I have and not more. My savings are enough for carrying out the project till the end, including the hotel facilities and furniture. I can’t spend any more money as I don’t have it. And I’m sure you all know that.”
Luisa nodded. The others also started to nod.
“We understand,” George said. “Of course we can’t interfere, as we can’t give you money. Our financial situations are also tight.”
“George, I’m not asking for money,” Amanda said, looking surprised and annoyed at the same time. “Did I say anything concerning any of you giving me money? I understand that you want the hotel to be the best, and I truly appreciate your help that you’ve given me and are still giving me. It’s just the money thing.”
“Amanda,” Stacey said, “I guess this topic is settled. I personally am not going to say a word regarding this. If we can’t help you out financially, then none of us has a right to tell you what to do.”
It was settled. Any other suggestion was out of question. Amanda was glad that she didn’t have an argument with her friends. After all, they all wanted what was best for her and her business.
“Are we staying here tonight?” Luisa asked, trying to change the subject.
“Yes, please, let’s stay,” the words escaped Amanda’s mouth against her will. She was surprised at herself. Could her longing for Roger be so intense that she needed to be as close to him as possible?
“Oh, Amanda, you’ve grown so fond of this place,” Andy said, laughing. “I agree to stay one more night. Why not?”
The others also agreed, although Luisa was a bit hesitant.
***
The afternoon sun was so hot, that the men who were working under the sunshine had taken off their shirts and were topless. Their bare shoulders were dark brown, from being exposed to the direct sunlight for a long time. Amanda and her friends had decided to watch the construction, so they were sitting on the ground, under the trees, watching. Stacey was sitting next to Amanda, and she nudged Amanda with her elbow, winking and pointing to the side of the half-done hotel with her head. Amanda looked where Stacey was pointing to. There, in his black dirty shorts, there was a day-shift worker, who was preparing some cement material. He was looking at Amanda every now and then. Amanda looked at him, totally clueless. The worker noticed her looking at him, and winked. Startled, Amanda turned to look at Stacey, who was smiling at her meaningfully.
“What?!” Amanda said in a low voice, starting to realize what it all meant. Stacey shrugged, still smiling playfully. Amanda turned her gaze towards the worker again, only to see that he was working again, turning around from time to time to look at her.
“Stacey, so that’s the guy who you mentioned before, looking at me, I see,” Amanda said, still in a low voice. She didn’t want to draw the others’ attention to that matter. It didn’t mean a thing to her, as there was a more pleasant, stronger and better emotion she was dealing with at the moment: missing Roger. Of course there was nothing good about missing somebody, she thought, especially when that somebody had woken in you strange and intense feelings. She shrugged, rolling her eyes at Stacey.
“Mandy, I think that guy would like to get acquainted with you,” Stacey whispered.
“I don’t share his wishes,” Amanda said, as she and Stacey shared a secret chuckle.
“Hey guys,” Maggie said. “What about a nice walk in the forest?”
“I guess no,” Luisa said immediately.
“Luis, aren’t you afraid to stay in the cabin alone?” Stacey said. “Well, in case everyone comes to have a walk.”
“I think it’s safer to stay inside a cabin, than to walk through a forest,” Luisa said tentatively. “Especially when there are wild animals,” she added.
“No, Luis, there aren’t many wild animals here,” George said. “We only heard one bear. It doesn’t mean there are lots of wild animals, okay?”
“I’d better stay in the cabin,” Luisa repeated.
The others got ready to walk through the forest, making sure not to go too far away.
“There’s a stream a bit far from here,” Andy said. “Let’s go and see if we can find a waterfall there, too.”
“Of course we can!” George said at once. “I have seen the waterfall, too. I will show you the way.”
“George, but what if the bear shows up?” Amanda asked.
“We’ll not go too deep in the forest,” George answered. “And the bear won’t come near the construction site, I’m sure.”
***
The walk was pleasant and calming. Amanda was deep in her memories of Roger, walking absent-mindedly with her friends and nodding her head occasionally, when asked a question by one friend or another. The stream was starting from a not too high waterfall, noisily rushing down from the lower side of the mountain, crashing onto a big black rock, resulting in watery mist. Amanda closed her eyes, sitting on a nearby rock by the stream. Where was Roger? She wished he would accidentally bump into her.
“Let’s get under the waterfall!” Stacey suggested, almost yelling, so that her voice could be heard through the waterfall noise. “We haven’t taken a shower for two days!”
“What an awesome idea!” Maggie said, jumping right under the waterfall. “Oh, it’s so cold!”
Amanda smiled at Maggie’s reaction to the cold shower. She went and stood on one of the rocks, right beside Maggie, where the cold water was splashing down with mild thunder. It felt the same as her cold shower at home she used to take every day, except for the fact that she was dressed under the waterfall.
After having fun under the water, the friends sat down on the nearby rocks to get dry under the afternoon sun that was already starting to go towards the horizon.
Amanda was dreaming about meeting Roger, the mysterious hot man, who refused to come out of her mind.
“Amanda, are you all right?” Maggie asked, coming closer and sitting next to her on the rock.
“Yes, I’m perfect,” Amanda answered; her eyes still dreamy.
Maggie eyed her suspiciously.
“Mag, I’m fine. It’s just the waterfall, it’s making me sleepy.”
“We’ll return soon,” George said.
The sun was already starting to set. The sky, a mixture of red and orange colors, made the surroundings look magical. The friends were already near their cabins, tired and ready to sink into their beds.
“Goodnight,” Amanda said, lying down on her bed, grateful that her pillow was so soft and inviting.
“Goodnight,” her friends said, each getting under the covers.
Amanda closed her eyes. Her day had been full of lots of things going on, and her mind needed to switch off. But she couldn’t sleep. Her mind was as awake as it would be after several cups of strong coffee. Roger, she remembered his name, Roger Black. His name was created for him. So strong and brutal-looking, yet having such gentle smile. Amanda got the familiar tingling feeling in her stomach again, smiling at her reaction upon remembering him. She felt the urge to start fantasizing about him. She wanted to imagine what it would feel like if he touched her. Then Amanda tried to imagine how she would feel if he came closer to her, so that she felt his breathing. The thought got her all hot and wet, and she stopped the fantasy, looking around hastily. Not that the others were asleep.
The second Amanda heard the bear howl in the middle of the night, she realized that all the girls heard it, too. Though she wished she didn’t hear it, the howl was distinctive and long. And sexy. She quickly banished that thought from her head, considering that in her state of fantasizing, any sound might seem sexy to her, even the howl of a bear.
Luisa was breathing loudly, scared obviously. Stacey was muttering something under her breath, and Maggie was sitting up in her bed, looking around.
Amanda got sad. The howl made her return to the real life, to the present, to the impending problem of the bear and her hotel.
“I must not despair,” she thought, “I will prove to everyone that I can manage.”
Chapter 5: Encounter
After gulping down the tasty water from the stream, the bear started climbing up the hill slowly, as if thinking before taking each step. Roger was in deep thoughts. It was the first time that he felt such attachment to a female, and it had turned his world upside down. He remembered all the girls and women that he had as a one-day girlfriend, only to have sex with, but none of them even came close to what he felt for Amanda.
Sitting down under the tree, Roger remembered the previous day, when he had smelled Amanda’s sweet scent from far and had come secretly closer to the construction site. He had seen her, as beautiful as before, going for a walk with her friends. Then she had had a waterfall shower with her friends, just under the same waterfall, where he used to take a shower each day. He remembered how she had sat down by a rock near the waterfall, her black hair reaching her waist, her wet body so neat and huggable. The more Roger thought about her, the more he got intense feelings, which turned into physical feelings all over his body. The feeling of having to have her. Desire. Passion. All in one. All at once. Sweating, Roger felt the urge of roaring: otherwise he’d go crazy of desire. He stood on the top of the hill and roared with all his might, setting off to a long run through the forest until his desire subsided a little.
***
“Girls, I heard the bear again,” Luisa said, pale in the face. “I guess I can’t stay here overnight any longer. I am really afraid. I haven’t slept at night, fearing the bear.”
“Well, to tell the truth, I didn’t sleep either,” Maggie said, shaking her head.
“Me neither,” Stacey said.
Amanda nodded her head knowingly. She said: “I have also heard the bear, girls. I understand that it’s scary and you don’t want to stay here at night. So it’s okay to return.”
“Let’s go home now,” Luisa suggested. “I mean, we don’t have much breakfast left, anyways, and we can have breakfast at home. What would you say?”
Maggie and Stacey agreed.
“Let’s go get the boys and return,” Maggie said. “Anyways, the construction can go on without us being present, can’t it?”
Amanda was hesitant. She didn’t want to leave the place. She had the urge to see Roger again. She had daydreamed about him the whole night and couldn’t go without seeing him.
“Girls, why not? You can go with the boys, and I will return later in the afternoon. I want to stay here some more. I don’t mind staying alone. Besides, I will be able to unwind. I have been tense recently.”
Her friends seemed okay with her suggestion.
“Well, we’ll go get the boys then,” Stacey said, packing her stuff in the small suitcase.
Maggie’s backpack was almost empty, as she had brought mostly food, and most of it was gone. Luisa didn’t have many things, though, so in a few minutes they were ready.
“The boys are ready, too, I guess,” Luisa said, who had made a habit of glancing out of the cabin window nearly all the time.
“Hey, good morning!” George said, entering the cabin. He got surprised to see that the girls were packed and ready.
“So it wasn’t only us to think that having breakfast at home was a much better idea!” Andy said, chuckling.
“We are ready!” Maggie said. “But Mandy’s staying. She says she wants to be alone today, and will return in late afternoon.”
“I’ll come to get you then, Mandy,” Andy said. “Otherwise you’ll spend days walking to the city from here,” he added, laughing.
“Okay, thanks a lot, Andy,” Amanda said. “I will be packed and ready, waiting for you in a few hours.”
They hugged Amanda, one by one, before getting out of the cabin and getting into the cars. Amanda waved them goodbye and watched after them as the cars disappeared from her view, making her feel alone with her wild emotions. The realization that she was alone with the potential chance to meet Roger again made her stomach curl with anticipation. She went back into her cabin, ate some breakfast, whichever was left from the previous day, and got out. Amanda wanted to take a walk in the forest. She knew she was a crazy, as there was a bear there, but she remembered George’s words, when he had said tha
t the bear wouldn’t come near the construction site.
“The bear’s probably far away,” she thought. “I’ll go to the waterfall and relax a little. Maybe I will have a chance to see him. After all, he said he gets in the forest rather often.”
Even the slightest possibility of meeting Roger gave Amanda strength to go into the forest and towards the waterfall all alone. Her tiny red dress, which was short and light, shivered in the morning breeze, just like her long black hair.
***
Walking noiselessly through the forest by the track of the previous day, Amanda enjoyed the fresh morning air and the noise of the newly awakened birds in the trees. Taking in the pleasant scent of the flowers and green grass, Amanda decided that her hotel guests would be fascinated by the nature and wouldn’t mind the bear at all. After all, the bear wasn’t near the hotel.
Amanda could hear the waterfall nearby and walked towards it. Daydreaming by the waterfall was exactly what she wanted to do. She reached that place and stopped in her tracks: there was Roger, standing in front of her. He was naked and panting. Amanda looked at him, as if in slow motion, taking his entire image in with all her might. There he was, only a few steps away from her, all naked, sweaty and panting. Amanda couldn’t talk, move or breathe. She was looking at him, her eyes wandering up and down his strong muscular body, lingering on his manly parts in awe and surprise. Being a virgin, she was seeing new things right then and there, and couldn’t take her eyes off him. His panting was so sexy, that she felt her own feminine parts tingle pleasantly. He was looking at her, into her eyes, at her body, and undressing her with his gaze. As if glued to the ground, Amanda was still having intense feelings, her breathing becoming faster, when she noticed him change. His dick grew bigger and harder, as his panting grew, and his eyes looked at her in a sexier manner, his lips curving into a half-smile, as he started approaching her.
Romance: The College Bad Boy: A Young Adult Romance Page 91