Secluded Nature

by Lindsey Brewster

“Yes, ma’am.”

  As I unlock the car, I see Luke looking out his bedroom window, so I wave at him. He returns the wave a little awkwardly and I shake my head, smiling. Then I back out of the driveway, turn the radio on, and head to my other cousin’s house

  Chapter 2

  I have enjoyed the visit with Liam. He riddles me with questions about my life in Rhode Island and he catches me up on the local gossip in Tennessee. We say our goodbyes before long, and I promise him that I will come back soon. My phone starts ringing as I climb into the driver’s seat.

  Unknown number. “Hello?”

  “Hey, Abbey, it’s Luke. Mason told me to call you and let you know that we want Chinese for dinner.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll pick some up. I’m headed home now.”

  “Great. I’m hungry.”

  “I should be 45 minutes, an hour tops.”

  “Okay, see you in a few.”

  I’m greeted by Luke as I arrive back at the cabin with everyone’s dinner. I happily hand off some of the bags to him.

  “This smells delicious.”

  “It’s from my favorite place. It’s always delicious.”

  My cousin is nowhere to be seen when I get back inside the cabin. “Where’s Mason?”

  “Your mom called him earlier. He said he’d be back for dinner, which seems to be untrue. I guess your dad’s business was having trouble and needed help since your dad's not here.”

  I roll my eyes, “Yeah, right.”

  Making my way to the kitchen, I grab forks and hand him one as I sit down at the coffee table.

  We eat in a comfortable silence, watching some kind of sci-fi movie on TV.

  Luke finished eating long before me and is sprawled out on the couch dozing off. Moving as quietly as possible, I head to my room to call Leah.

  She answers on the second ring, “Hey, woman! What’s going on?”

  “Not a whole lot of anything right now. When are you wanting to hang out?”

  “How about tomorrow night? There’s a new club here. I know it’s not really your thing, but it’ll be fun.”

  “Sure, as long as we don’t go overboard.”

  “No, we won’t. You know we never do.”

  “Alright, alright. I’m going to dig a couple books out of the attic to read while I’m in town. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Sounds good! Bye!”

  Hanging up, I walk out of my room and grab a flashlight from the hall closet. As I make my way to the stairs, I see that Luke is awake and rubbing his eyes. Adorable. “What’re you doing with a flashlight?”

  “I’m going up into the attic to grab a few books to read. I can never find the light switch without a flashlight.”

  I start making my way up the stairs and hear him walking behind me.

  “I’ll help you. Books can be heavy.”

  I shake my head and laugh, but don’t argue as he follows me up the stairs.

  We make it inside and I find the light switch. It’s hot up here. I can never stay in the attic for too long. Luke starts exploring the attic as I look for the right boxes.

  It only takes me a minute to find them, and I turn to report my success. “I found them! What? No! Stop! Don’t open the window!”

  I make a dash for the attic door just as it swings closed. Damnit.

  “What? It was hot up here and we needed to move some air. We can open the door.”

  “Really? We can? Why don’t you try that?”

  He walks over to the door and tries to open it. It doesn’t budge.

  “Hey Abbey… Why can’t I open the door?”

  “Because, Luke, I had a squirrel problem. They figured out how to open the door, so I had it fixed to where it wouldn’t open from the inside until I could get someone here to take care of the problem. I just, uh, never fixed the door, because it’s usually just me here, and I know not to close it.”

  He laughs at me with this incredulous look on his face. “You’re joking right? So we’re stuck in here until Mason gets back?”

  “Nope, not joking. We have to sit in this ridiculously hot attic because you opened that window.”

  Sighing in defeat, he looks around the room while I pick up the books I want to read. I move them towards a side table by the door. I turn around and Luke is suddenly standing very, very close to me.

  I look up at him, “Need something?”

  He tucks a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “Yeah, I do.”

  He leans forward and I take in a shallow breath and watch him as he watches me. He slowly reaches behind me and pulls out a screwdriver.

  He smiles at me. “I’m about to get us out of here.” Arrogant man.

  I take a deep breath. “How’s that?”

  “I’m taking the door off its hinges, obviously.”

  “Right.” I gesture at the door with my hands. “Have at it.”

  He starts banging on the metal piece of the door to get the pin out, making a ridiculous amount of noise. The oppressive heat seems to make the attic smaller than it really is. I move over towards the window to try to get some of the slightly cooler air from outside and perch myself on the edge of a box beside it. The combination of heat and exertion has caused a fine sheen of sweat to cover Luke. Watching him work on the pins, my mind begins to drift back to how close his face was as he reached for the screwdriver…

  My mind is drawn back to the present by headlights coming down the driveway. I look out the window and recognize Mason’s car. Thank God.

  I yell out the window as soon as he has a foot out the door, “Mason!”

  He looks up and sees me. “What’re you doing up there?”

  “I’ll explain when you get up here. Please come let us out before Luke breaks my door!”

  “What the--- I’m coming!”

  I walk over to Luke while he’s pulling a pin out. I take it from him and put it back in. He shoots me a glare.

  “Why don’t you get up? Mason is on his way in and we don’t need you smacked in the face with the door.”

  Mason barges in at just the moment that Luke is clear.

  “What happened?”

  “Your friend here opened the window, and the door slammed shut.”

  Mason laughs while he turns around and heads back down the stairs. I grab the books and follow him. Luke closes the window and follows, mumbling something about squirrels under his breath.

  I head towards my room. It’s late and I’m ready for bed.

  "Abbey, wait up!"

  I turn to look at my cousin, "What?"

  "I was wondering if you wouldn't mind hanging with Luke tomorrow? I have a meeting with my agent and I need to talk to him. I'll only be gone for the morning and part of the afternoon."

  I sigh, "Look, I'm going out with Leah tomorrow night. You need to be back here before I leave. No stopping and visiting. We do have to go to my parents’ on Sunday for dinner, so no plans. Got it?"

  He grins, "Yep! Thanks so much."

  I smile back, "No problem. I'm going to bed. Night!"

  I wake up in the early morning hours to a knocking at my door. Rolling over, I slide on some pants and open the door to find Mason on the other side. The look on his face is just like the one he wore when we were kids and he was about to get me involved in something I probably wouldn’t like.

  “What’s up?”

  He shifts from foot to foot and looks at me nervously. “I was thinking maybe it would be fun for Luke if you took him to one of your dad’s clubs…”

  My eyebrows shoot up to my forehead. “Now, why would I want to do that?”

  “Um, I think he would have fun, and it would be educational.”

  “Right, because he wouldn’t be in over his head or anything, and I wouldn’t have to spend the whole night babysitting him.” The sarcasm drips from my words.

  Mason holds up his hands defensively, “He’ll have a bracelet on, and he will be with you. No one messes with you.”

  “And does he know what kind o
f club it is?”

  “Kind of. I was hoping you could explain more of it to him, you know, if he had any questions.”

  “Why me, Mason? I haven’t participated in so long.”

  “Please, Abbey; you’ve been there and done that, so you know what you’re talking about, even if it has been a long time.”

  “Does he actually want to go, or is this just some idea you dreamed up?”

  “We went by it on the way in because I needed to pick up some paperwork from your dad. He said it looked cool, and he’d like to see what it was like when it was up and running.”

  “I’m not sure, Mason…”

  “For me? Please?”

  Shooting a glare at him, I sigh, “Fine, but you owe me.”

  “Of course, anything you want. Anyways, I’m heading out, and I’m going to use the truck.”

  “Have a good day!”

  I go back to bed and doze for a few more hours.

  By noon, I’ve showered and almost finished cooking lunch. Luke, on the other hand, hasn’t even gotten out of bed. After putting the soup on low, I walk out of the kitchen and down the hallway to Luke’s room and knock. No answer. I knock a little harder. Still nothing. Determined to get him up, I open his bedroom door to find him sprawled on the bed, tangled in the sheets with a pillow over his face. I raise my voice a little, “Luke, wake up!” Nothing. Not even a movement. Great. I grab a pillow from beside the dresser and throw it at him. “Hey, are you alive?”

  There’s a grumble, “No. Let me be.”

  “Nope, it’s almost noon, and I’ve made lunch. Get up.”

  He groans, and I suppress a laugh.

  “Fine.”

  Mission accomplished. I turn on my heels and move to leave the room.

  “Hey, Abbey?”

  I turn back around and freeze. He’s standing by the bed shirtless in some shorts that hang off his hips in just the right way. My eyes slowly make their way up his body. There’s slight definition to his abs and his arms are nicely defined. He definitely works out. As my eyes finally reach his face, they notice he has an eyebrow raised and a smirk on his face.

  “Abbey, have you heard a single word I said?”

  My face grows hot, “Hmm, I, uh um. Honestly… no.”

  He chuckles and closes the distance between us. His fingers cup my chin and lift my face to look up at him.

  “I’m going to take a shower. Will lunch be okay until I’m done?”

  I nod and he smiles in return. He runs his thumb over my bottom lip and releases me. I practically run out of the room and close his door, heading back to the kitchen.

  Luke comes out of his room about fifteen minutes later. I’m slightly disappointed at his added clothes.

  “What’s for lunch?”

  I point to the pot and the sandwiches on a plate. “Grilled cheese and tomato soup.”

  “Mmmm…”

  “Yeah, yeah. Fix yourself some instead of staring at it.”

  He heads over to the stove and ladles the soup into a bowl. I grab my book and bowl and head to the table. A little while later I hear, “Earth to Abbey!”

  Looking up from my book, I raise an eyebrow.

  “You really are spacing out today, though I prefer how it happened earlier.”

  I meet his laughing eyes with a glare and blush.

  “Anyway, I wanted to ask you a question.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Well, I went with Mason to your dad’s club and saw some of the… things there. Mason explained some of it to me, and I’m familiar with some, but he recommended I talk to you about it.”

  I sigh. I had been avoiding this conversation. I set the book aside.

  “Right; it’s a sex club with some kink thrown in. It’s invite only, and membership is required. It’s got a little bit of everything in it. Mason actually asked me to take you so that you could see it. It’s not something I really dabble in anymore. I did in the past but not so much anymore.”

  He furrows his brow, “I had assumed about the sex club just from what I saw there. Kink being thrown in sounds interesting, but why don’t you do anything with it anymore?”

  I smile, “That’s a bit personal for someone I’ve just met. How about you save that question for another time?”

  His face falls a bit, but he nods, turning back to his food.

  Chapter 3

  After lunch, I head outside for a walk around the cabin. It’s been nearly a year since I have been there and I want to check if there has been any damage. Besides that, the area is so peaceful, it’s never a bad time to be out near the lake.

  When I get back, Mason is there talking with Luke. I shower and get ready to go with Leah. I end up choosing a tight fitting black dress with lace down the sides that accentuates my curves and a pair of blood red heels.

  My phone dings with a text from Leah saying that she will be here in a minute. I’m excited; nights with Leah are always fun. I grab my clutch, leaving the room and head towards the living room. Mason raises his eyebrows and whistles as I pass him in the hallway. I roll my eyes at him and keep going.

  It sounds like Luke is in the kitchen making himself a drink. I poke my head around the corner into the kitchen.

  “Hey, I’m heading out. Have a good evening!”

  He turns around while filling his glass with water from the refrigerator door.

  “Have fu---”

  I smirk at him. “Well, you can close your mouth now. If you’re not careful your drink is going to overflow.”

  Shaking his head as if to clear a thought, he says, “Yeah, right,” and removes the cup from the water dispenser.

  Setting the cup down he walks over to me. I raise an eyebrow, daring him. What does he think he is going to do?

  He leans down and whispers in my ear, “Abbey you look…well, you look gorgeous.”

  All of a sudden, there’s a banging on the door and I jump back. Before I can turn around, Mason comes stomping through the house and throws the door open.

  “Have you ever learned to knock properly?”

  Leah smirks at him. “Nope, and with you here, I really don’t need any manners. You already set the bar so low.”

  I move away from Luke and towards the door. “See, I should’ve assumed. Women like you are not in the least bit classy; they’re just trashy.”

  I snort loudly while Luke's mouth hangs open in astonishment. Leah laughs and throws her arms around Mason in a hug.

  “Welcome back!”

  “Nice to see you too, sugar.”

  Leah turns to Luke and waves at him, “Hi, I’m Leah, this chick’s friend. It’s nice to meet you.”

  He smiles at her, “Nice to meet you, too.”

  Walking forward, I grab Leah’s hand and drag her to the door. “Bye guys! Don’t wait up!”

  When we get to her car, she turns and looks at me, “Damn girl, you clean up nice when you’re not in scrubs.”

  Rolling my eyes, I reply dryly, “Yeah, thanks.”

  Leah is one of those girls who is tall even without heels. She has dirty blonde hair that is naturally curly and light blue eyes. She’s a goddess, and takes shit from no one.

  “So, how are things going with those two?”

  “Pretty well, all things considered.”

  She looks over at me and then back at the road, “What things?”

  “Well, Luke wants to go to one of dad’s clubs, and Mason wants me to take him. He practically begged me to take him, actually.”

  “You’re going to do it, right? He would be better off with you taking him rather than Mason. There won’t be as many women swarming him if he’s with you. You can also put Luke in the new person bracelet which will get the rest of them to step back. Let’s be honest here, no one messes with you.”

  “Yeah, I just haven’t been in that scene in literal years. Plus, dad will find out, which is always a deterrent.”

  We’re stopped at a red light and she turns and looks at me, “So? Screw him.
Just do it. Go with him and show him. And maybe let loose a bit, have a little fun. Girl, I saw the tension when Mason threw the door open. Enjoy it. Live in the moment before you have to go back to the real world, Doctor.”

  I sigh, “I don’t know, Leah.”

  “Well, figure it out.”

  She pulls into the parking lot of the club and parks. “Let’s do this.” Leah flashes a wicked grin at me, and we head into the club.

  We get inside and head over to the bar, knowing that we are not going to have to pay for many drinks tonight. I order a gin and tonic and Leah gets a Jack and Coke. We smile, watching all the bodies move on the dance floor. Leah is the first to be taken to the dance floor with some guy that caught her eye. I smile, seeing that she seems to be enjoying herself.

  I order another drink. Before I receive it, a body appears on the stool next to me.

  Looking over at him I see that he is smiling at me, “How do you feel about dancing?”

  I grin, “I’m partial to it.”

  He stands up and holds out his hand, "Join me?"

  "Don't mind if I do."

  We make it to the dance floor and start moving to the beat. He grabs my hips and spins me around. I look over to find Leah in a corner with the guy who had picked her up from the bar, already making out. I laugh. Of course.

  "Something funny?"

  "Just my friend."

  I let my head fall back on his shoulder, allowing his hands and the music to move me. We dance through a few songs, and I see Leah sitting at the bar. I pull away from him and tell him I'm going to go get a drink. I rejoin Leah, not realizing he has followed me.

  I turn and smile, "Feel free to go and dance with someone else."

  My comment seems to irritate him, but he turns away to order a drink. Whatever.

  “So Leah, how’d it go?”

  She looks embarrassed, “You saw?”

  “Oh, I had a full view.”

  She laughs, “So I’ve managed to only have one drink tonight. Wanna hit another club?”

  I shrug, “Why not?”

  We get up to leave, and I grab my clutch off the bar. We head to the door when suddenly a hand grabs my wrist. I whip around and glare at my former dance partner.

  “You weren’t going to tell me bye?”