Chapter 10 #4
“Yeah, yeah,” I said, watching him go, and I could almost forget about the horrifying scene with Jude as I watched his ass.
Maybe I did like it better in jeans.
Angie picked up on the third ring. “What’s up?”
“Marc and I are heading out. I hope you three remember the standard procedure when both he and I are out of the resort.”
“I’m aware. We’re your eyes, ears, and voice. Well, they’re your voice because God forbid someone down there sees a woman.”
“I imagine it would be like seeing a Yeti wander out of the woods and scream at you.”
“Funny. But we know you’re going to be gone two nights and a day and a half. I can’t imagine the place is going to blow up without you here.”
“Well, if it does, we have insurance. And it will be a good lesson in not leaving so we can have a bit of fun rather than working all the time.”
“Mmm, I think you have that taken care of already.”
“I…what?” I asked because I did not like the evil I could hear in her voice.
“Let’s just say you apparently forgot that even when an admin pass stops the elevator, we still get an alert up here.
An alert that would catch our attention and make us glance at the camera feed.
I’ll also say that you should be happy the two boys were on lunch, otherwise it wouldn’t have been me getting a whole new perspective on my employers.
And probably ended up at the top of the workplace gossip totem pole. ”
I could feel my face draining of color. “Uh…Angie?”
“Good thing I’m not a gossip…though I have to say, it’s a good thing that’s not a recording camera. Kind of a shame, though, the two of you going at it like horny teenagers? God, that would make a pretty decent buck.”
“Angie! How much…” I began and then turned, dropping my voice to a mutter. “How much did you see?”
“Enough to know that as hot as that was, I needed to switch to a different feed and let you take care of yourselves,” she said with a laugh. “But you owe me.”
“Jesus, I’m being blackmailed,” I muttered. “Are you going to ask for a raise?”
“I’m going to ask for a raise because it’s been over a year since my last one and I deserve it.
What I’m going to blackmail you for is a trip to your room so you and I can have a couple of drinks and you can tell me all about this new development because I know that shit has to be brand new,” she said with a chuckle.
I thought about it for a moment. “Deal. I’ll even drag out the good liquor.”
“Damn right you will,” she said. “You boys have a good time.”
“We’ll do our best,” I told her and then added, “By the way, you totally could have blackmailed for bigger private quarters. There might come a day where I move mine into his, and you could have guaranteed yourself a spot in my room, and now you’re going to have to compete just like the other two.”
“Oh, you mother…” I ended the call and turned my phone off.
The gesture felt weird, but while I was sure of having service, at least for part of the hike, there really wasn’t any point.
Jude had asked a couple of weeks ago if I would go on the trip with him, Marc, and the others who had signed up to go, and I hadn’t been able to find a genuine reason to say no.
The place was more than capable of being run by other people while Marc and I were gone for a couple of days, and it wasn’t going to blow up as Angie had said.
Of course, that was before Jude had decided, half an hour before we were all supposed to go, that he was going to surprise me with a kiss. One I should have seen coming, I really should have.
Had I not noticed that he acted off around me?
Like he was watching me when I wasn’t paying attention, but was quick to make sure he wasn’t looking at me whenever I looked his way?
Then there was the weirdness about nudity, but only when it involved me, and the way he stuck close when I was around, only to drift away as if he was only just noticing what he was doing?
They weren’t definitive signs, but if I’d been paying attention, I would have at least accepted the possibility.
I hadn’t done any of that, though, and now I had to wonder what I was going to do.
Was I going to go against my normal habits and keep it from Marc?
Or was I going to look him dead in the eyes and admit his son had kissed me, hoping my eyes would open and see him as a sexual partner?
I didn’t know what to do but sleep with Marc right after it happened.
That added a whole extra layer of guilt I didn’t know what to do with.
Because now, if I were going to turn around and tell him what had happened, I would have to explain why I had promptly turned away from the son to get fucked by the father.
“Wow, what is my life?” I wondered as I walked.
“You know, if it were anyone else, I would warn against talking to yourself,” I heard Luka say, and I turned to see him sitting with a book in his hand. “But since it’s you, it’s a lost cause.”
“Because I’m already insane?” I asked.
“Or close enough to count.”
I looked around and then cocked my head. “Jude—”
“Has he come onto you yet?” Luka asked as he flipped the page of his book.
I stared at him for a few heartbeats before. “What?”
He looked up, raising a brow. “Wow, are you that blind? I thought you were supposed to be good at that sort of thing.”
I stared at him again and then huffed. “Pretend I’m human and that I’m not infallible and all-knowing. And just as importantly, pretend for a moment that just because you see something, it doesn’t automatically mean it exists.”
His lips thinned. “All I’m saying is, he gives off the signals of an awkward closet case and follows you around like a puppy dog whenever you spend time with him. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but it definitely seems like the kid is gay, or at least bi, and he wants you to show him the way.”
“Now there’s a horrifying thought; I’ve known him since he was a kid.”
“That doesn’t matter much to a love-struck teenager.”
“Clearly.”
He looked up. “So, you have noticed?”
“Not what I meant,” I said and shifted the topic slightly. “Do you think it’s a problem?”
“Dunno, do you?”
“Would you tell his dad?”
“Now, to that…I don’t know, because I don’t know his dad like that. You’re the one who could make that call best, don’t you think?”
“Clearly not, because if you’re right, that means I completely missed the signs.”
“Like you said, we’re all human and we miss things,” he said with a shrug. “But I wouldn’t worry about it. I don’t think the kid is going to jump you on your little camping trip, especially not with…Mr. Shepherd there.”
“Probably not,” I said, because he’d already tried. “Behave yourself while I’m gone.”
“I’ll behave how I behave whether you’re here or not,” he said dryly. “You aren’t the deciding factor.”
“Love you too,” I said as I waved and walked toward the courtyard.
It was a warm and sunny open area, just outside the resort, and extended into the forest around the mountains.
It was a distance from the mountain cliffs, but there were trails not too far off that would be perfect.
Marc and I had mapped out the area the second year when we’d had the idea for that sort of trip for the guests, and at the beginning of every summer season we sent someone out to make sure our information was up to date.
“Hey,” I said brightly as I approached Marc and Jude, as they stood talking. Jude met my eyes, then looked away, while Marc’s eyes felt like they were going to burrow into my skull before he gave me a quiet smile. “Ready?”
“We are,” Marc said with a snort. “Just waiting on you. Are you ready?”
Now, wasn’t that the million-dollar question?
“Sure,” I lied. “Let’s go.”