Ford
It’s fucking hot.
I can feel the sweat pouring off me. And that sun has a nasty sting to it.
Man, I wish I could take a breather in the shade, but I feel all the eyes of the villagers on me, at least those who are out in this heat.
I bet there are more of them watching from inside their dwellings.
“You have water.” A little boy hands me a small wooden bowl.
For a second, I stare at my reflection in the surface and wonder how many million bugs are floating in the liquid. Since it would be rude to refuse the kind gesture, I grimace and drink it all in one go.
My constitution is strong enough to withstand the onslaught of whatever is in the water. Fingers crossed.
“Asante,” I say, and hand him the bowl back.
His dirty face breaks into a smile.
I watch as he runs off.
“Coming along nicely?”
Without looking at Adelaide, I go back to digging.
“Should have it done in a few hours.” I grunt, keeping my head down.
“You should be using sunscreen, you know,” she tells me, and I shrug.
“I’m fine,” I lie.
Truth is, my skin feels a little taut already. But I can’t admit my mistake.
Men like me don’t fucking make mistakes.
My pick digs into the soil, and my muscles contract as I pull it back out.
With the continuous drought, the ground is rock hard. If we were to do this in the rain, it would be a lot easier.
Life, though, isn’t meant to be easy, is it?
Although I have no fucking idea who came up with that saying, and why it is so.
I mean, why isn’t it easy? Would it be so bad for all of us if it were?
What the fuck am I doing now?
I’m no philosopher. No point dwelling on something I can’t work out, anyway.
“Well, if you’re sure,” I hear her say before the shadow on the ground tells me she’s walking away.
She’s probably got patients to see and bones to heal and stuff.
Briefly, I straighten up. I think it’s probably too fucking late to put my shirt back on, so I stay the way I am.
With any luck, I won’t be too burned.
My skin is pretty resilient most of the time. I did get severely sun burnt a long time ago, when I was a little boy. Mom had told me not to take my shirt off, but of course, I hadn’t listened.
Boy, did it fucking hurt.
By the time the afternoon shade comes to give me some welcome reprieve, I know I’m going to pay a high fucking price for my stubbornness.
Is it stubbornness or foolishness?
Deep down, I blame the monkey.
If the fucking monkey hadn’t gotten to my stuff, I would still have sunscreen, and I’d be fine right now.
Of course I can’t be sure, but I recall seeing the empty tube, and the white lotion all over the monkey.
Cheeky fucking critter.
“Wow,” Adelaide’s voice from behind rouses me out of my reverie. “You were right. It’s nearly finished.”
The excitement in her voice instantly eases the pain from my back.
“Just about.” I grumble and look at her. “You’re armed with something strong there, I hope?”
She raises her eyebrows in response, and hands me a mug.
“It’s tea. I’ve made it strong, black, and sweet.” Her smile is enough for me. “Thought you might need a bit of a pick-me-up. A nice cup of strong tea can do wonders for your stamina.”
“I bet,” I mumble, and bring my lips to the edge of the mug.
As I take a sip, I watch her. She’s just so fucking perfect.
My eyes involuntarily drop down to where the last button of her shirt hides the forbidden fruit.
To ease my pain, I let myself imagine what it would feel like for my hands to cup those delicious looking tits, and then suck on each nipple, one at a time.
“Sorry?” I think she must have said something.
“I was wondering if you wanted to have a meal that I’ll be preparing tonight, as opposed to that crap food you’ve brought with you.”
I look at her, taken aback.
“You’re offering to cook for me? Why?”
She shrugs.
“You’ve been slaving your gut out today to help these people, I thought it’s the least I could do as a thank you.”
Was there a catch? Of course not.
What would be the catch, anyway? Dig more fucking trenches, I suppose.
“I guess.” I know I don’t sound as grateful and appreciative as I should, but truth be told, my back is killing me.
“Gee, don’t sound too enthusiastic, or I might think you’re actually going to enjoy yourself.”
She walks off before I can say anything else.
“I’ll see you later,” she calls over her shoulder.
I grunt.
When I’m finally finished, I feel like I’m going to die.
Well, maybe not quite, but fuck, my back is sore. It feels as if it’s on fucking fire.
Even when I slip my shirt on, the pain is excruciating.
Thank fucking god we’re on water rations. At least this way, there’s no fucking risk of needing an excuse to not have a shower.
***
“Hey,” I spin around, and find myself face to face with Adelaide.
“Hi,” I growl, and move gingerly from the door of her hut to the living area.
“You can sit down.” She smiles at me. “It’s not extra.”
I shake my head.
The problem with sitting down is my back might touch the back of the chair, and that would be a fucking disaster.
For a minute or so, she just stands and looks at me. I do my best to give her the most nonchalant look I can muster.
I mean, it’s not as if I can whine or complain. There are people seriously sick in this village.
I, on the other hand, am only suffering from sunburn, inflicted by my own stupid hand.
“You okay?”
I nod.
She takes a step toward me. My heart starts beating faster.
“You sure you’re okay?”
Suddenly my throat feels terribly dry.
“Yep,” I mumble.
Now she’s only inches away from me. She folds her arms in front of her, and tilts her head to the side.
Gosh, she looks fucking hot. Even in my current state, I’d love to just grab her and wrap my arms around her, although I don’t think I would want her arms around me.
“You’re not fine, are you.” It’s a statement, and not a question. “In fact, I’d say you’re just the opposite.”
I’m so parched now I feel as if I’ve been in the desert without water for forty-five days.
“Turn around.”
I stare at her.
She inches toward me.
“Turn around, and let me look at your back.”
With her eyes blazing and her voice starting to become commanding, I do as I’m told.
“You better go and lie down on the cot so I can apply some soothing lotion to that.”
Again, I don’t offer resistance.
“Okay, boss,” I mumble, and do as I’m told.
The cool gel on my burning skin is a big relief.
Her fingers rubbing it in, pure fucking torture.
“Why didn’t you say something?”
Her question throws me.
“About what?”
“Your sunburn,” she says softly.
The way her fingers are running along my back, spreading the gel is playing havoc with my brain. All my thoughts have turned to mush. I can’t string together one proper thought.
I’m spared an answer by her continued speech.
“Do you remember the time you and Sten went on a rabbit hunt?”
“Yep,” I groan, and hope she doesn’t hear the torture in my voice.
“And Sten fell out of the tree?”
“It was you who splinted his arm until you got back home.”
She laughs, and it’s music to my soul.
Up and down she moves, side to side, then back again.
Any second and my brain is going to take a leave of absence and leave my dick in charge of thinking.
“Those times were great,” she says, her hands still on my back. “The way we used to hang out.” She pauses. “Actually, you and Stan hung out, and I just tagged along.”
“You seemed to belong there,” I reply, still struggling to string proper sentences together.
My fucking cock is throbbing, and I thank my lucky stars I’m lying face down—because it’s definitely ready for action.
I’d hate to scare her off.
The more she’s talking about the past, the harder it is for me.
“I used to have such a crush on you,” she’s giggling now. “And you barely even noticed me.”
Her hands are now at my waistband, and I can feel my insides melt. The tips of her fingers push just a bit below my shorts, nearly touching my ass.
Do it, do it, I urge her on mentally, and feel my muscles contract in anticipation.
But then, just like that, she stops.
I wait to see if she’ll resume what she’s been doing, but she doesn’t.
It takes a while for the flames of passion to die down.
“That should make you feel better.”
You have no fucking idea.
Hearing what she just told me was worth getting my fucking back burnt for.