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‘I’m not having you walk off into unfamiliar territory without protection. Sorry, not going to happen.’ He crosses his huge arms in front of him. Damn, he looks fine.
And there’s that word again.Protection. What does everyone need protecting from, all of a sudden? I picture that Momma Bear, the one that didn’t end up killing my sister, and I decide to give in. I don’t know this place too well. I never came out to this part of the Rockies with my dad. Probably best to accept a guide.
A Daddy Bear to protect me from a Momma Bear.
‘Okay, okay, you can come with me. But no eavesdropping on my call, alright?’
Finn doesn’t reply. ‘Wait there,’ he says. ‘Don’t move a muscle.’ He hurries into his cabin, leaving me out on the porch in the darkness. Suddenly noticing how cold it is out here, I shiver. I become aware of the sounds of the forest, too. The clicks and chirps of the creatures of the night, emerging from their dusky corners.
Why did Finn suddenly run into the cabin like that? Did he spot something? A predator? He wouldn’t just leave me to fend for myself out here, though, would he? I feel suddenly like Ineedhim. Weirdly, it’s not a scary feeling. It’s kinda nice, strange as that sounds.
The door opens and Finn reappears, brandishing a can of bug spray. What iswiththis guy? One minute, he’s insulting me. The next, he’s worried about tiny little insects sinking their tiny little insect teeth into my skin. ‘Close your eyes,’ he orders me, and then he sprays me from head to toe at such close range I can taste the stuff on my tongue.
‘Come on then,’ says Finn, leaving the spray on the porch. ‘Let’s get this over and done with.’
He marches round the back of the cabin, and I hurry behind him, trying to keep pace. He doesn’t say a word as we walk, and I wonder what he’s thinking. He seems annoyed that I’m not going to be staying with him for the next six months. But he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that was advertising for a roommate, so why now? Why me?
I can see why my sister thought it would do me good, in her own, misguided kind of a way. But really, what’s in it for him? I should probably ask him that again — try to get to the bottom of it — but I feel weirdly intimidated at the thought of asking him anything too personal. He seems so private, so closed off. I already feel like I’m an intruder in his home — I don’t want to go intruding on histhoughtstoo.
We walk over fallen tree branches and I feel twigs snap underfoot, as well as goodness knows what else. I try not to look down and think about all the stuff that might be down there. I’m fine with creepy-crawlies. That sort of thing doesn’t bother me. But anything bigger than that — rodents or snakes or whatever (shudder) — it’s been a long time since I went camping in the woods, and I need a bit of time to get used to the idea of being around that stuff again.
‘Go and stand just to the left of that tree. I normally find that’s a decent spot. When I absolutelyhaveto make a call. No guarantees or anything, though.’
Finn is pointing at a gap between the pines. I look at him, trying to figure out whether he was trying to be mean about me absolutelyhavingto make a call. I really hope he doesn’t listen to my conversation. I’m only going to make a quick call to my bestie in New York. Of course I don’t absolutehaveto do that. But I want to.
I head up to the place Finn pointed out to me, and I’m relieved when he hangs back a little, putting at least a couple meters between us. This guy really does have a bee in his bonnet about having to protect me. It fills me up with a kinda warm feeling. Almost like I’ve been craving this kind of attention without realizing it.
I get my phone out of my pocket and I almost laugh with relief when I see that I have one bar of reception. I find Sadie in my list of favorites and she picks up after just two rings. Thank god for best friends.
Sadie’s a Little, too. We have playdates from time to time, and just generally hang. We met through this online forum for Littles a few years ago, and hit it off straight away. I don’t know what I’d do without her.
‘Addy, baby! How’s it going, lovely? How was the leaving party? Are you with your sis?’
I laugh. ‘Whoa, that’s a lot of questions, Sadie. Slow down!’ It’s so good to hear Sadie’s voice. Makes this crazy situation I’m in now feel a little less crazy.
‘Sorry, I’ve just missed you, baba. I can’t believe you had to leave New York like that. I wish I could’ve helped out, had you crash on my couch for a few days, but you know what Lisa’s like.’
‘I sure do.’ Lisa owns Sadie’s apartment, and Sadie rents the room off her. She’s a bit older than us, and pretty strict and old-fashioned. Won’t even let Sadie have boyfriends over to stay the night, let alone a best friend couch-surfing for several. If she knew that Sadie was a BDSM-loving, diaper-wearing Little, she’d no doubt totally freak!
‘I’m so angry about everything that’s happened. I still can’t believe some meanie stranger would destroy your business just like that. And I can’t believe you’ve had to leave New York. The whole city misses you!’
I sit down, cross-legged on the forest floor and let out a loud exhalation. ‘Yeah. I can’t believe it either. And actually, Sadie, it’s about to get even weirder.’ I glance at Finn. He’s looking around the forest, as though listening out for something. His hand is hovering over his pocket. He’s not carrying agun, right now, is he? ‘My sister said I couldn’t stay at her place. She’s sent me to a cabin in the Rockies.’
‘What? Are you serious? That soundsfreakingamazing.’
‘Yeah. It does, doesn’t it? On paper.’
‘You don’t want to go?’
‘Oh I’m here already,’ I say. ‘It’s just… a little different to what I was expecting.’
‘How come? Don’t you like it? You love the mountains, right?’
‘I do. I just.’ I lower my voice and cover my mouth with my hand so I’m barely audible. ‘I don’t like the company.’
‘You means bears and stuff?’
Finn is staring straight at me now. He can sense I’m talking about him, I swear. Even in the dusky light, his eyes are still a piercing blue. It makes him look like a superhero or something, like maybe his superpower is X-ray vision, and he can see rightintome.
