And it’s all thanks to Charlson,Natasha thought, as her foot let out another wet squelch.Maybe I should fall asleep at my desk and send him cryptic emails more often.
As little as she wanted to admit it, however, her sock situation was coming to a head. She could feel muddy water seeping into her skin and wrinkling up her toes with every step she took. It was probably time to admit defeat, and head back down the trail – at least to change her socks and shoes.
Though by the time I get back it’ll be lunch time… if it isn’t already…
And as if to punctuate that thought, her stomach let out a sudden, extremely loud gurgling sound.
Natasha had to shake her head at herself – she hadn’t been back out in the middle of nowhere for even a full forty-eight hours yet, and she was already somehow beginning to lose track of time… and that wasasidefrom the whole ‘asking random – butextremelyhot – men out on dates’ thing. Back home, every minute of every day was carefully guarded and kept track of – it had to be, if she wanted to make sure she was staying on top of the mountain of her work commitments.
At this rate I’m gonna get a littletoorelaxed,she thought as she began heading back down the path – but to be honest, Natasha wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She’d always said she thrived in high-pressure environments.
Well, I’m sure I’ll get bored in a day or so.
As nice as the fresh air was, she couldn’t exactly spendallher time looking at trees. Surely they had to get a bit samey after a while?
But I didn’t notice that little cave last time I walked along this bit of the path!
It was true – she’d come up behind the collection of boulders and fallen rocks that must have slid down the hillside at some point, but which had fallen in such a way as to create a little hollow against the slope. They’d been there long enough that a little sapling had started growing on the earth that had collected on top of them, and vines had started to cover the sides of the rocks and hang down over the entrance. It looked like a secret little area, private and secluded, like something out of a storybook of enchanted places…
Uh. But wait,Natasha thought, just as the – pretty silly – idea formed in her head.Is that… something sleeping inside it?!
Natasha stopped in her tracks. The little cave wasn’t too far from the path, and despite the hanging vines, she could very definitely seesomethinglying down inside the cave. Adrenaline shot through her as she thought that perhaps she might have accidentally stumbled upon the lair of a sleeping mountain lion or –oh God!– a bear, but a second glance told her it definitely wasn’t either of those. It wasn’t nearly big or shaggy enough for a bear, and, she thought, blinking, cougars tended not to wear leather jackets and jeans.
It’s… it’s a person, then?
Thatdidn’t exactly put her mind at ease – if it was a person, why were they lying out here in the middle of the woods?
Have I just found a dead body?!
Horror wound its way through her stomach, but Natasha forced herself to leave the path and creep a little closer to the cave, even as she reached into her pocket for her phone. She knew she shouldn’t disturb anything if she reallyhadjust found a dumped body, but she wanted to be a little more sure of what she was actually seeing before she called the cops. Part of herreallydidn’t want to believe it, though why else would there be someone just lying out in the middle of the woods, in a place it was difficult to spot?
Oh, hey, wait a minute–!
Shocked recognition fired through Natasha’s brain –it’s the guy from the supermarket yesterday! Oh my God!– at almost exactly the same moment that the body – less dead than she’d assumed – stirred and then sat up.
Natasha stood frozen, her fingers still wrapped around her phone in a death grip, as the guy –Kieran? Yeah, that was definitely his name! –groaned, rubbing his hand over his face as if he was still groggy with sleep, before slowly, almost painfully starting to get up.
He’s going to think I’m weird if he sees me just standing here staring at him, like I was watching him sleep,Natasha had time to think – before,Wait, I’m not the one sleeping in the woods! How does this makemethe weird one?!
The words had no sooner entered her head, however, when Kieran did in fact look up, see her standing a few feet away from him, and jump up, his eyes wide, his hands held up in front of him.
“Natasha!”
She felt a mad giggle trying to crawl its way up her throat as she looked at him, an absolutely mortified expression on his face, mud and dirt staining the knees of his jeans, leaf litter clinging to the wild blond mane of his hair.
And, Natasha had to admit, completely against her will, he looked kind ofcutewith it.
But cute or not, who just went to sleep in the middle of the woods?!
“Um,” she said, wondering what exactly to say. This wasn’t your average everyday awkward social interaction! “Are you… all right?”
“Yes, yes of course. I’m completely fine! Absolutely great.” Kieran seemed just atinybit manic in his rush to reassure her that he was, in fact, quite healthy.
But if that’s the case…
“You were just, uh, sleeping in that cave there,” Natasha had to point out. In case it might have escaped his notice.
“Uh. Yeah.” Kieran’s mortification was rapidly turning into sheepishness. “I guess I just kind of… dropped off.”
