“Mom also thought we would make cute babies.” Orson sounded wistful.
“Baby talk already?” a new, unwelcome voice cut into our conversation. Orson’s hand tightened on mine. His expression darkened. “Must be serious. I mean, I heard the rumors, O, but I thought nah, he can do better than dingo boy here. Sully’s family must be paying yours to take him off theirhands.”
“Thank you, Cress, but I am the one who picked Sullivan. Not the other way around.”
I turned my head to look at Cress. He hadn’t changed all that much since graduation. I heard he hadn’t gone to college. There was no need for him to with a well-paying job ready for him, with his family. As the source of my humiliation, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything to him.
Unfortunately, he was still as ridiculously handsome as he was years ago. His body was wiry with muscle, his hair grown out. It suited him.
He reached out with slender fingers to play with a lock of my hair. “You got pretty, Sully. You could always ditch O here and have a night with me. What d’you think?”
I knocked his fingers from my hair with my free hand, threading my fingers with Orson’s. “A night with you or a lifetime with Orson, someone who respects and understands me? I’d pick Orson every time.”
“Your loss,” Cress snarled, red-faced.
“No,” I shook my head and grinned. “It really isn’t.”
Buoyed by my coffee with Orson, I got all the things I needed for my next adventure. I parted ways with Orson soon after Cress left, with an understanding of the man. We were both getting things out of this arrangement, giving us an equal footing.
For this adventure in the woods, I was armed with a fully charged phone, some string and a pocket knife, along with a flashlight, the little battery crystal fully charged.
There were hours before it got dark, so I’d have time to fully explore the area before I had to truly worry about getting lost.
I ate a bean burger on my way into the cover of trees, my scooter parked so it was hidden from the road. The crunchy, flavorful treat was exactly what I needed before going for a hike.
The sun was still pretty high in the sky, making me wish I’d worn a hat and some sunscreen. I began to sweat as I picked my way through the brush to the dirt road I’d once traveleddown.
Things got a little strange when the path widened. My vision went blurry, and I made a turn, certain I was going the wrong way.
Once more, I found myself completely lost in the woods. My phone didn’t want to work, either. I felt a burst of panic until I thought about things.
I had supplies. I could be methodical about tracing my way back to the road.
It was tempting to shift and use my quokka nose to find any scents to help me. I thought about trying to make a call, though my signal was spotty.
No, the only way out was through.
Wandering the woods for another hour, I felt myself growing despondent. I was so far from where I wanted to be.
My feet moved automatically, just drifting through the old fallen leaves and broken branches until I came to a part which felt familiar to me.
I paused to take a drink of water. All the walking had tired me out. I was not built for lots of activity! Taking time to rest, I found a stump to sit on while I gathered myself.
It could only have been minutes, suggesting wherever he lived, he was nearby, when thedingo came trotting into view, his tail high, eyes sharp.
His footsteps paused when he saw me waiting for him.
“Hello, I hoped I’d see you again.”
The dingo stopped and just stared at me. I didn’t sense any aggression or fear from him. Just curiosity, the same I felt for him.
“Why is it I feel so safe around you when the other one scared the living daylights out of me?”
Honestly, I hadn’t expected him to answer, so when he shifted, revealing himself as the man of my recent fantasies, I fell off the stump I was perched on.
“Fuck!”
“Is that a curse or request?” came a delicious, rumbling voice.
