CHAPTER 6
After my failed attempt to find her, I take off jogging around the campgrounds as I normally do every morning when I’m here.
No one ever seems bothered by the fact that I run around the grounds at times as early as four.
But for some reason today with each step forward I make I get this uneasy feeling I’m not alone.
Maybe it’s the paranoia of not knowing if she’s here, or maybe it’s from me being the one sulking around.
Whatever it is, my gut says someone is watching me, even though I can’t spot anyone acting out of the norm.
An elderly gent walks his football-sized dog, waving to anyone who passes by.
Of course, I wave back as I go past. My feet skid to a stop when I spot a truck covered in streamers.
It looks like some little kid’s finger-painted a flag on all the doors and the truck bed.
This parade is a new thing this year, and clearly some people have never participated in one before.
Should I attend, or maybe decorate my truck and drive it around? Would that be creepy if one dude just hands out candy from his driver’s window?
“Excuse me?” I hear someone yell from behind me, pulling me out of my thoughts. “Hello?”
When I turn around, I’m greeted by a middle-aged redhead woman with the biggest boobs I’ve ever laid eyes on. She’s wearing a shirt that just barely covers them, and shorts that could be considered a thong.
“I’m sorry to bother you, but it's early and no one else is up yet. Could you help me?” she bats her long eyelashes at me.
Flirting must normally get her everything she ever wants, but that shit doesn't work on me.
“Sorry, lady, I'm busy.” I tap my smartwatch, showing her I’m trying to jog my miles.
“Please? I just need help getting the fire started.”
Ugh, I hate being a good man at times.
I let out a sigh and say, “Fine, lead the way.”
She claps her hands and takes mine in hers, dragging me towards her fire pit. It’s only mere minutes later before I have a small fire built using some sticks from the site, and some cardboard she had from a beer box.
“How’d you learn to do that?”
She watches as I take a small piece of cardboard and fan the flame, trying to add oxygen to the fire to get it to light the larger logs on top completely.
“I was a Boy Scout, so I learned a lot of things. Just keep feeding it logs when the others start to burn down, and you’ll be good.”
My knees crunch as I stand up from my kneeling position next to the fire ring. I dust my hands off on my pants as I head back towards the road.
“Wait, she calls out.”
This woman.
“Here, I want you to have this for helping me. My name’s Trish, by the way.”
She holds out a new bottle of blueberry moonshine. I shouldn’t take it, that shit is toxic.
“Thank you, Trish. Happy Fourth!”
I don’t let her respond before I tuck the bottle into my armpit and turn back around. I jog in the direction of my site, so I can now drop this off before I make the despicable decision to start drinking it before nine in the morning.
Maybe my little prey will like the taste of it on my lips when the time comes.