Chapter 13

Beneath her shifting blanket, as we rumbled along the rough entry road, a long sigh slipped from Mandy. Through the thinning trees, I followed her gaze to a rustic, log-fronted structure sitting atop a low ridge. Beyond it, the glinting blue waters of the lake called to me. Once we’d crunched to a halt on the rutted orange dirt and gray gravel drive, she drifted to my reflection in the glass with a glint in her eyes before looking at her husband.

“We’re here!” she announced over her shoulder while shoving her car door wide.

When she caught my glance at her bare leg, she made a point of sucking on her shiny lips. Gods above, she was playful. Whatever thoughts I’d had about this being a quiet vacation ... Well, that gleam told me she’d find a way to be with me.

Though my chest tightened at the thought, the clean air, smelling of pine, and the rough-hewn cabin, brought a widening smile to my face. Its roof of modern shingles was the only sign it hadn’t been ripped from the past, like me, and dumped into this idyllic spot. As I scanned Mandy, my smile caused my cheeks to ache. Truly idyllic.

Built of graying logs and white daub, with a shellacked wood front door and double-paned windows all surrounded by white paint, it was—cute. On one side, a weathered gray-wooden picnic table sat askew near a black grill on a tilted stick. Rustic, for sure, but cute.

With a matching pair of groans, the girls, wrapped under their blanket, tumbled out one side, while Charles unfurled himself from the other to stretch. Just as I stepped onto the gravel, he snuffled, huffed in quick bursts of air, and let loose a loud sneeze. As it echoed through the woods, he flashed me a sheepish grin.

“Yeh, that’s the thing about the mountains. They’re hell on my allergies.” Charles held up a purple box in his wavering hand. “Up here, I’ve gotta double up on meds. Kicks my ass, though.” He chuckled before continuing. “At least I’m guaranteed a good night’s sleep.”

Well, that explained how he hadn’t noticed his wife’s arousal, although Susan’s nose crinkled and she gave her mother a sidelong glance. After flashing Charles a broad smile, Mandy ignored her while walking to the rear of the car. He and I met her as she unlatched the hatch. With a grunt, I lifted her bag from the pile. As she took it from my hands, she glanced at Charles, bending into the rear behind me before sliding her fingers over mine and winking.

What’d happened? She’d become—more ... After a swift twirl of her dress, she swept past the girls and dragged her suitcase towards the cabin.

With a quick tug, I lifted my backpack onto my shoulders and tossed my small bag to the ground, before helping Charles pull his large, wheeled duffle from the back. After another sniffle, he took it from me and headed for the cabin.

It was only then that I noticed his wife hadn’t gone through the door. Instead, after Charles passed her and disappeared inside, Mandy turned to me, ensuring I caught her glance. With her daughter and friend facing me, waiting for their luggage, she flashed me a wide grin. My heart hammered as she sank her fingers into the wavy, dark hair at the back of her head. With her tresses shimmering and blue eyes glimmering in the sunlight, she stretched onto her toes before leaning from side to side.

As tingles flooded my body, and the ache returned, though I yanked on the girls’ luggage, I watched every one of Mandy’s shifting curves. With a groan under my breath, my eyes locked on the sundress hem sliding upwards along both lean, tanned thighs.

The little tease. Yeh, she’d become “more,” alright. More of a tease.

With a slight wince, Mandy pranced inside, followed by the girls dragging their bags. Once I’d secured the car and wandered closer, I took in another longer breath of clean mountain air. The fresh scent of trees and wildflowers, tinged with the lingering smell of the car’s warm engine, brought that grin back to my face. While scanning the nearby pines and a trio of swooping, colorful birds, a slow exhale hissed from my smiling lips. Okay, locked in a cabin with a tease or not, this was worth it.

Smile still on my face, I pushed through the narrow entrance into the darkened interior just as Charles appeared through a doorway at the rear. As he neared, I surveyed the cozy main room. Colorful red and orange native-American patterned tapestries hung from its dark wooden walls. In the middle was a pull-out sofa bed facing a large flat screen television. Beyond the TV was a wide floor-to-ceiling window facing the glittering blue lake.

“Hey, Jim. Thanks for driving, man. I really appreciate it.”

“Like I said. Not a problem, Charles. I’m already loving it up here.” At his wife’s quick bob into the doorframe beyond his rolling shoulders, I swallowed. Eyes sparkling, she dragged her glistening tongue over her glossy red lips. My pulse raced. Yep, already enjoying it.

“Let me show you ‘round.” Charles gestured behind him. “Master bedroom. Well, the larger of the two. Nothing really grand about it.”

After stepping next to me in the middle of the main room, he pointed at a closed door. “That’s the only bathroom, I’m afraid.” He glanced into the other open doorway, through which I could see another bedroom, where Susan and Desi unpacked, before laughing. “The girls...” He pointed over his shoulder towards Mandy. “All the girls, fight over it. Best stay clear until the dust settles.”

With a large grin on his face, he sauntered to the rear of the cabin. A wall of glass was pierced by one sliding pane offering access to a small covered wooden deck. A four-seater hot tub, its bubbling waters sending steam into the fading sunlight, sat atop a raised wooden dais.

“Not much, but we brought some groceries,” he said, while walking into a cramped kitchenette lined with stained timber cabinets.

Containing only a hot plate, coffee pot, ancient microwave, and a small yellowish-white refrigerator, the narrow room was—adequate. A wispy, faded blue and yellow flowered curtain hung over a narrow pass-through. Scuffed and discolored, the pass-through accessed a tall polished dark-stained wood counter in the main room. In front of it were two cracked and worn black leather stools.

Eyes focused on the lake, Charles weaved past a shiny wooden table with four matching chairs between the kitchenette and the wall of glass. Beyond the sparkling waters, the rising slopes of Mt. Aristeia, covered in pines, surged upwards. A grin slid onto my face; I knew every dark crack and gray-white boulder above its green flanks.

“So, what do you think?” He flashed me a quick smile.

All in all, the simple, yet homey place offered plenty of room for them, and I dropped my rucksack and bag by the side of the couch—my bed.

“Nice, Charles. It’s very nice.” When I nodded, his smile broadened.

“I’m, uh...” After a shiver slipped through him, his hands twitching, he faced the bedroom. “I’m gonna, uh, unpack and call out for pizza. It’s a tradition.”

“No anchovies!” Susan’s voice echoed from her room.

“Got it. No dead fish.” Charles chuckled. “You particular, Jim?” When I shook my head, he scanned me and raised his eyebrow before adding. “Didn’t think so.” After that cryptic reply, he slipped into his room, already lifting the phone to his ear.

While straddling an arm of the couch, I gazed at the shimmering, darkening lake before looking at my phone. After catching Mandy’s frame slide into the bathroom, I smiled. Okay, she wanted to be pushed. She was more of a tease up here. Alright, let’s see how far she’d go. After a chuckle, I texted Gary.

We good?

Yes, Jim. All clear. Quiet, even.

Excellent. Hey, you and Lucy want to come up to Aristeia? I’ve got a plan.

Oh fuck. When? As soon as I tell her, she’s gonna hound me.

Couple of days, I think. Just be ready.

Eyebrows knitted, I paused while tracking along the side of the mountain. There. I swallowed as I scanned the shallower valley running beside a winding creek. It tapered off into a thickening stand of trees.

Plan for a picnic. Bring your cameras.

Cameras?

Yeh. Like I said. I’ve got a plan. It may fail miserably, but what the heck?

Okay. You got it. Have fun.

Stay safe and slide into Lucy for me.

WILCO.

At the opening bathroom door behind me, I swallowed my chuckle and flashed a grin at Mandy. After slowing and glancing at her room, she took a step towards me, but Susan burst out and dashed for the bathroom.

“You see, Jim?” Mandy chuckled. “You gotta be fast. We girls are tricksy.”

“Yes.” I laughed while nodding before running my eyes over her petite frame and adding in a lower voice. “Yes, you are.”

Just then, Charles appeared. Her grin fading, Mandy slid behind him into their room. He walked closer to stretch his back while standing beside me, looking out at the mountain.

“Thanks again for coming along, Jim.”

“Glad I could make it. I got lucky. One of the team’s canceled at the last minute.”

Eyes narrowing, he gave me a sidelong glance as he cocked his head; he really wanted to ask what I did for a living. Instead, he stayed quiet, only sighing.

“Look, Jim, I mean it. I owe you.” He smiled. “Anything you want, just ask.”

“Hey, wait.” I faced him and, as he tracked along my chest, I laughed. “You haven’t even given your presentation yet. My stuff may all be crap.”

“Somehow, I doubt that very much.” His eyes narrowed as he rolled his clasping hands before him. Charles paused for a second before looking into my eyes. In a lower voice, he added. “Jim, I ... Well, thanks for being there for Mandy as well. I know ... I know, um, she can be a lot to handle, but she ... She seems to have taken a liking to you.

“Well, I definitely try to keep her happy.” My heart was thumping so hard I checked to see if my fingers were trembling. They weren’t. But it sure felt like it as I returned to his earnest face and added. “A happy neighbor is a good thing in my book.”

When I grinned, he returned my smile before raising his hand. Time slowed as it hovered in midair before lowering to my shoulder. As he squeezed, his eyes—deepened. After a lengthy sigh, he pulled away.

“Well, thanks again.” With his gaze returned to the deepening shadows looming across the lake, his voice was barely audible. “For everything.”

Just as I tilted my head at the weird vibe, wheels crunched on the gravel drive. We both turned to look out the front window. A battered old green pickup with a rickety pizza slice on its rusted roof slid to a halt.

“Pizza!” Charles yelled before lunging for the door. Even as he handed the pimply faced teen a wad of bills and took the white and red striped boxes from him, the women appeared like hungry sharks.

While beaming, Charles took the pizza to the kitchenette while all three women made a beeline for the table. After placing slices onto their plates, Charles handed them to each of the women before giving me a slice. As he walked out towards the last seat, I took my plate and started for the nearest bar stool.

At Mandy’s fingers on my wrist, I stumbled to a halt, my heart racing, and turned to her. She yanked me to her as she stood. With a grin at Charles, she looked at me and gestured to her chair.

“Oh, come on Jim. I don’t weigh that much, do I?” As she spoke, Charles chuckled while both girls froze in mid-bite to stare.

The smart answer would’ve been to stay silent and pull free, but the glittering sparkle in her deep blue pools grabbed my tired, ancient soul and flung me to the chair. As soon as I sat, she flicked her dark hair back while straddling my thigh. Time slowed. Charles looked up, his eyebrow raised, as his wife sank. At first Susan glanced at wide-eyed Desi, then her dad and finally at her mom, just as Mandy’s sodden warm folds mashed onto my thigh.

Nope, she hadn’t put panties on. As she glided forward, leaning for her plate, warm dribbles flooded my trouser leg. With each subtle shift dragging her soaking petals along my leg, the tiniest shiver slithered through her. As they all chatted and I tried to focus, she covered every little whimper by chewing on pizza.

The horny little tease.

When Charles’ phone pinged, he was soon texting as he swallowed, while Susan and Desi started a heated conversation about a new movie. Meanwhile, as she continued to eat, Mandy glided back and forth, sending tremors through me and pulling sighs and low whimpers from herself. Though nobody else did, I caught her sudden clamping of the table edge as her pussy quivered on my thigh., releasing more racing rivulets. If not for the aroma of fresh pizza, the entire cabin would’ve smelled of her sweet arousal.

Very horny little tease.

Even as another shudder rippled through her mother, Susan stood to refill everyone’s plate with the last of the pizza. After pausing to gaze at her mother’s crimson cheeks, she returned to her seat. Her face neutral, she glanced at her dad, who still worked on his phone. All the while, Mandy tried to speak, but gave up, clenching her jaw and chewing to muffle any errant groans.