8
T The freshwater spring is on the city's edge, just before crossing the state border, and it is my little secret. It was not easy to find, as it’s in the heart of a wood, but I discovered it by chance when we moved here three years ago. So, this was where I came to get away from the noise of people and machines to empty my mind.
Stare at the sky, nap, then swim no matter the season and how cold the water is. All the world’s burdens seem to wash away when I stick my head under the crystal-clear water and swim to the rocky bottom. The colder the water, the better for killing off the black dog and stimulating endorphins.
A breeze picked up, rustling the leaves and carrying a whispering voice, and I bolted upright to scan the pool area. When no one was there, I lay back down again, placed my hands behind my head, and stared through the canopy of branches at the silver sky.
Coughing nearby urged me to sit up again. I had visited this place a hundred times, maybe more, and never once had another person been there, which was the perfect incentive to return.
Footsteps crashed through the forest floor a few feet behind me, and I cringed in disappointment as my moment of silence was about to be interrupted by chatty girls. The first girl emerged, gasped in awe at the clear water and waterfall, and took out her phone to snap a picture.
She chatted to herself the entire time, even when she dipped her hand into the water and screeched, “It’s so nice.”
I stretched my neck to see the other person she was talking to, but I quickly realized that she was alone. She looked like a geeky loner, so perhaps her friends were imaginary, but whether she was alone or not, she was ruining my peace. So I’d give her five minutes to fuss and shriek over the freshwater spring before I frightened her off.
Naturally, my mind started inventing ways to scare the shit out of her - I could creep behind her and roar or threaten to snap her neck, or if I were in the mood, I’d pretend to be a ghost shaking the trees and making owl-hooting sounds.
I snorted aloud, thinking about my devious plans, and she glanced in my direction, but I ducked down behind a bush before she could see. Precariously, she walked along the pool's edge but gazed into the trees, searching for something as I lay low. I didn’t care if she saw me, as I’d just tell her to fuck off, but it was more fun if she didn’t.
When she slipped her sneakers off to dip her feet into the pool, impatience gripped my chest. Great, she’s going to be here all fucking day dipping her toe and chatting to her invisible friend. I searched the forest floor for something to throw and found two stones under a large-leafed bush.
Turning back, armed with stones ready to throw into the spring to scare her off, I faltered. Naked skin greeted me, and suddenly, this visit by this weirdo chick got interesting. She had stripped her top off and unhooked her bra, showing me a smooth back and curvy waist, jutting out at the hips into a pretty hourglass.
A low groan escaped my gaping mouth as she dropped her shorts, and I held my breath as she gripped her panties and then slid them down her thighs. Toned little butt cheeks wiggled at me as she stepped into the water, shrieking at the cold striking her bare skin.
I licked my lip as she waded into the water up to her thighs, then butt cheeks disappeared to my disappointment, submerging in water up to her waist. Panting and bobbing up and down as her body adjusted to the temperature, she took a deep breath and dove into the water as her toned butt broke the surface before disappearing again.
Air bubbles rose and popped, followed by the odd kick and splash of water. Then, it turned quiet and still. Depending on how fit she was, the average person could only hold their breath underwater for a couple of minutes. That depended on her lung capacity and how practiced she was at holding her breath underwater.
When she failed to emerge after what seemed like several minutes, I slipped off my shoes, then pulled off my T-shirt, ready to jump in to save her.
But just as I stepped out, she resurfaced, exhaling a gush of air and catching her breath, and I stepped back into the undergrowth again. She swept her long, dark, wet hair back from her eyes as I tried to get a good look at her face, but she dropped under the water again.
“Would she mind if I joined her?” She believed she was alone, naked and free, skinny dipping with all her heart's content like a trapped mermaid who finally found her freedom.
She resurfaced again under the waterfall, and I found my mouth gaping in awe as she tipped her head back and let the water caress her naked skin. Then she laid back, allowing her body to float weightlessly, tits poking up like two peach islands, smooth, glistening thighs while kicking her feet to make bubbles.
She lay like this for a few minutes and I wrestled with the urge to join her, until a ringtone sliced through the gentle sounds of nature. Shimmering wet and glowing bronzed skin, she climbed out as that perky ass moved, then bent over.
I slipped my T-shirt back on and knelt, carefully watching and listening. “Has something happened?” she answered the phone while hunting in her bag for something. Then, she pulled out a white towel and held it against her chest. “Oh? Okay. Sure. Um…I can…what is it about?”
The tension in her tone made me certain she wasn’t speaking to a boyfriend or family member but someone more official. From this angle, she looked about twenty-ish so that she might be a student at Gotland, and it could be a tutor she was talking to.
“Tuesday is fine,” her voice was strained and stressed, as if she were agreeing to something she didn’t want to do. I’ll see you then.”
Unfortunately, the tone of the escapade changed when a dark cloud of moodiness came over her, and instead of standing there naked for my selfish pleasure or returning to the pool, she dried herself down and slipped her clothes on.
She left the way she came in, following a narrow path through dead leaves and tree roots, muttering so cutely, and I caught the words, “I bet I’m in trouble again.”
Yeah, she didn’t look like the type of girl who created a storm of trouble, but looks can be deceiving. I lost sight of her quickly as she vanished into the undergrowth, although I could still hear her crushing footsteps. I slid my T-shirt off again, preparing to take a therapeutic dip in the pool after she vacated it, when curiosity, or maybe it was purely a cock-pull forced me to chase after her.
My walk was deliberately light-footed, so she didn’t hear me because I was unsure if I wanted to disclose myself. But she was cute, regardless, which was why I followed her. Scanning the surrounding trees for any sign of movement, I stopped walking to listen for footsteps, but I couldn’t hear a thing.
Logically, she likely arrived by car, so walking back to the dirt road to the edge of the woods was the smartest thing to do. I knew the way by heart, could walk back with my eyes closed, and picked up my pace when I could see the edge of the forest that opened to a grassy pasture and my SUV parked beyond.
I checked for footmarks indented into the grass but found none. Then, I checked for fresh tire tread on the dirt road behind my vehicle, and there weren’t any. The forest was huge and had many ways to enter, but this entrance was the nearest to the water hole.
Concerned that she might’ve gotten lost, I walked back into the shade of the forest, searched for signs, and listened for her ceaseless chatter. I stepped off the track because something white caught my eye, partially nestled in the black earth. Stepping through ferns and rotting bark to discover that it was a plastic water bottle that looked as if it had been in there for weeks, so she didn’t leave it. Besides, she didn’t look like the type to litter.
The river sliced through the south end of the wood, so maybe she followed the sound of water in that direction. But that didn’t make sense either because she seemed to be in a hurry to get somewhere after that phone call, so heading deeper into the forest toward the river was the wrong direction if she wanted to get out quickly.
I traveled further in that direction just because there was no evidence she followed the track back to the main entrance, and maybe if I ambled about, I’d spot her. A bird broke into song in the branches above me as a small critter rustled amongst the dead leaves, searching for food in the soft, damp earth, following the crunching of its teeth, biting into an exoskeleton insect. I couldn’t see the bird or the snuffling critter, but I could hear them, which is why the hearing was paramount over the other senses in the heart of a forest.
The river was close, and as I combed the trees and forest floor for signs of footsteps or dropped articles, I became doubtful that she had come this way. If she was unfamiliar with the area, then stepping off the trail was stupid, but then, she might have a cute, perky ass and tits, but she could also be dumb as fuck. Many students who go to college come out dumber than they were when they went in. Sometimes, I could almost see the IQ dropping of the students in my classes with every pathological word that dropped out of our professors’ mouths. I was almost there. I am now a senior, but I live in Mikky’s apartment in the city because campus vibes and frat partying aren’t my jam anymore. I looked forward to graduating and focusing one hundred percent of my time on the business, particularly the gentleman’s clubs.
My feet froze when I heard a cough and crouched beside a thick tree trunk, trying to spot them. The trees blocked out most of my viewing range, but when a figure moved quickly several yards away, I chased them on the balls of my feet so I wouldn’t make a lot of sound.
It was her. The closer I got, the more I could see she panicked and glimpsed behind her in fear. A woman on her own in a big wood. She’s Red Riding Hood, and I’m the wolf, but I was a wolf who got greater joy from scaring her than allowing her to meet me. She sensed me, maybe heard my breath and footsteps, and wasn’t happy. Little Red Riding Hood was trying to flee the grasp of the Big Bad Wolf.
My heart hammered as adrenaline surged through my body in exhilaration. I was unlikely to see this girl again, so I might take advantage of the situation. At first, I was concerned for her welfare, that perhaps she got lost, but now I’m loving the chase. I won’t let myself be seen because she might recognize me from college or articles about us on the internet. Besides, being a hidden monster on her delicious tail was more fun, planting fear in her mind as she was bound to be thinking the worst.
Man or bear?
Would you prefer to stumble across a bear or a man in the forest? Most women chose the bear. But unfortunately, this succulent geek girl had no choice because I took it from her. There were no bears around these parts, but there was a man, and that man was having the time of his fucking life breathing down her neck.
She found the track back to the dirt road where my SUV was parked, but it wouldn’t get easier for her. There’s no one to save you out here, babe. An isolated dirt road led out onto a back road surrounded by farmland, and it was another ten-minute drive to get out onto a main road that led back to the city.
The mermaid stopped, glanced back, and ducked behind a tree. When she stopped, I stopped and kept a good ten feet away. She let down her guard and started questioning whether she was imagining it all—the quick decline of sanity.
I glanced to my right when a thudding sound caught my attention, only to find it was a falling pine cone; when I turned back to my target, she had vanished.
Sneakers quietly padded the forest floor as I arrived at where she disappeared, and frustration grew as I scanned the area, unable to spot that flowing wet chocolate hair and grey and blue bag.
The trees dropped away as I stepped out into the open grassy field toward my SUV, which was still there. I thought she was squatted somewhere watching me, and if she was smart, she should’ve noted my registration number.
Unlocking the SUV and climbing inside, I first checked for messages on my phone to find one left from a random chick in my contacts, one message from Freddie, and one from Gothenburg Prison. I rarely replied to any chick that contacted me, and Freddie’s message asked about a liquor order, so it was not essential. Mikky asked me to call him back in the next ten minutes while he had phone access. Ten minutes had long passed, but I’ll call him anyway.
I stayed there waiting for her to emerge, eager to know where her car was parked. It’s possible that she parked under the awning of the trees, nestled in the grass, but it won’t be easy getting back out again.
Fuck, I’ve switched back to being concerned that she might be lost again. She was heading in the right direction to come out here. Where the fuck was she?
I started the engine to indicate to her that I was leaving so she’d relax and come out from her hiding place, then backed out down the dirt road until I came where I usually turned around. Checking in the rear vision mirrors for that little body to appear and was disappointed to see no sign of her, but when I drove further out onto the country road, I saw a red hatchback parked that wasn’t there when I came in. It was empty, and it must be hers.
I jotted her rego number down in my phone, then called Gothenburg prison and spoke to three runners before Mikael got on the line.
“Where have you been? I left a message on your phone over an hour ago?” he sounded fucked off.
“Busy. You don’t dictate my life,” I snapped back, showing that I’m not a fucking lackey no more. I did my time as a bottom feeder and worked my way up the Kaiser ladder.
He grunted, and I could tell he was smiling with pride. “I’m ready to go.”
“Two days early?”
“Yeah, there was some misunderstanding. Bring me a bottle of our finest whiskey from Savile.”
“Sure, but I’m out of town, so I’ll be there-”
“I don’t care. Just get here.”