He mutters under his breath about ungrateful women and their abuse of fishing and lack of skill.
“That’s sexist,” I point out playfully.
He grins at me over his shoulder as he finds a long enough stick for me to utilize. Meanwhile, I sit and enjoy the misty, cool air while sipping warm coffee he brought with him.
“So, do you know what I realized this morning?” I ask him and he grumbles, “What?”
“I don’t know what you do for a living for you to have such a fancy-ass truck.”
He raises his brows, clearly surprised. “I’ve never told you?”
“No, you have, I’m lying so you tell me again.” My sarcasm goes over so well. Not.
He picks up a five-foot-long branch that’s straight for the most part and tosses it my way. I sit cross-legged on the ground and balance it over my thigh before starting to carve at one end with my knife.
“You’re very handy for a girl.”
“Sexism,” I singsong, concentrating on my craft.
“Whatever.” He dips his hook back into the water, standing on the bank with parted thighs and a strong posture. “I take people out into the woods to hunt and do survival role-play for a place on the res. It’s fun. I get to keep the truck so long as I look after it.”
I yank on my collar to loosen it; it suddenly feels itchy around my throat. “Sorry about that.”
“I deserved it,” he admits with genuine sincerity for the first time since it happened. He has said it before but it just didn’t ring true. This time, however, I sense, feel, and hear his remorse. I’m growing on him. He’s starting to care about me. “I deserved worse.”
“You’re just saying that because I saved your reputation.”
“You’re going to be smug about that forever, aren’t you?” I can hear the smile in his voice, he’s clearly happy about what I did. He likes my psychotic side, so long as he’s not on the receiving end of it.
He suddenly appears at my back and his legs open around me. The fishing rod is still in his hand, though he’s holding it out of the way, so I don’t accidentally cut the line while chiseling away at my stick.
“I wish we could just come out here every day,” I murmur when his chest touches my back and I can lean into him.
“You enjoy it?”
“It’s the most peaceful I think I’ve ever felt.” I tilt my head back, stopping my whittling for a moment so I can look at him and not cut myself. “Minus the fact you’re here of course.”
“Oh, ha ha,” he deadpans and presses a sweet kiss to my lips as though it’s his right to do so. “You have the sweetest lips I have ever tasted, the sharpest tongue, and the evilest eyes— ouch.”
I hit him for that last one.
“I don’t have evil eyes.”
I so do but that doesn’t mean anyone else can say it.
“You have the worst case of resting bitch face I have ever seen in my life.” His mischievous smile shows his perfect teeth.
“I don’t have resting bitch face, Nokosi Locklear.” I drop my knife and the stick and turn so I’m on my knees on the soft picnic blanket that has seen better days. “I simply have bitch face.”
Smiling, I bite his lip, something I love doing. I decide, what with this being the second time I’ve done it and already I’m wishing for a third. If only to watch his eyes open and then narrow as my bite gets harder and harder, until he growls at me and his pupils expand beyond full dilation.
I just know he’s hard, I can see the swell in his groin, but then he’s always hard around me. Something else I take great pleasure in.
I’m sadistic.
When I free his lip, he nudges me with another kiss, and in one swift move, he flips me so I’m on my back and he’s towering over me. I’m slightly winded but I don’t have time to gather my breath or wits because he’s kissing me so hard my head is crushed to the ground.
He consumes me greedily, the manly taste of him and a slight hint of coffee, tinged with passion, desire, and the kind of guy that even at a young age knows exactly what he wants and how to get it, it all sends me wild.
“How did you get so good at this?” I ask when he kisses down my neck.
“I’ve seduced a lot of women,” he replies easily, and I feel a strange pang of envy and possessiveness. Something I’ve never felt, and I don’t like it. “My first time was a mess, it was embarrassing. I taught myself to be better. What about you? How’d you get so good at giving head?”
I chuckle under my breath and try to look away, but he holds my face with his hand.
“Tell me.”
“No, you’ll make fun of me.”
He arches a thick brow and trails his nose along the side of mine. “Since when do you care about that?”
He has me there. “I don’t care.”
“Then how?” He kisses me again, a gentle peck. Fuck me, this guy has a sweet side. I like it. I shouldn’t like it.
“I practiced, like you.”
His eyes darken and I wonder if he’s envious too. “On men?”
“No, well… yes, but first my sister and I—”
“You practiced with your sister?” He drops his head to my neck when I nod. “Why do I find that so hot?” Then his head rises again, and his excited eyes search my face. “So, your sister can deep-throat too?”
My entire body turns to cement, and I push him from me. “I don’t want to talk about my sister or deep-throating. I want to make my spear and fish.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He returns to his chair as I continue to whittle. Truth be told I’m not exactly sure what I’m doing but I figure so long as it’s pointy and sharp, it’ll kill a fish.
We sit in comfortable silence and I like it. Nok isn’t one for words and neither am I. I don’t want to gossip or talk about shit that doesn’t need to be said. I’m not interested in that.
I just want to enjoy the silence and turn my stick into a fish-murdering weapon.
“You’re nearly done,” Nok comments, looking at my long pointy stick. “It looks good. Want to test it out?”
“Sure, stand still and I’ll jab you through the foot.”
He rolls his eyes, but his lips are twitching.
I move to the rushing water and follow it upstream to a shallower part where I can see the bottom. Fish swim through the crystal-like waters, kicking up sandy dirt, nothing too big and that’s what I’m waiting for, big. If I’m going to take something I caught, it better be newsworthy.
I stand on the bank and stare down. I do a couple of practice jabs into the surface of the water, just to see how accurate the location of the fish is, as water distorts your view. It bounces the angle of the stick to the left somewhat, so I’ll try to account for that.
“It’s harder than it looks,” Nok says, folding his arms over his chest.
I don’t reply, I stop breathing, I wait. I see a fish coming and I hold the stick in both hands then I jab. And miss.
Though only by a fraction.
I hesitated in the last second, something I’ve always promised myself I’ll never do. Never hesitate… never. It’s my number one rule. Hesitation is weakness and people exploit weakness. You miss chances because of said weakness.
I don’t say anything despite hearing Nok’s laughter. I concentrate, zoning in to the sounds around me. Watching the fish and how they move.
I jab again, pinching my lips together when I miss again.
I’m dedicated now through my frustration. I can do this. I know I can. I’m good at this.
Sweat beads on my brow, I maneuver my sweater from my body, revealing my black lace bralette. I kick off my shoes and stuff my socks into them.
Nok whistles low and long and stands with his fishing rod, trying to hook the fish I scare away from the pole. “I want to eat your tits.”
“Shush,” I admonish and roll up the bottom of my jeans.
I wait for what feels like minutes, maybe more, but I wait patiently. Patience is something I’m good at when
I must be.
“Just give it up,” Nok says and I do it. I find the fish and it is huge.
I jab the stick and it crunches and pulls before hitting the muddy rocks beneath it, breaking the sharp point. For a moment I close my eyes, not daring to see if the large fish escaped.
It didn’t.
I raise it slowly, hold it up to the light. The scales shimmer and shine like they’ve been slicked with oil or silver. Water runs down the jagged pole to my hands and I feel suspended in this moment.
Nok and I look at each other and just stare for the longest time and then the lifeless fish. A clean kill.
“No… fucking… way.”
I jump and squeak and start cheering like a little girl who just got a new doll. I raise my stick in the air and do a bizarre laugh scream because words have escaped me. This is so exciting. I want to do it again.
“You did it.”
“Just call me queen of the forest, catcher of fish, blower of men, ruler of Oregon!”
He catches me by the waist and swings me around, his arms banding around my creamy, smooth skin. I struggle to keep hold of the stick because the fish is heavier than I thought it would be and the rod bends, threatening to break under the exertion. “You brilliant fucking female you.”
“Why thank you.” My feet touch down and I skip with my kill to the empty bucket where Nok takes my fish off the spear and drops it in. “That’s got to be a good six pounds.”
“Definitely, it’s a big fucker.” He looks at his rod that he discarded during the celebration and sighs. “Can I try prodding a few?”
I nod and hand it to him, wondering what good it will do with a broken end. “Have at it. But take your shirt off, if you please.”
Laughing, he obliges, yanking it over his head with one arm and throwing it at me. He kisses his solid biceps and hits a fist against his muscular chest.
I laugh too and hold his fishing rod while sitting in his chair and drinking his coffee. It’s lukewarm now but it hits the spot.
He steals my knife too and tries to fix the end of the pole. The way his biceps bulge as he scrapes the blade over the end is so erotic.
Ugh… my phone vibrates with a text from my sister.
Willow: Having fun?
Lilith: Fuck yes. Wish you were here.
Willow: I’m with you in spirit. What time will you be home tonight?
Lilith: Don’t wait up. That’s what time.
Willow: Don’t do anything stupid.
She should define stupid because it’s subjective in my opinion.
“Everything okay?” Nok asks.
I nod just as my phone vibrates again.
Loki: Party at Pammy Shepherd’s house on Friday, everyone’s invited. Gonna be mega. You in?
I look at Nok who is cursing at the empty spike of my stick. “Party this Friday night at Pammy Shepherd’s. You know him?”
“Her and yes, I know her.”
I lick my lips to wet them and sip more coffee. “She good people? Will she mind if I go?”
“She’s insane. She won’t mind at all.”
Well… good. “So are we going?”
He raises his brows. “You’re asking me?”
“Should I not be?”
“Well, I already planned on going with Ethan and Payne. But I guess I could go with you instead.”
I smirk and roll my eyes. “Don’t do me any favors.”
“I’m not. I might get laid if I go with you.”
“You’ll definitely get laid if you don’t go with me.”
He flashes his eyes at me. “You’ll give in eventually. I’m persistent.”
“Let’s see how persistent,” I mutter under my breath so quietly I know only I can hear.
“Huh?”
“Nothing. So, Friday. Pick me up at eight?”
He nods and looks back at the stream. He doesn’t catch one that way and I don’t try again.
Beginners luck and all that. I’m not screwing with my triumphant buzz.
There’s a bonfire and coal pits for the food. Elders sit near the ember glow, one of them is telling scary stories to the little kids who were running around but now no longer are, most are wrapped in blankets to keep the chill out. I have yet to be introduced as we got here late no thanks to Nok.
He decided it would be a good idea to go into Westoria to pick up a few bits, but realized he forgot his wallet. When he went back to the truck to find it, I walked out with the cart undetected. No way I was waiting for him.
His face was a picture when I started placing the groceries into his truck bed. But he didn’t argue, or chastise me, he just snorted, rolled his eyes, kissed my temple, called me crazy, and then we drove away.
There is so much food. Everybody brought something but not everybody caught something. I feel pride over that fact.
“I feel like your dad tricked me.” I motion to the buffet table full of foods from Walmart. I watch one guy dump a bag of cheese balls into an empty bowl.
Nok just laughs and gives me a playful shove towards the food table. “Eat. Mingle.”
“Are you seriously about to leave me?”
His eyes flare that light shade of brown and the reflection of the fire in them just makes them so much more dramatic. “I have people to see. My dad invited you, not me.”
And he’s back to being an asshole. But he also has a point. I don’t want him lingering around if he doesn’t want to hang with me. He has his own family and friends here. I’m good alone. I’ve had enough of him today too.
“Fuck you then,” I say with a shrug.
“Nokosi,” Dasan calls and approaches us with Nash by his side.
I’m surprised when Nash hugs me like I didn’t slash his brother’s tires on Friday night. “Dad said you’d be coming.” I keep my arms limp by my side for a moment because I don’t want to hug Nash in front of Nokosi. Or at all.
But then I remember how Nok reacted to Loki and I return the hug with more fervor and give him my most seductive smile.
“How have you been?” I ask, keeping my hand on his arm when we part.
His familiar eyes, so warm and lacking the harshness that rest around Nok’s, scan my face pleasantly. “Good. You didn’t respond to my texts.”
“I didn’t get any texts.”
He shrugs, a confused frown on his face. “I sent two on Monday. They said read.”
I click my tongue and glance at Nok who is staring at my hand on Nash’s arm. He doesn’t like it. I can tell. I also have a feeling he has something to do with the missing texts seeing as I was with him that day.
“Do you want to go for a walk?” Nash asks and offers me his arm. “I’ll introduce you to my grandmother. She’s been eager to meet you.”
“Why?”
“I’ll take her,” Nok insists. “She’s my guest.”
Oh, and suddenly I’m his guest again?
“It’s fine, Nok. Your brother is better company anyway.” I point to his group of friends that he usually hangs with on the track. “Go be with them. Tell Vienna I said hi.”
A muscle ticks in his jaw, I see it before I turn to his father and thank him for inviting me. He nods and tells me to enjoy myself before moving on to someone else.
“Nokosi!” Vienna yells over the chatter of voices and the crackling fire.
“Don’t worry, baby brother, I’ve got her,” Nash assures him and hooks an arm around my neck.
I wind my hand around his waist and smugly grin at Nok. I know it’s driving him wild. I love that too.
They stare at each other, unblinking, both a level height though Nok has more brawn than Nash, they’re both so amazingly toned I have to wonder who would win in a contest of strength.
“Fight, fight, fight,” I chant playfully and both glare at me.
Their glaring contest is broken when somebody moves towards us, her frame hunched. Two women flank her sides, holding each of her arms as she walks.
“Elisi.” Nok steps forward to pa
y respects to his grandmother who is wearing the most magnificent crown of feathers and beads on her head, wisps of white hair peek out around it.
He leans in to kiss her cheeks and then so does Nash, releasing me first of course.
When she looks at me with eyes so blue they look almost fully white, I feel a chill run down my body.
“This is our grandmother,” Nash explains. “Elisi, this is our friend Lilith.”
Her eyes scan my face but I’m not sure if she’s actually seeing me. Could she be blind? I don’t want to insult her by asking. “Come to me, child. Allow me to hold your hand.”
I glance at Nok, unsure, but he gives me an encouraging nod. Stepping forward, I place my cold hand in her warm, satin soft yet wrinkly one and she curls her other hand over the top. I’ve never been one to believe in magic or spirits or anything of the sort, but when her eyes join mine, I feel as though she can see into my soul. Her grip tightens, her eyes lock me in place, and I can’t move, or even blink. I can’t look away. It’s as though I’ve been cemented to this very spot and everything around me loses focus. I can’t hear anything but the sound of my breath in my ears and my heartbeat in my throat.
It’s disconcerting, disorienting…
“You poor child,” the old lady whispers. “So much grief. So much death.”
Like a plug in my mind is slowly lifting, water spills up from a drain that I had locked tight, and my eyes fill with tears. Real tears.
“No,” I beg, trying to pull my hand free as feelings I’ve never allowed myself to feel suddenly bombard me like a tsunami of fire and ice.
“So much confliction. So much pain.” She pulls me closer, her strength deceiving for her age and hunched stature. Her hand that covered mine now rests over my chest, flat against my skin. “You have a good heart, let it guide you, let it be your strength, not your weakness.”
She lets me go and I stumble back into Nok’s chest and his arms wrap around me. I don’t realize I’m crying until I feel myself choke and feel the sting of tears on my cold cheeks.
The old lady walks away as though nothing just happened. Two women hold her arms to help her along.
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