Chapter Seven
Lilly
That was one big Swede. I could not help but stare at his size and yes, he was extremely handsome. Despite his height and muscularity, he moved gracefully, at least in the short time I
watched him. His friend was less attractive than he was but the two seemed really into one another. They were constantly whispering into each other's ears, laughing and touching. Eve had a thick accent and did not seem to understand much English which was disappointing since that meant I would be forced to talk to Bullet all weekend.
Like a moody teenager my feelings fluctuated between excitement and trepidation. What was I doing here? That was a question I had been asking myself since I walked down the stairs of my apartment. Either this was the best idea or the worst, and unfortunately, it was too soon to tell. Well, I knew that if it went bad I was going to blame Kate. She had been gung ho, even envious about this trip and me, being the susceptible friend that I am, agreed with her. Bullet and Rafe talked about work; apparently somehow these two were connected in the surgical field. Although I highly doubted that Rafe, with his oversized hands, could perform anything as delicate as a surgery. Eve smiled at me. I took it as an opportunity to engage in conversation with her. "So are you in the medical field also?" She giggled and then giggled some more. After a minute or two, it began to feel uncomfortable.
Rafe leaned forward. "You will have to forgive Eve. She does not understand much English and she gets nervous meeting strangers."
"Okay..." She said something to Rafe in another language and the two of them shared a laugh. I hoped I wasn't the subject of their humor. Bullet's hand clasped mine.
"Do you need more champagne? Do you need anything at all?" His tone was friendly, helpful, but I declined. I wanted to keep my wits about me this time.
"No, thank you. I think I have had enough for now." More uncomfortable silence. I might as well make the best of it; my brain searched for conversational topics. I mean the whole weekend couldn't be about sex could it? "You are in Kansas City so often I'm surprised that you do not live there. When do you go home?"
"I go home as often as I can which is never as much as I like, but traveling is part of the job. I actually live in Des Moines but I am home about one week out of the month. I am looking forward to getting away from everything for a little while this weekend. Do you travel much?"
"Not in a very long time. My whole life has been all about school for the past few years." The airplane took off down the runway and my stomach lurched. Take off and landings were my least favorite part of air travel.
"Not a fan of flying?"
"It's a long story. At least it is only a short flight. Tell me about the cabin. You say it is a lakeside cabin?" Think about something else, anything else. I smiled at Bullet. He was a handsome man even if I was not a huge fan of his at times.
"Yes. My cabin is right beside Blue Springs Lake, I have a few acres there. There are some great views if the conditions are right. Morning fog can be a problem this time of year but once it burns away, you will see an endless stretch of trees and a smooth, glassy lake. Are you much of a naturist?" Bullet ran his hands through his dark wavy hair. He looked intently at me.
"If I could spend every minute outdoors I would. I love being outside- that is why I spend so much time with my sporting club. I have been to Heritage Lake quite a few times but never Blue Springs. I can’t wait to see it. Do you think we will have time to do some sightseeing?"
Bullet's deep laugh gave me a clue about his intentions. If he had his way, I figured we would be indoors all weekend. I flushed a little suddenly feeling very aware that I had left my panties at home. "I am sure we will have some time to check out the local flora and fauna. Did you bring your camera?"
I shook my head. "No I was kind of in a rush—last-minute crisis with my friend Kate. I forgot all about it. Oh well."
"No worries," Rafe piped in, "you can borrow our camera. Just ignore any photos you see on there. Some may be quite shocking. Eve is a bit of a camera fanatic and I think her favorite subject is me. Isn't that right, Eve?" The tiny woman beside him flashed her white teeth.
Those two made me uncomfortable. I did not even know why Bullet felt the need to invite them. Did he owe Rafe a favor or something? I hope he didn't have anything weird in mind. I was not going to be coerced into some sort of foursome or threesome. I took a peek at Bullet but he was staring out the window lost in his own thoughts. He looked like a model in his white linen shirt and tan pants. He wore casual leather shoes and a silver chain on his wrist. As always, Dr. Bullet Steinmann smelled like a million bucks. Sometime this weekend, I hoped to find out exactly what kind of cologne he wore.
I stretched my legs in front of me; they were sore from spin class that morning. My trainer, Gina, knew how to make me sweat. Rafe, who sat directly across from me smiled and stared at my legs Instinctively, I tucked them under my seat and looked away. Bullet continued to stare out the window and Rafe continued to stare at me. Eve was just happy to be there smiling at all of us, probably wondering what we were saying.
I closed my eyes and pretended that I was back at my audition. The streams of music from the audition piece played in my head. I felt peaceful again. It did not take long for that peace to be broken. The couple across from me decided to engage in what I can only describe as an intense make out session. At first it was just a passionate kiss, which was easy to ignore but the couple didn't stop there. Eve made little noises while she kissed Rafe and his hands flew everywhere, on her breasts, neck and you-name-it. Oh my God! Is anyone else seeing this?
I looked nervously at the two men across the aisle forced to watch this excessive display of affection. One was asleep and the other was definitely entertained. Thankfully, he had a blanket covering his lap but I could see his hand moving. I didn't make eye contact. Bullet whispered to me, "Don't let them bother you. Rafe can get carried away sometimes but he's harmless, just a bit of a show off."
"Aren't you going to say something to him? I mean, he is drawing some attention here. They could have at least gotten seats that weren't facing everyone." I felt my cheeks burning pink. I was just about ready to ask them to stop myself.
"Would it surprise you to know that Rafe requested those seats? He likes people to watch him; kind of a performance artist in a way." His breath was warm on my neck and I felt my body respond to his closeness, however, my brain wasn't on board yet.
"What? You mean you knew he did this kind of stuff?" Bullet did not answer me, just flashed me his surreptitious smirk.
He stroked my cheek with his finger and Rafe paused long enough to smile at us. Candy, the "friendly" air hostess whispered something to the couple and they stopped their romantic shenanigans. Rafe's light skin was red from the physical contact with Eve's tinted lip gloss. He seemed oblivious, just happy—and proud. Eve snuggled up to him and closed her eyes. The pilot announced our approach to the airport. Thank God! I could not wait to get out of here. So far, my "fantasy" weekend was not turning out the way I wanted it.
Chapter Eight
Bullet
From the plane to the ferry, Lilly had not said a word. At my request, Rafe and Eve took a separate car. She was furious and the situation called for some smoothing over. It was going to be a long twenty-minute ride across the lake to the cabin. Maybe I had overplayed my hand by inviting Rafe and his partner. I honestly had no plans of luring her into bed with them — on the contrary, I wanted her all to myself. We sat in the rental car on the deck of the ferry with the other couple in the car behind us. It was completely dark now with only a few stars in the sky. Here I was sitting next to the girl of my dreams and she was not talking to me.
"Care to do some stargazing? The view can be breathtaking out here in the middle of the lake with no lights around to dim the lights overhead." She did not answer me but sat in the car with her arms and legs crossed staring out the window. I waited a minute but she did not respond. Cursing, I climbed out of the vehicle and walked to the railing. The water from the lake sloshed against the boat as it began to move. The ferry ride over to the cabin only took a few minutes but every time I experienced the sensation of the waves sloshing and the gentle lake breeze, it felt like I was leaving the world behind. You have no one to blame but yourself. Why did I invite Rafe? It was almost as if I wanted to sabotage myself — sabotage any relationship I may have with Lilly. Yeah, that is exactly what happened.