“Yeah, we did! It’s mating season, so it’s normal.”
“Heard that, my love? It’s mating season,” I repeat, turning to Andrea, whose face is growing red.
“Be glad it was some strange bird and not a bear,” the woman continues after a short laugh.
“Wait, I actually took pictures of that bird,” I say, motioning to take the phone out of my pocket.
“Excuse us, we really need to go,” Andrea swiftly intervenes, her face as red as I’ve ever seen it.
“Right, my wife and I need to head home and take a bath. We’re all sticky. Especially her.”
Andrea hits me harder this time, and I struggle to hold back my laughter. I nod to the group, and we get into the car. As soon as we’re off, Andrea turns to me with a scowl.
“Delete the pictures right now,” she demands, her tone partly vexed, partly amused. “You don’t deserve them, you teasing asshole.”
“Do you really think I would have shown them?”
“For a split second there, I thought you might.”
“It was a little exciting, wasn’t it?”
She doesn’t answer and turns away to watch the landscape outside. Worried I might have pushed it a little too far, I lay an apologetic hand over her thigh.
“I’m sorry, freckles. I thought it was part of the game, the fantasy. I’m sorry I made you feel uncomfortable. I will delete the pictures, you’re right. I don’t deserve them.”
Again, she stays silent for a moment, deepening my worry. When she speaks, though, I can tell she’s holding back a smile. “You can keep the pictures.”
A victorious grin splits my face in half. “You liked it?”
“I think… I did. A lot.”
“That’s my girl,” I approve, giving her thigh a proud squeeze.
We might be stuck in the middle of nowhere, but something tells me that as long as we’re together, we’ll never get bored. How could I with this little fury by my side?
Chapter 25
Although our stay in Canada has been pretty nice so far, it’s now one step closer to being heaven on earth. Slex is back on the table, and I mean that metaphorically and literally, given the two steamy breakfasts we’ve had right on the dinner table.
Our routine remains kind of the same—we still have our quality time, board games, movie night, breakfast together—but now with amazing sex sprinkled on top and two to three hikes per week.
Overall, we’re being reasonable, though. My recovering stamina didn’t really allow for a proper slexathon, and by the time my endurance grows back to the way it used to be, we don’t require two days of uninterrupted sex to make up for it.
Isolated in the middle of nowhere by a minor lake in British Columbia, we find our harmony again. We’re happy, truly happy like there’s no limit to bliss, happy like only we could be. Everything else becomes background noise, even the danger we’re in, the uncertainty of our future. It’s all in a sealed box in the back of our minds, as we focus on the present instead, on enjoying each other and whatever is at our disposal.
But I’m not immune to nostalgia either, so now and then I find myself missing my life, my friends, and my family. I talk to my mom and Kate nearly every day, video calling when possible. So I miss everyone in a physical manner. I miss going out and getting drunk with my friends, or hugging my mom.
We’ve been up here for nearly two months now, and they’re growing restless, asking when we’ll be back. In all truth, I don’t know. Lex has looked into Norman Becker, but so far, he hasn’t found anything more damaging than what we already found and released to the public. We need our five stones and a sling, like David when he killed Goliath, but so far… we have nothing.
That might be why I’m in no rush to return to Seattle. By being here, we’re avoiding our responsibility, staying safe with our heads deep in the sand as we ignore the looming threat. For as long as we’re here, we’re protected from Norman Becker and his trigger-happy goons.
Or maybe I love nature a lot more than I thought I did. That’s the only way I could explain why I suggest we try the two-day hike Lex has been eyeing for a while.
“To celebrate our two months here,” I explain.
“Are you sure? It’s seventeen miles on day one, fourteen on day two.”
“Yeah, I am. I’ve gotten a lot better.”
