Chapter 5 #2
other nonalcoholic drinks.
“Want to play pool?” Duroc
asked as he walked to an empty table.
“Why not?”
“Are you any good?” He
asked as he set the table up.
“I’ve played a
little.”
Duroc could say the same. The skill
that was needed to win against any regular player took more time
than he had. He’d try not to be too hard on her because he was
still better than average.
“You can break.”
Bindi nodded and began. She knocked in
three stripes and one solid.
“What rules do you want to
play by?” Bindi asked.
“Just keep going until you
miss one.”
Bindi started knocking inknocking ball
after ball in until she had all hers in. Now she called the pocket
and knocked in the eight ball.
“Not played much, huh? I
feel misled.”
“That’s the best I’ve ever
done.”
“You know that’s hard to
believe?” Duroc asked.
“Sorry. You were hoping to
win?”
“Of course not.”
“What do you want to do
now?” Bindi asked.
“These guys were wanting
the table, let’s play cards. You’re not a card shark too, are
you?”
“Same thing, I’ve not
played much of any kind.”
“Let’s sit down over here
and see what you can do.” Ariel had a cool table much like what a
casino might have except you didn’t have to pay to play.
They sat down and decided to play poker
this time.
He dealt showing her what he was doing
and explaining the rules.
“I think I’ve played this
before.” Bindi said.
“Okay. Let’s see what you
can do.”
He’d already dealt a hand. “I’ll take
two.”
“Okay.” He dealt them to
her. “I need three.”
Duroc checked out his hand. Three of a
kind. That was an average hand.
“I have three of a kind.”
Duroc observed.
“I have a
straight.”
“Okay, you’ve got this
one.” He dealt again. “How many?”
“I need one.”
“Here you go. I’ll take
four. What have you got?”
“Four queens. How about
you?”
“A pair. We should get to
bed earlyearly, so we’re rested.”
“Okay. What
time?”
“If I get here at seven, we
can eat breakfast then go.” Duroc explained.
He escorted her to the house and gave
her a kiss. Not quite the friendly one she was probably expecting,
but she didn’t protest. Duroc stepped back, he was breathing hard
but so was she. It was time to go, but it wouldn’t be long before
he claimed her.
The drive to where he was staying was
short since it wasn’t far from Ariel’s. Would he be able to sleep?
Goddess, he hoped so. A hot shower helped calm him, but his wolf
was excited and ready to mate. If it didn’t happen soon, he
threatened to take over. Duroc wouldn’t let that happen.
After a restless time on his bed, he
finally drifted off. When he woke, he felt good. The day he had
planned would be nice and he was sure she would enjoy it. A shower
to wake up with, he dried, and dressed then headed to Ariel’s. He
was pushing going to breakfast here since he’d not really been
invited, but all the wolves would see they were dating.
That would keep the wolf from her door.
At least he hoped so. Once he was in the house, he saw Bindi
waiting for him. They met at the buffet and each of them fixed
their plates. When they finished and sat down at the table next to
each other, they concentrated on eating. After finishing, each of
them cleaned up their spots and he escorted her to his car and
helped her in.
They headed to Holiday Island going
through Eagle Rock. It was a beautiful drive, but the road was
curvy as hell. He followed his GPS to the marina where he’d set up
a half day boat rental with all the gear and licenses, they needed
to go fishing. Normally, they sent a guide with you to show you the
best fishing spots and help you with your gear and your
catch.
Duroc didn’t want that. He wanted the
time with Bindi alone. Besides, he could do everything for a new
fisherman that was needed. Help wasn’t required. They arrived and
she followed him to the office where they got the keys and
assurances that the boat was ready to go and had a full fuel
tank.
He led Bindi to the dock and the boat
they were taking out and help her into it. The boat was nice and
perfect for the two of them. They even had a cooler onboard loaded
with drinks. There was a map he pulled up on his phone with the
best places to go fishing and he got the boat away from the dock
and headed to the farthest one away.
Looking over at Bindi, he saw she was
enjoying the ride. The lake was beautiful and the air bracing.
“Where are we going?” She asked.
“About two more miles that
way.” He pointed.
In no time they were there. Duroc
dropped anchor and got out the fishing poles. “What do you need me
to do?”
“Sit here where it’ll be
easier to cast from. Okay. Now hold this fishing pole and I’ll bait
your hook. Do you want to try to cast your line?”
“Sure.” She did and it
wasn’t half bad.
“Good job. I’ll get mine
ready but call if you get a bite.” He explained.
“I have a bite.”
Duroc stood by her as she caught a
large bass and he showed her how to remove it, drop it in the fish
well, and rebait the hook. The next fish she caught was before he
had his line wet. Once he cast, he began catching fish too but not
like her. He’d planned a lazy morning catching a fish here and
there with time to talk but instead it had been a fishing marathon.
It was worth it though since she seemed to enjoy it.
It was time to head back so he put the
poles back and threw the leftover bait in the lake. He let Bindi
drive until they were close then he took over and docked them.
Someone came out and met them.
“How did you folks
do?”
“We hit our limit. You have
something to carry the fish in?” Duroc asked.
“Let me take a picture of
the two of you with your fish and I’ll give you a stringer and a
plastic bag.”
“Deal.”
The guy ran back in and grabbed the
needed items and a camera. He helped Duroc fill the stringer and
then had them pose for the picture he wanted.
“What do you do with the
pictures?” Bindi asked.
“Put them on the wall so
people can see what’s possible.”
“Smart idea.” She
approved.
They loaded the fish in the back then
headed back to Ariel’s “This wasn’t part of my original plan. But
we need to do something with these fish.”
“Sounds like a good
idea.”
It seemed she wasn’t upset. There was
no way he’d ever expected both of them to reach their limit. He
needed to remember that spot if they went fishing again when they
needed the catch. Hopefully, he would have time to finish the date
tonight. They arrived back at Ariel’s at one pm.
“I wasn’t expecting to see
the two of you.” Ariel smiled.
“We got a big catch and I
thought this would be the best place to bring it.”
“Will you be able to clean
it?”
“Sure, but I’d appreciate
some help.” He admitted.
“I can help.” Bindi
offered.
“I thought you never went
fishing?”
“I’ve cleaned fish for a
restaurant.”
They took the fish out back and began
to clean it. Bindi was better than he was. She looked to be a
master with a knife. They were done much faster than he’d hoped
for. Since they were here, they cleaned up and Bindi even changed
her clothes. Then they met with Ariel and grabbed some
lunch.
“It shouldn’t be too long
before the fish is ready.” Ariel mentioned. “We only get a fresh
catch a couple times a month and really enjoy them.”
“Someone brings you fresh
fish?”
“There are some active
hunters, fishermen, and gatherers in the family and
friends.”
“It’s nice that they
share.” Duroc offered.
“You’re
sharing.”
“Would be a waste not to.”
That answered his question about why they did it.
“The fish is coming out.”
Ariel said.
“I’ll get enough for
us.”
He walked up to the buffet just as a
lady brought out a large pan of fish. Filling up the plate, he also
got some tartar sauce then headed back to the table.
“Looks good.” Ariel
observed. He held the plate out to her offering her some and she
took two small pieces and grinned at him.
Duroc got a piece, and it was
wonderful. Maybe better because he and Bindi had caught them. But
everyone else seemed to be fighting over what was left. “They are
about to put out another pan if you want more.” Ariel
mentioned.
“Do you?” He turned to
Bindi to ask.
“It’s okay. I got lots of
other food.”
“Me too. We need to go
finish our date.”
“You two have fun.” Ariel
directed.
Grabbing their trays, they put them in
the bin then headed out. Helping her in his car, they then headed
to his house where he quickly changed.
“Where are we going next?”
Bindi asked.
“You’ll see when we get
there.”
It was time to check out Moe’s village
and he hoped they could see and do a lot before closing time. When
they got there, it was a surprise to see Moe. “Hey guys. Here to
check things out?”
“This is one of the
exciting places to be. It looks busy.” Duroc commented.
“Business is booming.” Moe
grinned. “I finally got some help and things are going well. What
tickets are you looking for? Give me a review and I’ll give you
tickets for the village. The cats tickets are their
own.”
“We don’t need free
tickets, but we can give you a review anyway. We need tickets for
both.” Duroc decided. He handed over a company credit
card.
“Your dad have you checking
out possibilities?” Moe asked.
“He likes to keep up with
things. We’re getting some tourism and he’s thinking about getting
into it.”
“Sounds good. Here’s your
tickets. Have fun.”
Duroc got the tickets and led Bindi
into the park. It was interesting and he saw that it was a mix of
old and new. The employees wore clothing from mid to late 1800’s
while tourist wore the modern clothing. Watching the blacksmith was
fun and his skill was easily seen. The glassblowers were also
interesting to watch and even let a few in the crowd try to do it
themselves. Most didn’t do well.
Both of them continued to the tram that
went to the cat’s area. It was a huge surprise when he recognized
Sebastian and his mate amid several youngsters. Maybe they were
watching over them. Their tram circled around and back to the main