Chapter 27 – Knox
twenty-seven
Knox
The alarm rings from the bedside table clock and I stir, as Kylie groans from beside me. “I hate you,” she mumbles as I hit the clock, but it still blares. “Turn it off.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do,” I tell her, “but it’s not working.”
“Throw it out the fucking window,” she groans, and I am about to do just that when I press down the little silver button.
“It’s time to get up.” I slap her ass over the white cover.
“I’m not going, tell them I’m sick,” she whines, and I roll into her, taking her into my arms. “Get your dick away from me.”
I bury my face into her neck. “We have to be down at the house for breakfast in twenty minutes.” I close my eyes, inhaling her scent, and my heart speeds up.
“I have no choice but to go since you brought me on a vacation to starve me,” she deadpans. “You are lucky that you gave me three orgasms last night, but I can’t do that again. I’m going to have to save my energy for the four-hour hike we are doing today.”
“It’ll be fun,” I say, knowing that it probably will not be fun and I don’t want to do it. “Do you think if we don’t show up they will come and get us?”
“Yes,” she sighs. “They were very specific when they donated it that they want people to have the full experience.” She pushes away from me and gets out of the bed.
She walks over to the bathroom and turns on the light, but it’s one light bulb at the lowest wattage they make, like candlelight.
“I hate you,” she sasses before she closes the door.
“If it makes you feel better,” I tease to the closed door, “I’m not liking you either right now.
” I’m just staring at the closed door, thinking that I don’t think I’ve ever felt like this before.
This comfortable with someone in such a short time.
As if it was always meant to be her, I shake my head.
“Me?” she shrieks and I hear the toilet flush before the water is turned on. She opens the door again, with her toothbrush in her hand. “If you would have told me this was where you were taking me, I would have said no.”
“It was a surprise.” I fold my arm under my head and watch her naked, taking her all in.
“Well, I will never accept another surprise from you again,” she states, her mouth full of foam, “forever.”
I toss the covers off me and walk over to my bag, grabbing a pair of black boxers. “After the sunrise yoga,” I remind her, “there is the four-hour hike and then we have an hour of Pilates.”
“And don’t forget the hour of meditation before dinner,” she replies, “and then the hour dedicated to journaling. For the first time in my life I’m going to be doodling a boy’s name, but I will be drawing a knife next to it.”
“We can come back here and—” I put my hands on her hips, pulling her ass to me. “I bet you are rethinking saying no to anal.” I look at her in the mirror and she glares at me.
“I’m rethinking answering your phone call,” she spits out and then rinses her mouth, the whole time her ass is pushed into my cock. “You need to take care of that before we leave,” she walks away from me, “without my help.”
“What fun is that?” I ask her, smiling as she walks over to her bag. “We helped each other last night.”
“I was delirious,” she retorts, slipping on a black thong, “I was starving.”
“I was going to share my granola bar with you,” I tell her. “You said no.”
“I didn’t say no.” She grabs a black sports bra.
“I said shove it up your ass.” She turns and I see the back of the bra has these small crisscross straps I want to grab with my teeth.
She takes a pair of black leggings out and puts them on and my cock gets even harder, if that is possible.
I pick up my toothbrush and start brushing my teeth when she comes in and grabs her toiletry bag.
She pops her birth control pill into her mouth and then bends to take a sip of water.
“I wonder what we are going to have for breakfast?” she asks me as she brushes her hair and pins it at the top of her head.
“Probably some seeds and fruit,” I joke with her, spitting out my toothpaste and then going over to my bag to grab a pair of joggers and a T-shirt. I grab my baseball hat, turning it backward when she comes out of the bathroom, turning the lights off behind her.
I walk to the door, pulling it open and seeing that it’s still dark outside. “This is…” She walks out, slipping on a white sweater that falls right at her waist. “This is—”
“It’s nice,” I try to say as we walk to the main house.
I reach for her hand, and, surprisingly, she lets me.
The sound of birds in the distance is the only thing we hear before we walk into the back of the house and see the other people who are doing this retreat.
They are all sitting down with smiles on their faces.
“It’s a cult.” Kylie leans in and mumbles to me. “Get me out of here.”
I put my arm around her shoulders and bring her to me. “Have I told you how beautiful you are?” I compliment, looking into her eyes.
“Have I told you how much I hate you?” she counters, and I laugh before kissing her lips.
“Let’s go see what’s for breakfast.”
We walk over to the side and sit down and the waiter comes over. “Good morning,” he says cheerfully, “how did we sleep?”
“Great,” I reply, looking around to see what we are going to eat. “Can I have a coffee?”
“We don’t really have coffee,” he answers sadly. “We have an oat milk matcha.”
“I’ll have one,” Kylie orders. “And what is for breakfast?”
“It’s a good one today,” he replies. “It’s either tofu scramble, or a yogurt parfait with homemade granola and berries.” Kylie has a fake smile on her face as she turns to look at me, her eyes going big as she glares at me.
“I’ll have the parfait,” she says. He nods. “He’ll have the scramble.” He walks away after I order an orange juice.
“I don’t want scrambled tofu,” I tell her. “I don’t even know what that is.” I look around.
“Why don’t you go online and see,” she suggests sarcastically. “Oh wait, you can’t, we don’t get service up here. Plus there are no phones allowed for the better of everyone’s well-being. You know to be in the moment.”
“Baby,” I say softly, “it’s good. We’ll get to really know each other.”
“I don’t want to know you,” she deadpans, and I laugh. “I want to know you less than I did yesterday.”
He comes back with a green juice for me, even though I ordered an orange juice. “We aren’t serving orange juice,” he says, “but that’s celery, apple, lemon, and ginger.” He points to the drink and, “the oat matcha.”
“Will you share with me?” I ask her. She shakes her head, and I roll my lips.
I finish the tofu scramble, which isn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be, and then we get up to do sunrise fucking yoga.
I get on the mat next to her as she takes off her sweater and she gets into position for child’s pose.
After two poses I think I have this, until we have to get up on our feet.
I have to stand on one foot while picking up the other foot.
I fall off-balance four times and she just laughs at me.
Fucking bow pose, where I have to grab my feet from over my head, is ridiculous and when we finish, I vow to never fucking do that again.
We are then carted off to our four-hour hike after they hand us a snack. I look down at the small pack of black sea salt almonds. I rip the top open and look inside to see five almonds. “How many almonds do you have?”
“Everyone has the same,” she says, looking inside of hers. “It’s five.”
“What are we going to do with five almonds?” I ask her.
“I can tell you what I’d like to do with my five almonds.” She looks back up at me sweetly. “It includes anal for one of us, and it’s not me.”
“Don’t forget to grab your hiking vest,” the instructor tells us. “It’s filled with a first aid kit and water.”
“Is there a flare in there so I can send up a signal?” Kylie asks out loud, making everyone laugh.
We start the hike and it’s all uphill. An hour in, I feel like I’m going to die.
By the second hour I want to throw myself off the cliff we are on.
Who knew being in hockey shape would not be the same thing as being in hiking shape?
Four hours and I’m panting and sweating like I just jumped into a shower and walked out.
“That was fun,” Kylie says sarcastically. “We should do that again.”
“Okay, you have thirty minutes of free time,” the instructor announces, “and then lunch.”
“I’m fucking starving,” I complain and she laughs, looking down at her feet.
“I need to change.” We walk back to the house, and I jump into the shower as she sits outside looking at the mountains.
I want to say lunch is a big hearty fucking steak, but it’s a kale, cabbage, avocado, chickpea salad with a lemon drizzle, with a side of corn bread.
I thought I was going to choke. “When we get back home,” I look at her, “I’m having the biggest burger known to mankind, with bacon,” I announce, my stomach grumbling. “Double bacon and cheese.”
“When we get back home, I’m blocking your number,” she declares, and I wrap my arm around her neck and pull her to me. She puts her hands on my sides. “I’m not kidding.”
“I know where you live,” I remind her, and I bend my head to kiss her.
The rest of the day continues just as the itinerary said.
Pilates is her jam, she does it like a fucking champ.
Meanwhile, my legs were shaking the entire time.
The snack after that is two slices of apples with some sort of peanut butter in the middle.
I want to say that dinner is better, but it’s a zucchini soup and then an eggplant squash sort of patty.
That night she walks out of the shower and I’m sitting on the wooden bench, right outside our door.
“That was nice,” she says, sitting down next to me wearing the white robe they had hanging in the bathroom.
I’m wearing the other one. “It’s so quiet,” she observes, putting one foot up on the bench. “What are you doing?”
“Thinking of all the stuff I’m going to eat when I get home,” I answer her and she laughs as I put an arm around her and she puts her head on my shoulder. “What’s the longest relationship you’ve ever had?”
“Three weeks,” she shares, “maybe a month.”
“What?” I’m shocked.
“I’m not a relationship type of person.” She moves away from me and leans her back toward the side of the bench and puts her feet in my lap. “What about you?”
“Twelve years,” I answer. “Do you think you’ll want kids?”
“Probably not.” She shakes her head. “It’s just a big commitment.” She takes a deep sigh and then adds, “I don’t know if I’m deserving of it, but do I merit bringing someone into this world? Do you want more kids?”
“I hadn’t thought about it,” I answer her honestly. “It would have to depend, I guess, on if the other person wanted them. It’s not just a decision I can make on my own.” I rub her legs. “Why don’t you and Kirby have the same last name?”
“I was adopted by my stepfather when I was younger; he didn’t want to be.”
“And you did?” I ask her and she shrugs.
“I didn’t really get the choice. I was too young to even know what it really meant,” she admits softly. “I didn’t even know my father. He died when I was just a baby. I have pictures with him but no memories.”
“Did you get along with your stepfather?” I ask her and she turns to look off into the distance.
“I thought I did.” She trails off and I can feel her hiding something from me, closing herself off. It’s like I can hear the door being shut, not letting anyone in. “Were you close to your sister before all of that happened?”
“Yeah,” I tell her. “She moved here not long after we did. We used to do things together all the time.”
“Do you miss her?”
“I do,” I admit to her, “but we have made choices that we both have to live with.”
“I don’t think it was her choice to have her husband sleep with your wife.”
“No, but it was her choice to spew shit in my face and then take him back.”
“You don’t know what she is going through. That’s the thing. Nobody knows what the other person is going through or went through. We just assume.”
“Did you and Kirby ever not have a good relationship?” I ask, trying to get her to talk to me, open up to me.
“For a while. He moved away from home, and I assumed he didn’t want to have a relationship with me.
We lost a lot of years because of that.” She gets up and I know the conversation is over.
“You should talk to your sister,” she puts her hand on my shoulder, “or you’ll regret it down the line. ” I look up at her. “I’m going to bed.”