Page 38 of The Cabin

“I’m a divorcee who got cheated on. I’m not so good at that these days.”

“Sol, I’ve got you.” Mush. Pile of bones. Heart melted. It's the sincerity. It’s the sincerity and the dominance that have me drowning in him, quietly suffering inside my mind. SOL, HE IS UNAVAILABLE.

La dee dah dee dah. Huh? Sorry…I wasn’t listening.

Turns out, he does have me. He guides us down the rocks, (we’re not even going to think about having to climb up this monstrosity on the way back) holding my hand and telling me where to put my feet. He steadies me by my waist or shoulders, which actually just makes me stumble more because I can’t think when he touches me.

At the bottom he helps me jump down from one last rock and I use a little bit too much force, causing me to stumble right into him. “Oof.”

Arms encircle me. “You good?”

“Uh...” Can’t think straight. “Yeah, sorry.” I try to take a step back because I’m feeling very awkward but he doesn’t let go. He just holds me like that for a little. It is everything I want and also my worst nightmare. “Um. Thanks. For your help. I appreciate you not letting me fall to my death or anything.”

His eyes are so serious, so pensive. “I told you, I’ve got you.” He turns then, leading us on, but his hand sneaks back over to hold mine. Yes. This is very normal. We are in the woods. We could get lost from each other. You DO NOT need to make this something it is not. We’ve established he’s a nice guy. He’s doing nice guy things. And you would do well to remember that, missy. *Wags finger at self*

I clear my throat. “Uh, how much longer do you think?”

“We’re not far.”

“You know, I’ve never complimented you on how eloquent you are. Sometimes I am blown away by your lyrical prose”.

“You’ve never complimented me, period.”

“I literally complimented the work you did on the cabin twice. Last night and today, just now.”

“Oh, wait. You did call me Mr. Big, Strong, and Sexy one time.” He looks out the side of his eyes deviously.

“I was drunk. I had no idea what I was saying.”

“Drunk words are sober thoughts.”

“Really? Because I was also thinking I should chop off your balls when I thought you were married. Well, you are married. When you weren’t separated, I guess. Anyway, should I have taken that as a sign to do it the next day after my hangover subsided?”

His hand tenses up and he lets mine go. “Just on paper.”

“You know what I mean.” I wave in his direction but I can see he’s gone, retreated into himself.

His next sentence is a bit forced. “Yeah, I guess I wouldn’t want that.”

What happened? How did I mess this up? Fix it, fix it, fix it…uh…

“Have you been to this secret destination a lot?”

He runs a hand down his face and stands a little taller. “I don’t know about a lot, but enough.” Our steps slow as he takes in his surroundings for a moment, clearly finding what he’s looking for and changing our direction.

It only takes a minute or two to figure out where we’re going.

“Oh, I’ve been here! I just didn’t recognize the path coming from your cabin instead of mine. Well, that and it’s been over a decade since the last time I came up.”

We’re down where the creek in front of my cabin eventually turns into a big watering hole. It’s deep enough to actually swim and we used to bring sandwiches and sit on the rocks, jumping in the water in between bites. Ugh. Speaking of sandwiches, I am so freaking hungry. I rest a hand on my stomach thinking about how moronic I am for not eating. Just to prove a stupid point.

Grayson huffs in annoyance, taking his backpack off and crouching over it. Low and freaking behold, he pulls out a sandwich and thrusts it in my direction.

“Did you make this?”

He stands, moving closer to the water and grumbles, “You didn’t eat, so.”

The goofiest of grins takes residence on my face. This is different from Nice Grayson or Genuine Grayson. This is Cute Grayson and I consider his arrival an offensive strike towards me, to which I am utterly defenseless.

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