Page 83 of Blitzing Emily

BRANDON PULLED AWAY,grabbing the edge of the blanket and flinging it over them. “Shhh. They’ll be gone in a minute.”

Emily heard footsteps and voices. A group of people walked on the path, which was probably twenty-five feet away. Brandon did his best to conceal her, but he was almost completely exposed.

“We need to do something,” she whispered.

“Stay still.”

It was all Emily could do to remain immobile. She wanted to move. She could lose herself in him. But first, they needed to lose the intruders.

Emily heard a young boy shouting, “Hey. What are those people doing over there?” She heard running footsteps and even more voices, which were a little too close for comfort. “They’re naked. Dad, look.”

“Boys, you shouldn’t see this.” The more the man must have tried to herd his kids away, the closer they came. Emily looked up into Brandon’s face in a panic. She saw a flush high on his cheekbones. She knew he was probably as embarrassed as she was, but he was doing his best to remain calm.

An older male’s voice rang out. “Hey. Aren’t you Brandon McKenna?”

If Brandon moved, he’d expose Emily. If he didn’t move, one of them was going to ask him for an autograph.

“Get out of here,” Brandon ground out.

“You’re fornicating in a public place,” the adult male informed Brandon.

Brandon’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “Thanks for letting me know. Take your kids and leave.”

“Do you know what effect this will have on young, impressionable boys?”

Brandon laid a hand over the side of Emily’s face so the guy couldn’t see it. “The longer you stand here, the more they’re going to see. Get out. Now. Just go.”

Emily heard a chorus of young voices:

“What are they doing, Dad? Why don’t they have any clothes on?”

“My parents do that, too. They told me they were wrestling.”

“I can see his butt.”

“What’s ‘fornicating’?”

“Oh, my God,” she whispered to Brandon. Her heart was pounding. Her cheeks were burning with embarrassment. She could feel Brandon’s body tensing against hers as he tried to pull more of the blanket over them with his free hand.

Finally the group’s footsteps moved off down the path. Brandon waited until all was silent again, and rolled off of her.

“I’m so sorry,” he said.

“For what? It’s not like we invited them.”

“I don’t think they saw you. Well, I hope not.”

Emily stroked his face. “You were so sweet to protect me.”

“Naked wrestling,” he mused.

She couldn’t help it; she laughed. At first, Brandon looked a bit annoyed, and then he threw his head back and roared right along with her.

“So much for the big romantic moment,” Emily said.

“That’s me, Mr. Romance. I finally get a beautiful naked woman all to myself, and the Cub Scouts come calling.”

They laughed until they cried, and then Brandon and Emily dressed each other. It took a little longer to zip and snap and button than it did to get the clothes off in the first place. They lay back on the blanket again.

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