Perfection 3

Chapter One

Lilly

The sun streamed through the big picture window—it was nice waking up seeing the lake and the sun rising over it. I lay under the cool sheets enjoying the scenery and thinking about my vacation with Bullet. It wasn’t what I expected but honestly I had not expected very much. Bullet was smart, sexy—the guy could definitely get his own spread in Playboy Magazine. But there was one hitch—he was a complete and utter jerk. I sighed and stared out across the lake. What a waste of guy! I thought that I had feelings for him but he effectively killed that thinking with his tawdry offer. Just thinking of it made me feel cheap and disgusted.

When I left his room last night, I was ready to steal his car and leave, but a deal was a deal. He promised to give me the boob job of my dreams in exchange for a weekend with him at his cabin. However, he failed to tell me that his creepy friends would be joining us. Rafe and Eve were a walking porno, ready to do it wherever and whenever they could. Now they wanted to include us in their shenanigans. Bullet said just to watch but I knew there would be more to it than that. I wasn’t going for it. After I shed a few tears and took yet another shower, I thought about Bullet’s offer. Of course, I would never consent to that but I kind of got the impression that he was fishing, testing me. Was it a test? Perhaps he wanted to see just how far I’d go? Well, now he knew.

What would make him think that I would want to participate in a threesome or a foursome? Was I sending off some kind of weird vibe? Was I being too promiscuous? I mean, I fell into bed with him after seeing him out at a dance club just once. Maybe he thought of me as some kind of tramp, there for the taking. I didn’t know but now here I was, wishing he were different, that he cared about me and wanted me for something other than sex.

I rolled over in the bed, feeling lazy and again, a little sore in certain places. I had to admit that Bullet knew how to make love to a woman. I had even told him that—maybe I shouldn’t have. Oh well, too late now. You can’t go back and unmeet someone, can you? Now I knew how good he was and I still wanted him, but I wanted him on my terms. What was going to happen? We only had a little time left together before our weekend came to an end.

I could hear laughter from the living room so I hurriedly put on some pajamas, ran a brush through my hair and walked down. Rafe and Eve were sitting together in front of the fireplace chatting with Bullet. I wondered if he was breaking the bad news to them. Sorry guys. My uptight date isn’t going for it. Dressed for hiking, Bullet wore a grey, fleece jacket, dark blue jeans and hiking boots. The three chatted about something amusing and stopped talking when I walked in. How should I approach this? Be natural—and polite! “Good morning.”

Eve smiled and said something that sounded like “good morning.” Rafe grinned his greeting but Bullet simply scowled at me. “Are we going hiking?” I asked him in as friendly of a voice as I could muster.

“No, we aren’t but I am. Cold front moved in last night and it’s a bit chilly out. Why don’t you stay here and have some breakfast. Andre is making omelets and there is fresh fruit and coffee in the dining room.” His deep voice was all courteousness but his expression said something entirely different. I could see there was friction there. Bullet wasn’t happy with me—not in the least.

“No thanks. I’d rather go for a hike.” I returned his icy stare with one of my own. I got the feeling that he didn’t want me to tag along. I guess he was none too happy with me. Gee whiz, is sexing with your friends really that important or is this a pride thing? I refrained from asking that question but there it was, on the tip of my tongue. Andre called from the dining room, letting the guests know that breakfast was served. An excited Rafe and Eve bounced out of the room leaving Bullet and I to continue our staring contest in private. “What’s the deal, Bullet? Is this about last night?”

“Is what about what? I like exercising by myself in the mornings. It’s kind of my thing; it’s probably the only spiritual thing about me. No offense but I’d rather be by myself right now.” His dark blue eyes were cold and serious.

“So that’s all I’m here for this weekend? I’m basically a blow-up doll with a pulse? Some kind of hooker that you call to your room when you want to have sex? That’s not going to fly with me, Bullet. I am not that kind of girl and I don’t appreciate being treated like I am.” I felt my pulse racing and of course, my face reddened.

He slid off the edge of the couch and stood up, all six foot of him. “If I wanted a hooker, I would have called one. Listen, I don’t know what you think this weekend is but it isn’t a date—we’re not in a relationship. I asked you to keep me entertained and that was it. You’ve made it clear where the boundaries are and like I said, I’m not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to do.”

I stomped my foot at him. “No, you’ll just ignore me, right?” I did not want to admit that the date comment stung a little. I knew this was no date—I didn’t need him to remind me.

Bullet walked toward the door, tapping on his watch to set his timer. “I am going on a hike. I don’t have the time or the will to argue with you. I will be back in a few hours. We will talk more then. Goodbye.” With that, he walked out the front door, slamming it behind him.

“Well, this sure feels like a relationship!” I yelled at him. Andre popped in to see what was happening but I pushed past him and ran up the stairs. From the window of my bedroom, I could see Bullet walking down the hiking trail and into the woods. “He thinks he’s having the last word? I am having the last word!” I rummaged through my clothing and grabbed some clothing. I put them on as fast as I could, half lacing my tennis shoes. I ran back down the stairs and out the front door, thankful that no one tried to stop me. I talked to myself the whole way, swearing and kicking rocks.

About the time I stepped on to the hiking trail, I had to ask myself, “Okay, what’s my plan? Tag along when I am clearly not wanted? Force him to talk to me?” I had to admit I had no plan but that wasn’t going to stop me from following him. I would not have Bullet control me like that, telling me where I could go and where I couldn’t. Besides, there was no way I was staying alone at the cabin with Rafe and Eve. I had seen their naked bodies enough already.

The hiking trail was a little sandy at first, but soon the canopy of fir trees took over the sky above and the ground became harder. It was strewn with leaves, pine cones and broken branches. The trail came to a fork and I stood wondering which trail to take but it was easy enough to detect. The ground was soft, perfect for tracking. Truth be told, I knew nothing about tracking but I had watched more than my share of mystery shows on television.

Not to say I wasn’t outdoors a lot. As a sporting enthusiast, I spent plenty of my weekends and holidays outdoors, but that was usually in the company of a half dozen or more friends and none of us were people who lived in the country. I guess technically, I was kind of a city mouse or a city slicker rather than a country girl. It didn’t matter; I was so mad that I didn’t think about the dangers of running off

into the wild unknown—until I was already there. I could hear the birds on the nearby lake and heard small animals stirring up leaves looking for acorns. I continued on, following Bullet’s footprints, determined to see where he was going. As I climbed small hills and difficult terrain, I breathed a little harder but it did feel invigorating. I missed my daily workouts and this felt good.

I began to try to guess the birds I heard singing and I spied more than one squirrel. Even a rabbit skittered across the path. Then everything went quiet, no birdsong, no animals; I suddenly got the feeling I was being watched. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. I paused on the path and looked around me. I didn’t see anything but I took the opportunity to calm my heart and adjust my ponytail. I couldn’t shake the almost paranoid feeling of apprehension and fear that crept over me. In my heightened mental state, I toyed with the idea of running at full speed in the other direction but I talked myself out of it.