Chapter Four
Chevy
When I walk into the cabin on the second day, there is a plate of homemade cookies sitting on the table in front of me. Upon closer inspection, they’re my favorite. Oatmeal raisin.
I can’t help but smile at the effort she’s put into the date. No one has ever done anything like that for me before. “These are fantastic,” I say, biting into one as the green light shines. They’re soft and chewy, with a hint of cinnamon.
I can’t see her smile, but I thought about what it might look like all night long. “I hope it’s not creepy, but you mentioned you liked them in your profile, and I had some time this morning. So, I thought I’d grace you with my baking skills. Those won best-in-county at the fair back in Kansas, so you’re kind of eating cookie royalty.”
When I’m around her, I’m not sure I’ll ever stop smiling. “I believe it. They’re the best I’ve ever had. What’s the secret?”
“Can’t tell. That’s how secrets work, but… I see the flowers you left for me.” I hear her smiling again and I’m jealous of the walls on the other side of the room that get to see her glow. “I love wildflowers. Where’d you find them this time of year?”
“My greenhouse keeps the flowers sprouting all year long. It wasn’t intentional. I think a few seeds blew in last winter and a little burst of flowers took over the old pepper patch. Clearly, the universe was preparing me for something.”
She breathes in the aroma. “They’re amazing. Thank you.”
“They didn’t take nearly the effort you put into baking these delicious cookies. Do you like baking?”
“Sometimes. It goes in waves. During the winter months, I love to bake and crochet. In the summer, I like to be outside doing something in the garden, but I’m not nearly as talented as you. I kill everything I attempt to grow.”
I laugh and brush my hand back through my hair. “I let wildflowers take over my pepper plants. I’m not a successful gardener by any means. I keep workin’ at it, though. Livin’ off grid is the only way. I can’t go back to some of this real-life shit after being overseas that long, ya know? You see things that…” I swallow hard. “It’s a different life that puts our existence into perspective.”
“I bet. Has it been hard for you to acclimate?”
“It hasn’t been too bad. I listened to people tell me what helped them, and I took care to make those things happen. Livin’ off grid, away from the masses has been a huge help. Enough about me, though. How are things with the ex? Was he bothering you again today?”
I thought about this one too many times last night, between thoughts of the filthy things I wanted to do with the mystery woman on the other side of the box.
What the hell is wrong with me? One good conversation and I’m putting a ring on her finger.
She blows out a breath. “God. He’s non-stop. I finally texted him back this morning and told him I’d be getting the restraining order on Monday. I thought it would slow him down, but it only infuriated him.”
My blood boils and I lean forward. “How?”
“It’s nothing. I’ve got it handled. I just… don’t get it. Anyway, you’re lucky you don’t have a trashy ex to deal with.”
I want to press for more information. I want to know what he said or did. I want to find this fuck and strangle the wasted life right out of him, but I don’t want to scare Heather. I feel close to her, like I’ve known her forever, but reality is, we’ve only just started talking. I can’t start beating on my chest already.
The yellow light flashes, disrupting my thoughts. This is a new one for me. I didn’t even know there was a yellow light.
“What’s that one mean?” she asks, drawing in a breath. “Our time can’t be up already, is it?”
I flip through the notebook on the table to find the directions indicating what each light means.
‘Yellow Flashing Light: Sex talk is a topic that most people avoid when they first start dating. But here on the ranch, we want to set our couples up for success. Use these questions as a guide.’
“Fuck,” I groan under my breath, but she hears me.
“Yeah, I just read the booklet too. How can they prove we really did this stuff? I mean, we didn’t ask the conversation starters from the binder, and no one came after us.” She laughs, but the sound catches as though she’s nervous. “Then again, maybe we should just roll with it. I mean, they set all this up for a reason. We might as well lean into the full experience.”
I wrinkle my brows and stare back at the speaker on the front wall of the cabin. “Some of these questions are pretty deep. Are you sure?”
I’m not good at this stuff. Hell, I don’t remember the last time I had sex. And whenever that was, I sure as fuck wasn’t talking about it afterward.
“Yeah, I mean… I think it’s a good ice breaker if we’re going to spend a week in the cabins together.”
“Okay.” I pull out the notebook and settle back onto the couch with a business approach to the topic. It’s not the best way to tackle this subject, but it’s awkward as hell and this methodology is what’s going to help me through. “Question one: How do you like to be touched?”
Fuck. My cock is hard just thinking about the topic of touching her, or her touching herself.
“Umm,” she swallows hard, “turns out, this is awkward.”
My cheeks burn. “We can stop if you want. I don’t want you to—”
“No, no.” She exhales quickly. “I want to. I just,” another deep breath, “I, ugh, I like to be touched,” her tone slows, “softly at first, then harder and more aggressively as the moment progresses. What about you?”
Fuck! “I don’t even remember, but I’m sure your soft hands would feel good however you put them on me.”
Her tone lowers to a near whisper as she says, “Yeah? You think I have soft hands?”
I smile and brush my hand over the denim that hides my throbbing cock. “I imagine you do.”
“What makes you think that?”
“I think it’s your voice. It’s gentle and delicate. That, and you’re a school counselor, which doesn’t require much physical labor day in and day out. So… am I wrong?”
“No,” she says, her tone sounding aroused. “ I think they’re soft.”
I bet all of her body is soft. Fuck. I’m not sure I’ve ever wanted to touch someone so badly before. “You’re going to be disappointed that mine are all rough and calloused.”
“That doesn’t disappoint me. I, ugh, yeah… that’s not disappointing.” Her voice is still shaky as though she’s balancing a line between excitement and anxiety. “Next question: What’s your go-to fantasy?”
“Fantasy?”
“Yeah. What do you think about when you’re,” she coughs as she speaks, “touching yourself?”
Why is my cock hard? We’re behind walls. I have no idea what this woman looks like. I can’t touch her. I can’t see her squeeze her thighs together. I can’t watch her lips move as her body shifts. Yet here I am, cock hard and aching for a woman like she’s perfection.
“If I’m honest, I don’t jerk off much anymore. Kinda wishin’ I did right now, though. What about you?”
“Wait… why don’t you jerk off?”
“I do, sometimes. It’s just really far and few between and the fantasy isn’t very creative.”
“Still, what’s it about?”
“It’s terrible. Honestly.”
“That’s okay. Mine is pretty terrible, too.”
I’m not this guy. Never have been, not sure I ever will be, but I’m here, and we’re deep in this conversation. I need to be open or I risk never talking to her again, never moving onto the cabins, never knowing her name, never protecting her, never holding her close. “Okay, well, I fantasize about random things, like brushing someone’s hair while I kiss the back of their neck and listen to her moan softly. It’s that soft moan that always sends me over the edge.”
“Ahh, so you’re an audible guy.”
“Oh yeah. The more moaning the better.” I can’t believe I’m saying this shit out loud. “What, ugh, what about you?”
I wish I could see the look on her face as she talks, but imagining her squirm as I listen to her voice is an experience of its own.
“Do you know the dominate and submissive kink? I have this dom fantasy where this guy takes me over.”
“Takes you over?” I stroke my cock gently through my jeans, trying to curb the ache.
“Yeah,” she moans as she speaks. “I want to be told to get on my knees.”
I press my hand harder against my throbbing cock like a fucking deviant. “You want to be a good girl?”
“Yeah,” she moans again. “I love being a good girl.”
Fuck!
I pull my cock from my jeans and stroke harder. “Touch yourself for me.” The words come out before I’ve fully thought them over. “Touch your little pussy for me and tell me what it feels like.”
“Already am,” she sighs, and there’s so much blood coursing to my cock, the rest of my body feels empty. “I couldn’t help myself. I was imagining you brushing my hair and kissing my neck,” she whines. “And… that would be so nice.”
I wonder if anyone has ever broken the barrier before, because I’m on the edge. “Are you soaking wet, sweetheart?”
She groans, “Really wet. Like, soaking through my panties wet. Are you hard?”
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I wish I could smell her hair, taste her lips, lick her crease, ease into her from behind and watch her body shake. Damn, this is intense.
“I am. It would be really nice right now if I could put you on your knees.”
“Yeah?” she whines. “You want me to suck you dry, then stare up with your come dripping down my chin?”
I swallow hard and stroke my cock faster. “Fuck! Tell me you’re close, sweetheart.”
She pants as she says, “So close. Tell me how you’d fuck me.” Soft, whining sounds leave her throat and billow into the room as I stroke my cock faster.
“I’d bend you in half and push deep inside of you while I—”
She lets out a crying moan that vibrates through the speakers, sending me over the edge to my own release.
Fuck, it’s been a while. A really fucking long while.
I pump harder and faster, as ribbons of hot come spill onto my hand to the sound of Heather’s soft breath panting and aching.
“You sound satisfied,” she moans. “Did you come?”
“Yeah. I’m a fucking weirdo, aren’t I?”
“I think we both are,” she laughs and clears her throat. The crackling fire still roars beside me, but I can’t hear it as loudly today. Maybe it’s all the moaning.
Fuck. I’m high, lightheaded, and the room is spinning. I haven’t done anything that crazy, maybe ever.
“It’s hard not to rush over there and take you right here and now,” I groan, already aching for more.
“Tell me about it.” I hear the smile in her breathless voice. “My pussy is wetter than it’s been in ages. I want you so bad.”
The red-light flashes. Of course, it fucking does.
“Should we do this?” Her tone is low and relaxed sounding. It’s a side to her I like hearing. “The cabins?”
“Absolutely. I want nothing more.”
She giggles playfully. “What if you find out I’m a blue alien from outer space with tentacles for tits?”
I laugh. “Do you still have soft hands?” My tone softens as I say, “I like you, Heather. It’s been a while since I’ve felt that way about anyone. So, blue tentacles or not, I’m excited for the cabins.”
She sighs softly. “Me too.”
The light flashes faster, indicating that the speaker is about to cut off.
“I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
“Tomorrow.”
I stop speaking as I’m sure the line is about to cut, but I can still hear the sounds of movement as she walks across the room and pulls her boots on. Then, all at once, there’s a voicemail being played that has a man’s voice. He’s angry sounding, and I don’t need to ask questions to know who it is that’s speaking.
“You think you can get away from me, don’t you?” the man says with a laugh. “You always have been a stupid fucking bit—”
The speaker cuts out and the sexual energy I was feeling a second ago transforms to rage.
There are rules to this dating game. I’m to follow my exit to the west parking lot, which leads me away from my date that’ll be riding to the east. But suddenly, I’m not in the mood to wait. I need to see Heather, and I need to see her now.