Chapter 10 Joel
JOEL
Iwake before Brooke and lie awake listening to her steady breathing.
She sleeps with a foot poking out from the bedsheets and one arm thrown above her head.
Her expression is soft with sleep, vulnerable, and her pale pink lips are slightly parted, as if she’s Sleeping Beauty waiting for a kiss.
The sheets fall loose over her body, barely covering her torso.
She wears a white t-shirt to bed, and it rides up, exposing a patch of soft skin on her belly.
Her stomach rises and falls as she breathes, and if I reached my hand out, I could almost run my fingers over her skin…
I tear my gaze away from the sleeping beauty and quietly get out of bed. I need a distraction from her soft belly and kissable lips.
The cabin creaks as I pull on my sweatpants and pad to the door, but Brooke doesn’t stir.
Dawn is breaking outside, and the sound of birdsong greets me as I slip out of the cabin. Outside is stillness. The other cabins are dark, and a gentle breeze rustles the trees.
I’ve always been an early riser. The military drummed that into me. I walk the perimeter of the Rabbit camp, but all is quiet. There are no students sneaking back into their beds, so that’s something.
I set off jogging down a path that leads into the woods. The path crosses the river and heads uphill, the trail turning from a well-worn path to a forest trail.
I settle into a steady rhythm, but with each breath, thoughts of Brooke pound through my head. Soft skin, parted lips, smooth belly. Soft skin, parted lips, smooth belly. Soft skin, parted lips, smooth belly.
I can’t outrun the images that flash through my mind and the growing need I have to taste her lips, to touch her hair, to run my fingers over her skin.
I run faster and faster until my chest aches and my body screams at me to stop. Only then does my head clear of the indecent thoughts I’m having.
The trail circles back, and forty minutes later I come out on the other side of the camp by the Wolf sector.
Remembering the camp director’s warning, I avoid the large trees and the area where the tree came down.
I head to the center of the camp and the communal buildings.
There’s an outside area with a set of bars, and I end my run with a set of pull-ups, push-ups and sit-ups.
My body aches, and my muscles burn with every set.
But I push through, needing the physical distraction.
There’s a light on in the kitchens, and I head there once I’m done. I find Bruce and his wife, Karen, prepping breakfast. They turn the coffee machine on for me, and I fill two mugs and carry them back to the cabin.
All is quiet in Rabbit sector; there are no lights on in any cabins. I open our door softly, and pale morning light filters into the cabin, catching the strands of her hair and making her look like an angel.
Her eyes flicker open, and she sits up. Her hair has fallen around her face, and she’s dozy from sleep. She licks her swollen lips, and my gaze darts to her tongue. She’s not trying to be sexy, but it’s the sexiest damn thing I’ve ever seen: this woman, sitting in bed, drowsy from sleep.
My dick hardens, and I’m glad the light is dim so she doesn’t see my hard-on through my sweatpants.
I can’t speak because I’m too scared I’ll say something to give myself away. I’m glad I have coffee in my hands, or I’d probably throw myself at her.
She takes a deep breath in and lets out a low, throaty moan. “You have coffee.”
Her voice is thick from sleep, and the guttural tone sends my cock vibrating. I have to get out of here before I lose it.
I turn away from her and set the mugs down on the small table. “I’m going for a shower.”
With no other explanation, I grab my towel and wash-kit and head out to the shower block. I walk fast and uncomfortably. If any of the students come out now, it will be a disaster. Luckily, all the other cabins are quiet and dark.
The shower block thankfully has locking cubicles, and I go into the far one and peel off my clothes.
My cock sticks out, thick and hard. My ears ring with the guttural moan she let out as she smelled the coffee.
I squeeze my eyes shut tight, but all I see is Brooke’s soft skin, her parted lips, and the way her t-shirt outlined her full breasts.
The shower hits my heated body, and I flick it to cold. Pins of icy water hit my skin, but they’re not enough to quell the fire inside me.
I grab my aching hard-on. Images of Brooke fill my mind as I tug hard. I imagine her lips around my cock; I imagine my hand tangling in her hair. I imagine her moaning as she takes me in her mouth.
It only takes a few hard tugs before I explode in a quick burst of pleasure that already feels unsatisfying. My release drips over my knuckles and is washed down the drain as my Brooke fantasy crumbles around me.
I’ve never been this attracted to a woman before. I’ve never had to run into the shower to take care of a release. I’m not sure what it is about this woman, but my body craves her.
When we’re through with the camping trip, I’ll ask her out. I can be patient, but I have to find a way to make Brooke mine.
Ten minutes later, I’m back at the cabin, composed and dressed and back in control of myself. I knock softly on the door, not wanting to burst in on Brooke.
“Just a minute,” she calls.
There’s a thump from inside, and a moment later she pulls open the door. She’s dressed in jeans and an oversized sweater. Her hair cascades over one shoulder, as messy as when she first woke up.
“Did I dream it, or were you standing above my bed dripping with sweat and holding coffee mugs?”
Her morning smile is slow, and it spreads across her face, lighting up the entire cabin.
If she knew what I was just doing in the shower, if she knew what I was fantasizing about, she wouldn’t be standing here smiling at me.
Or maybe she would. I can’t tell if she’s flirting with me or if Brooke is this friendly with everyone.
I’ll find out when we get back to Hope. I’ll take her out, and if she’s keen, I’ll turn that fantasy into a reality.
In the meantime, I don’t want to scare her off.
I hold my hands up. “Not a dream. I went for a jog at zero six hundred.”
She shakes her head slowly. “You can take the man out of the military…”
I tidy my wash kit away and take my coffee out to the deck. There’s a bench seat here, and I slide onto it. A moment later Brooke joins me. She’s brushed her hair back into a ponytail, but a few strands have already gotten loose.
She sits next to me on the bench seat, and we look out at the trees.
“What time are the students up?”
She takes a sip of coffee and leans back. The morning sun peeks through the trees, and she closes her eyes as it hits her face.
“You tell me, you’re the one with a teenage daughter.” She squints one eye at me. “I hear teenagers like to sleep late.”
“They do. Or at least mine does.”
We sit in silence as the scent of coffee and pine wood surrounds us.
“I asked for breakfast at eight,” she says. “And we’ll start filming at nine. So not too early for them.”
Brooke pulls out her folder and looks over the day’s schedule.
“How did you get into media studies?”
She taps the end of her pen between her lips. “I like telling stories, I guess. Moving around a lot, I became good at reading people. I had to. There wasn’t time to waste figuring people out. I’m also qualified to teach English. It opens up options when I’m looking for the next job.”
She says it mater-of-factly, as if it’s a given that she’s moving on.
“Do you ever think of staying?”
She sips her coffee and looks out at the trees. “Sometimes, I wonder what it would be like to stay for a few years, but I think I’d get bored. I’ve always moved around. It’s all I know.”
I’m about to ask her if there’s ever been a man, something she wanted to stay for. But at that moment a cabin door creaks open and one of the students creeps out.
They make their way to the toilet block and give us a wave on the way. Another door opens and soon there are students emerging from their cabins, blinking in the daylight as if it’s first dawn and not almost zero-eight hundred.
I sip my coffee and watch a blackbird flutter from branch to branch high up in a pine tree.
I like the quietness between us. It reminds me of being married, when I was home and before Mina got sick. Comfortable silences that don’t need to be filled. I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed that until this morning, sitting here with Brooke, sipping our coffee.
“We’ve got a big filming day today.” She shuffles papers. “They’re filming the camp staff. Working in twos and swapping over so they each get to work on their personal project.”
“Do you want me to go with a team?” I ask, unsure what level of supervision is required.
“I like to let them get going, then I’ll stop by each group to check in. They know the parameters of the camp, but you could walk around and make sure no one’s straying off the premises.”
She shifts her position, and our thighs brush on the seat. The contact makes me shudder, and I hide it by leaning forward. I’ve got three more days of this and two nights. Two nights to pretend I don’t feel the earth shift every time Brooke touches me.