Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Cam glanced around his cabin to make sure nothing was out of place. No dirty clothes scattered around, all his shoes out of sight, his kitchenette sparkling clean, his bed freshly made with clean sheets…
Instead of having sex in his cabin, maybe he should’ve booked one of the playrooms up in Heaven. Would she be into that?
It was probably for the best that they started out simple tonight to see if their sexual tastes gelled first.
He lifted his left arm and smelled his pit. Okay, he did remember to roll on deodorant after he showered. Good.
He had also trimmed his nose hairs, pubic hair, and beard for this…
Non-date.
This sexual encounter.
Hopefully it went well. If it didn’t, running into Hope around the resort might get a bit awkward.
While he had hoped his next encounter would be with a man since it had been far too long, he couldn’t pass up an opportunity to spend some time with Hope. She seemed easy-going, smart, and had a sense of humor. Three traits he appreciated.
She was also beautiful and sexy as fuck.
His cock agreed.
He glanced at the time. 5:55.
For some unknown reason, his pulse began to race. Was he nervous? That wasn’t like him. Hope shouldn’t be any different from any other person he had been intimate with.
They were only getting together to have sex. He didn’t need to impress her with his sparkling personality, his witty charm, or the many accolades he received during his twenty-five year career.
The only thing that mattered tonight was how he performed in bed. Period.
Or wherever they decided to have sex.
He tipped up his face and sniffed the air. His one-bedroom cabin didn’t smell musty.
He glanced around one last time.
It was fine. Everything was fine. He was only being a dumbass.
If it didn’t work out, then it didn’t work out. She didn’t seem to be the type who’d hunt him down out of spite. She wasn’t some psycho. Her background check had been squeaky clean when he checked it prior to Dayne hiring her.
He glanced at the clock on the microwave again. 5:59.
To him, arriving on time meant you were late. His grandfather taught him at a young age that you always arrived early to make a good impression.
Maybe he should wait out front for her.
No. He was horny, not desperate.
His heart skipped a beat when he heard a light knocking on the door. Cam pulled in a deep breath and, a few strides later, opened it.
Holy shit. She looked downright edible.
This evening, she wore a white crop top that emphasized her breasts and showed off her firm midriff, as well as forest-green shorts that showcased her lean, tan legs.
Her dark-maroon-painted toenails he noticed earlier during class were visible in the sandals she wore.
Unlike this morning, her long, deep-red hair now fell loosely around her shoulders.
Apparently, the woman could wear anything, or even nothing at all, and still look great.
“Did you forget I was coming?”
He mentally shook himself. Jesus, dude, pick your scrambled brains off the floor and stop being an idiot.
He stepped back and swept his arm toward the cabin’s interior. “Sorry. No, I didn’t forget. I’ve actually been looking forward to this.”
A smile curled her lips. “Me, too.” She stepped over the threshold and glanced around. “This is cute.”
“It’s small, but I don’t have to pay for a mortgage or rent, or even utilities, so I can’t complain. And it’s only me.” Not that he needed to clarify that.
“I’ve never been inside one yet. As you know, Dylan offered me a cabin, but I didn’t need it at the time.”
“Do you need one now?” When she turned the cabin down, it was quickly snapped up by someone else. So if she was ready for one, she’d have to wait until one came available again.
“If I sold my home, or even rented it out, I’d have to rent a space to teach yoga.”
Right. Because the Lyonses wouldn’t let just anyone onto the property, so Hope couldn’t hold her regular classes on the resort’s grounds. “Couldn’t you do it at the community center or the library?”
“The Fisher Falls library branch is too small, but I’d have to see how much the community center would charge me, if they’re even open to letting me hold my classes there at all.”
He shut the door behind her and watched her wander around his small space, checking everything out. Including the framed pictures of his daughter Laurel at various ages. Those were his most important belongings. He kept them front and center.
He murmured, “I did notice this area sure likes to clutch their pearls over the littlest thing.”
“They sure do. You should’ve heard the scuttlebutt when everyone finally realized what kind of resort this was going to be. You’d think the world was coming to an end. And as innocent as practicing yoga is, some think it summons evil spirits.”
He choked out a laugh. “Are you serious?”
Hope turned to face him. “Yes! Some of them act like I’m standing in a pentagram, summoning the devil and sacrificing virgins, instead of instructing people how to deal with tension and stress and how to clear their minds and open their hearts.”
“Wait. Are you secretly throwing your students into an active volcano? I don’t know how I missed that on your background check. Now I’m going to have to write up a report and give it to Dylan and Dayne.”
She laughed. “Oh, please don’t! I wouldn’t want to have to cast a spell on you!” She waved her fingers at him like she was an evil witch.
She already had. The more he spoke with her, the more he was falling under that spell.
He sure as hell hoped tonight worked out. It would be great if this ended up a solid friends with benefits situation. This way, if either of them were in the mood to have sex, they could seek each other out.
That would mean he wouldn’t need to seek out random female guests unless he was in the mood for something specific.
Because he had no idea what Hope was into sexually.
It could be she was completely vanilla and only wanted to bang one out and leave.
To him, that would be acceptable on occasion, but not on a regular basis.
He was fine with working at this resort because his tastes aligned with a lot of the guests. As well as the owners.
When he saw the job opportunity come up, he jumped on it immediately. A ranch resort based around sex? Hell yes! That was right up his alley.
Shit. He needed to be a proper host, didn’t he? “Would you like a drink?”
“Water’s fine.”
“No wine, beer…shot of whiskey?”
“Oh, well…a glass of wine would be perfect. As long as you’re having one, too.”
“It’s one of the local reds Danica keeps in stock. And yes, I’ll join you.”
He grabbed a bottle out of the fridge. He appreciated the fact he had a full-size refrigerator/freezer combo in his compact kitchen. It made grabbing a beer or a bowl of ice cream convenient. He didn’t want to hike up to the lodge’s kitchen for a late night craving.
He pulled the cork and poured. When he turned, he held hers out.
Her lips twitched when she saw what kind of glassware he used.
“Sorry. I don’t have any wine glasses. As you can see, my kitchenette is short on space, so some items have multiple purposes.” He lifted his own coffee mug. “Cheers?”
Hope chuckled softly and tapped her mug to his. “Cheers. All the wine has to do is go from the bottle to my belly. The vessel doesn’t matter.”
“Don’t let a wine connoisseur hear you say that. You’ll be looked upon as a savage,” he teased.
“Oh my God, yes.” She cupped a hand around the side of her mouth and gossip-whispered, “‘Have you heard? Hope Reed was seen summoning evil spirits while sipping on Satan’s juice in a coffee mug! Can you imagine? Burn her at the stake!’”
“Are the residents of Fisher Falls really that bad?”
She shook her head. “Not all of them, but a few do have some backwards beliefs.”
Cam leaned back against the counter, took another sip of the Merlot, and studied her. “If I had to take an educated guess, you’re pretty progressive. That makes me believe you’re not native to this area. What brought you to Fisher Falls?”
“Not a job, like you. I actually went to Penn State’s Main Campus, and after graduation, decided to stay in State College.
Three years ago, at a friend’s barbecue, I met Darren and he was from this area.
We immediately hit it off and, not even two weeks later, moved in together.
When we broke up a couple of months ago, he decided he wanted a fresh start somewhere new. ”
Cam couldn’t decide if that had been a dick move or not. He was inclined to say it was. She moved to Fisher Falls to be with her ex and then he left the area, leaving her with the house and expenses.
“And you stayed.”
“I considered leaving, but despite some of the backwards thinking, I really like the area. And I really like this resort.”
“Apparently, so do all the guests. My daughter attends Penn State as a communications major. What was yours?” They had at least one thing in common. He looked forward to discovering others.
“Useless.”
He chuckled. “As much as her education is costing me, to say your degree is useless has to hurt. Was it in interpretive dance?”
She choked on a laugh while taking another sip of her wine. “You almost made wine shoot out of my nose.”
“Don’t you know, that’s all part of the interpretive dance for wine making. You must not have been paying attention in class.”
“As well as stomping on grapes.” She made an exaggerated motion of picking grapes, then stomping her feet.
His smile couldn’t get any bigger. “Oh, nice. And you said your degree was useless.”
He originally assumed this would only be a fast and furious hookup, but he was really enjoying their conversation and didn’t want to rush it.
“Does having a daughter mean you were previously married?”
“It does.”
“And?”
“We’re friendly still. Our marriage wasn’t full of turmoil or anything. One day I simply realized that…”
That he didn’t want to limit himself to only a woman. But he also didn’t want to cheat to fill his needs. He and his ex sat down together one night and actually had a very reasonable conversation about it. Luckily, not all divorces turn out to be ugly.
But then, he was completely honest with Molly and accepted all the blame. He didn’t want her to think it was her fault. Restlessness had been clawing at his insides.
Sometimes it still did.
“Realized?” she prodded with curiosity in her eyes as she peered at him over the rim of her mug.
“That I needed to be true to myself to be happy. One day I realized I was suppressing some of my urges. I was bottling it up inside and needed to relieve that pressure before I exploded, possibly leaving a path of destruction.”
“Urges? Like serial killer urges?”
“No.” Of course she was joking, but… “I’m—”
Holy shit. Was he actually going to admit it out loud to someone he hardly knew? Even his family and closest friends didn’t know. But…
It was time.
And if he was reading Hope correctly, he doubted she’d judge him for it. “I’m…”
One of Hope’s eyebrows cocked and she drew out, “You’re?”
He pulled in a deep breath and on the exhale, “Bisexual” escaped.
There. It was now out in the universe.
And the sky didn’t fall.
Hope blinked and confusion filled her face. “Okay?”
“Like your yoga, not everyone is open to that lifestyle.”
“But this place”—she waved her hand around—“is one of the most accepting places I’ve ever been.”
“Yes. I can freely be who I am here. Without judgement.”
“And have you been open about it?” she asked.
“No. Believe it or not, you’re only the second person I’ve told.” He was surprised how freeing it felt to finally admit it. Like a heavy load had been lifted from his shoulders.
With her mouth gaping, she set her mug down with a clunk on the tiny two-person table. “Wait a minute. How old are you?”
“Forty-six.”
“You’ve kept your sexuality hidden for forty-six years?”
“Well, the men I’ve been with had an idea,” he half-teased, then shrugged. “Or they assumed I was gay, I guess. The truth is, I’ve never been in an actual relationship with a man. It’s only been casual encounters.” Why was he spilling this info tonight?
Instinct told him she’d be fine with him being bisexual. Not all women were.
“In secret.”
“Yes.”
“Wow. I’m sorry you felt the need to hide it.”
“Some of it had to do with my career. I entered the state police academy right after turning twenty-one.” He had been so young and only learning about himself at the time.
He had girlfriends in high school, of course, but his eyes had occasionally wandered to his male classmates.
It took him a while to figure out that interest was more than curiosity. He was attracted to men—or, at that age, boys—as much as girls.
At the time, he didn’t know what to do with that information. So for a while, he did nothing, hoping that interest would just fade away.
It didn’t. It got stronger. Then he met Molly and they hit it off. He hoped she would be enough for him. Sadly, she wasn’t.
Again, not her fault. It was his. He wasn’t sure how she would take his confession. She’d been surprised since he’d hidden it well enough, and also sad for him. At the time, they decided not to tell Laurel about it, only that they were breaking up due to irreconcilable differences.
The reason wasn’t important to their daughter, she’d been more concerned about the fact her parents were splitting up. Now that she was in her early twenties, he’d considered mentioning it, but since he wasn’t seeing a man, there really wasn’t a point.
He figured it was best to have a reason to bring it up. It might be a bit weird for him to randomly confess that he was into both men and women.
But maybe he was going about it the wrong way.
“I can imagine,” she started, “with you being in a male-dominated career, it had to be a bit more difficult to tell your co-workers that you were anything other than a straight, alpha male.”
“Especially when we shared the same locker room.”
“Usually the people who complain the loudest have something to hide themselves. They’re beating themselves up on the inside, so they take it out on others.”
“You’re probably right,” he murmured. “I wish we were at the point where one’s sexuality wasn’t a big deal.”
“A lot of people believe that.”
“Not enough.”
“I won’t disagree. I wish everyone was accepting of others.” She quickly downed the contents of her mug and smiled. “Time to play?”
Hell yes. He liked this woman already.