Chapter Three
Christian
This was the way shitty horror movies played out. Christian was certain of it. At this point in the film, the audience in the theater would be screaming at the screen, advising him not to follow the naked guy any deeper into the woods. So why was he? Why was he willingly submitting to whatever was waiting for him at this so-called cabin, which was probably nothing more than a “kill room” inside a hunting shack.
He was suddenly regretting binge-watching several seasons of Dexter episodes just last weekend because this was all too reminiscent of that very show. If he saw so much as one scrap of plastic sheeting anywhere near this cabin of Derek's, he was running as fast as his scraped up legs would carry him in the opposite direction.
He was pretty sure this wasn't the kind of adrenaline rush his friends were suggesting he experience, nor would they be congratulating him on his new woodland friend who had a penchant for walking around in the buff.
“So, which option are you going with?” Derek asked.
“What'd you mean?”
“Do you want a ride to your car or are you staying?” Derek explained further.
“Oh, I don't know,” Christian faltered a bit on his words.
“Well, if you stay at my place, then you can get an early start tomorrow on your hike—on the right trail,” Derek suggested. “It would make up for you getting lost today.”
“I don't want to put you out,” Christian said politely.
“Oh, please. This isn't the Ritz. It's a cabin in the woods,” Derek said and chuckled. “If you want me to take you to your car, it's about a ten-minute drive to the parking lot. But they close the park at dusk, and I don't think I'd be able to get you to your car before they lock the gate.”
“Shit. Then I guess I don't really have much of a choice,” Christian said.
“Try and rein in your excitement,” Derek said and rolled his eyes at Christian.
“I didn't mean it like that,” Christian tried to apologize. “It's just this entire day hasn't gone the way I planned, so I guess it makes sense it ends the same way.”
They walked a little more with the only sounds around them being the birds overhead and the crunch of leaves and sticks beneath their feet.
“What brought you out to Mongoose Park,” Derek asked, “versus some of the other parks in the area?”
The question pulled Christian out of his own thoughts, and he missed most of what Derek had asked. He glanced at Derek and tried to think of a quick answer to a question he hadn't really been paying attention to, but nothing came out of his mouth.
“Most hikers come to Mongoose to scale the Longhorn,” Derek added. “I'm guessing that's what drew you here as well.”
Christian remembered reading about the outcropping of rock the seasoned hikers referred to as the Longhorn, but that wasn't why he'd made the forty-five-minute drive to the park.
“I've been trying to visit all the popular hiking spots within an hour's drive of where I live,” Christian explained. “My friends thought I should spend more time outdoors, so ... here I am.”
“How long have you been hiking?”
“A couple of months,” Christian admitted. “I've been trying new places every weekend.”
“Have you tried Griffin's Trail over off of the 101?” Derek asked.
“I did that hike two weekends ago,” Christian answered. “It was pretty good.”
“Well, if you're interested in climbing the Longhorn tomorrow, I'd be happy to play trail guide for you,” Derek offered.
“What's the difficulty level on that?” Christian asked. “I'm only an intermediate hiker.”
“Intermediate, you say? Are you sure about that?” Derek asked with a smirk.
“Fine, my skill level is probably closer to an advanced beginner,” Christian admitted. “Are you happy to hear me emasculate myself by saying that out loud?”
Derek laughed heartily, then looked at Christian. “The Longhorn is for seasoned hikers, but I know a back route in that's a lot easier,” he explained. “Plus, my route takes you by the waterfall, which is pretty cool to see. Most of the city douches hiking here miss the waterfall because they're more interested in stroking their egos by climbing up the face of the Longhorn. Stupid fuckers. They're missing the best parts of the park.”
They walked a little bit further in silence, then Christian asked, “So this cabin of yours ...”
“It has one bedroom plus a loft, so you'll have your own space to sleep,” Derek described, “and I even have indoor plumbing. How about that? Outside shower only, though, or if you feel like it, you can walk back to the lake and clean up there.”
“The shower is fine,” Christian said.
“Full disclosure on the shower. It has no privacy. It's literally a pipe I ran from my water well and attached to the side of a tree, and it has a shower head on the end of it,” Derek amended. “Meaning: you'll be standing outside naked while you wash up in cold water. I promise not to look if that means anything to you.”
Christian saw Derek's smile and the mischievous twinkle in his eyes and couldn't help but laugh himself. In all seriousness, it must be pretty cool to have a place out in the woods to do whatever the hell you felt like without worrying about who was watching. As long as Derek didn't turn out to be Dexter, this night might turn out to be quite interesting.
They came off the main trail and onto a narrower path when Christian saw the cabin come into view. It was nestled in a nice grove of trees about thirty feet in front of them. A full wraparound deck jutted out from the front of the A-frame structure with a smaller balcony off the second floor. Christian guessed that was the loft space Derek had referred to. As they got closer, Christian saw how nicely kept everything was with deck furniture placed just so and a stone fire pit built on one end like an outside fireplace.
“Jesus, this place is awesome,” Christian remarked.
“I like it,” Derek shrugged. “I mean, it might not be five stars on Yelp, but it is to me.”
“Do you live here?”
“From May until end of October, this is my primary home,” Derek said. “The rest of the year, when it's cold, I live in the city.”
“That's where I live year-round,” Christian said. “It's why I've been escaping to the woods on the weekends.”
“And it's why I built out here,” Derek said.
“You built this place?”
“Well, me and my ex built it,” Derek explained. “I can't take credit for doing it all by myself.”
“She must have been one hell of a pioneer woman to be willing to do that on her time off,” Christian scoffed.
“My ex is a he, and he's a builder by trade,” Derek revealed.
“Ohhhh.”
“Yeah, I'm into dudes,” Derek admitted. “Still want to risk staying here with me, or take a bigger risk by walking back to the parking lot in the dark and sleep in your car?”
Christian shook his head and swallowed hard. “No, I'm fine,” he said quietly.
“What was that?”
“I said, I don't have a problem with that,” Christian said a little louder.
“Wow, you're bothered by my nakedness but not my gayness.” Derek joked. “Interesting conundrum.”
Derek walked up the steps to his deck and turned the knob of his cabin without using a key.
“You don't bother locking it?” Christian asked.
“No real need to when I'm here,” Derek answered. “If I leave to head back to the city I lock up, but not when I'm just down the trail at the lake. Besides, where would I carry a key?” He laughed at his own joke, but Christian pointed to his foot.
“Your boot,” Christian said. “You could carry the cabin key in your boot.”
“Smartass,” Derek muttered as he stepped into his living room.
Christian was right behind him, carefully examining the room for any signs of danger, then he rolled his eyes at himself. If Derek truly was a serial killer, Christian doubted he'd leave evidence of his crimes spread out on his coffee table.
Instead, Christian saw a tidy place with bookshelves against one wall, filled with books referring to birds and wild animals, and magazines about fishing and home design, too. His eyes caught a sunny space at the back of the open floor plan and noticed a sink and a stove. A small dinette table and two chairs sat against the wall below a window.
Above his head, an overhang of the second floor loft space and a set of fold-down stairs were to the left. A stone fireplace took up most of one wall that made up the living room, where a couch and a comfortable looking chair was positioned adjacent to everything. The one thing Christian didn't see was a television and that had him looking for lights run by electricity.
“I can see your wheels turning, Christian. It's rustic, but I have an indoor toilet, running water, and power. Any heat I need comes from that fireplace or a blanket.”
Jesus, it was like Derek could read his mind, and he suddenly wondered what else he might be able to detect about him. Christian set down his backpack on the floor beside the couch. “Mind if I use your toilet?” he asked.
“Go ahead,” Derek said from the kitchen. “It's the door on the left beside the bedroom.”
Christian found the bathroom easy enough. It'd be pretty difficult to get lost in a cabin this small, but he did pause long enough to glance into Derek's bedroom. It was neat, like the rest of the cabin, with the sheets and a light-weight bedspread pulled up beneath two pillows at the headboard of the queen-sized bed and what looked like an antique wrought iron frame, which possibly might have been polished brass years ago when it was new. Now, it fit the rustic appeal of the well-used and homey cabin.
The bathroom was the size of a coat closet with nothing more than a tiny sink, a mirror above it, and a toilet. A wooden frame hanging on the wall beside the toilet had a message behind the glass that read: If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, wash it down.
That had Christian grinning while he pissed. He reached for the handle to flush and then remembered the framed message he'd just read and stopped. After tucking himself back into his shorts, he returned to the living room.
“Wanna beer?” Derek asked. “Or a bottle of water?”
“What are you having?” Christian asked.
“Beer.”
“Okay, then I'll have the same,” Christian said and smiled.
“I've been marinating a steak all day for dinner, and there's plenty for both of us,” Derek said as he handed Christian a bottle of chilled beer from the refrigerator. “I'll get a fire started in the pit out there, where we can hang out for a bit before I throw the steak on the grill.”
Christian walked behind Derek out to the deck. The guy was still happily naked as he went about his tasks as if it were nothing. Well, to him it was nothing, but to Christian, it was everything. The more he was around Derek, the more he kept staring at all the bits he wasn't supposed to be looking at—like right now—with the creepy way his eyes were locked onto Derek's tanned back and perfect ass.
He sat down in one of the Adirondack chairs, and while he sipped his beer, he watched Derek get the fire pit going. It was dusk now, and the flames gave the deck a nice, warm glow. The peacefulness of his surroundings had Christian closing his eyes to absorb it all.
“You should shower before we eat,” Derek said to him. He tossed another log onto the burning fire and looked over his shoulder at Christian. “Go ahead. There's clean towels hanging on the clothes line on the side of the cabin. Everything you need is sitting on top of a small plastic table out by the shower.”
“Are you sure?” Christian asked. “I can help you here if you need me to.”
“Go get cleaned up,” Derek insisted. “By the time you finish, I'll have the grilling started.”
Christian stood up from his seat but hesitated. Derek waved him to follow and took him down the stairs from the deck and around the corner of the cabin. He turned on the water at the outside faucet then pointed to the shower, which was about fifteen feet away and positioned on the tree. “Towel is hanging there,” he pointed. “Soap and shampoo are on the table. You can turn the water on using the valve on the shower head itself.” He started to walk away, then stopped to face Christian again. “If you need anything, give me a shout.”
It was the fastest shower Christian had ever taken due to the cold water coming from the spigot, but Derek was right about being naked outside. It felt fucking fantastic. Not that he'd be admitting that anytime soon. He finished up and then dried off just as quickly as he showered. He started to pull on his dirty clothes, but changed his mind. Instead, he wrapped the towel around his waist and walked back over to the front deck. When he reached the top step, he saw Derek leaning up against the railing and staring off into the woods. Beside his elbow was a bottle of tequila and two shot glasses.
“I swear I didn't peek,” Derek announced when Christian walked closer. Then he looked and did a double take at Christian wearing just the towel. “Careful there, you’re damn close to being naked outside.”
“Not naked like you are.” Christian joked.
“The night's young,” Derek said and and tossed back a shot of the tequila. “How was the shower?”
“Cold, but refreshing.”
“Here, do this shot,” Derek requested. “That'll warm you right up.”
“Trying to get me drunk?”
“Only if you want to be,” Derek countered.