When we got back out to the living room, there were some jokes from the adults about where we had been, but they had to keep them tame, since there were kids around. Michelle was so full of smiles that everyone knew what we’d been up to.
I had gotten a little worried when I saw Michelle get hit by the tree. But once I knew for sure that she was okay, I couldn’t wait to take her— and now I just had. The funny thing was, I wanted her again. My mind kept wandering, imagining her steady gaze and pouty mouth and all the things I had just done to her and wanted to do more of.
While we had been walking to my house, I had tried hard to keep my gaze focused ahead so that I wouldn’t be caught staring at her mouth. I wanted to kiss her so badly. But now that I had done that and more, I didn’t shy away from keeping my eyes all over that body I had just ravaged.
I was still having a hard time believing my luck, that I had had the chance to meet and spend time with— and not only fuck but take the virginity of— a woman like Michelle. I really wished that there was some way that I could get rid of all of them and just have it be Michelle and myself alone in the cabin, so we could continue the fun we had just had in the bedroom.
But the others had been walking around exploring my small cabin while we had been in there and now they wanted to talk about it, as normal people always wanted to talk about things that caught their attention.
“What an absolutely beautiful home that you have here, Elijah,” said Monica, fixing her eyes on each of the wooden figures lining every inch of the walls.
“Yeah, it’s really nice,” said Darren.
Darren ran his fingers over the head of a horse figurine.
“Where did you get these from?” he asked.
“I made them,” I said.
“All of them??” he asked, incredulously.
“Yes,” I said.
“Wow! That’s really neat. You are just full of surprises, aren’t you?” said Darren, looking at me, full of admiration.
Everyone had been looking over the pieces, paintings, and animal artifacts like my house was a museum. They ooed and aahed as they wandered from room to room. I really enjoyed my home. But I didn’t think that it was anything fancy.
I remembered when I first decided that I wanted to build my house. I had barged into the office of an architect friend of mine named Larry. Larry and I had gone to college together and I knew that he was really good at what he did. I dumped a pile of tattered loose-leaf papers on his desk of sketches that I had drawn of what I wanted my house to look like.
Larry looked them over, taking up each sheet into his hands and staring at them, turning them over when he wanted to see a new angle. He asked me if it was okay for him to make marks on my pages. I was hesitant, but I trusted his vision, so I agreed. He added some great touches to my drawings, making the design better for utility, as well as visually pleasing.
I remember the shock on Larry’s face when I told him that I wanted to carve the wooden figures by hand that would go along the walls.
“Do you know how much time that’s going to take?” he asked, his eyes all but bulging out of his head.
“It doesn’t matter,” I said shrugging. “It’s what I want. And if I have to look at it every day, I want to make sure that it has personal touches that I like.”
He said that it was my project, so he would go along with any harebrained ideas that I had.
And so, I went to work on the figurines. It was relaxing to make them. Each one told a story about a point in my life where things had changed. Living on a farm as a young boy had prepared me for a lot, including having the patience to use a paring knife to carefully carve raw blocks of wood and rub them with sandpaper until the rough edges were smooth.
Even after I had finished all of the figurines, Larry had problems with a few of the contractors that he had planned to use for the project. They told him that it would be impossible to do what I wanted, that the figurines would be better put in the corners of the room, not on every single panel of the wall.
But, it’s what I wanted, so Larry kept looking for contractors until he found someone who was willing to do exactly what I asked, despite the difficulty of the task.
The way that they were glued to the walls, looking them over admiringly let me know that they were definitely worth every bit of effort that it took to make them.
“You really are talented,” said Michelle, her gaze fixed on the wall next to the fireplace.
“Thanks,” I told her, graciously lapping up her compliment.
I didn’t care what anyone else thought, really. The fact that she was impressed made me feel amazing. Because I had worked to design my home and had helped to build it with my own hands, I felt much more endeared to it and it gave me a sense of pride that I’m not sure I would have had otherwise.
“I know that it’s not that big of a house, but it has served me well, and has made me feel very comfortable for these past couple of years,” I said.
“Well, I can understand why you feel that way. It is a very nice home,” said Michelle.
“I appreciate you saying that. I built this house myself.”
Well, I had helped with different parts of the house, but it wasn’t too much of a stretch to act like I’d built the whole thing myself.
“Wow! I am very impressed with your handiwork.”
“Thank you,” I said, beaming. “Actually, even this is a little too far on the domestic side for me.”
“What do you mean?” asked Michelle, tilting her head as if she were trying to get a better view of me.
“Electricity. Heat. Indoor plumbing. It’s like a castle compared to my other home. That one is as natural as nature gets. It’s in a cave. If we ever get the chance to see each other again, maybe I’ll get a chance to take you to see it.”
“Wow! That sounds like something worth seeing,” said Michelle, beaming excitedly.
“It’s not too far from here, actually. In a cave. It’s been snowing and you all look worn out from your hike today. Otherwise, I would say let’s go on over. But, maybe if you’re up for it, that’s something that we can do tomorrow,” I suggested.
“She would love that,” blurted out Monica, just as Michelle was about to speak. Michelle closed her mouth and smiled, staring at the floor.
“You have been cooped up in that cabin for the past few days. I know that you have really been helpful to Whitney and Harlow, but I’m sure that they would have no problem with giving you the day off so that you can spend some personal time away,” she continued.
She looked over at Michelle and winked. Michelle hid her face and laughed.
“I’m not too sure that that’s a very good idea,” began Harlow. “It’s a pretty far walk from here to Darren and Hope’s cabin. I would hate for something to happen to her out here. She already has taken quite a fall to begin with. I would feel terrible sending her out to come back here.”
He shifted uneasily, looking at me like he was trying to decide if he trusted me or not.
“I’m glad that you said that, Harlow,” continued Monica, taking a step toward Harlow. “That’s why it would be a great idea for Elijah to drive over and pick her up. Or if that doesn’t work, Harlow, I’m sure you’d be a pal and drive her on over, right? She could spend the day here and come back before it got too dark to drive.”
Harlow shrugged, realizing it didn’t matter that much to him. Either way, I was grateful that Monica spoke up. She was like the fairy godmother that I didn’t know that I had, finding some way to ready my mind and make things happen the way that I wished that they would.
“I can’t see a reason why not,” said Harlow. “That is, unless Michelle doesn’t want to come back.” Harlow looked over at Michelle, waiting to hear her answer.
“I’m okay with that. Seems like it would be fun. If Elijah is okay with a clumsy slowpoke tagging along for the day.”
Michelle laughed nervously, fidgeting her hands in her lap.
“Oh, I insist,” said Monica, flailing her arms around excitedly. She hooped, hollered, and clapped as if she were at a sporting event.
I had to turn my head and cover my face to hide the big, cheesy grin that was spreading across my face. I felt giddy and silly, mostly from the comical way that Monica carried on, but also from the idea of being able to spend time with Michelle.
I couldn’t believe she had caught my attention as much as she had. She didn’t say much, but there was just something about her presence, sweet and demure, that endeared me to her.
It has been a very long time since I felt this way about any woman. Or any person at all. I was so glad I could spend another day with her, this time just her and me.
“Well it’s settled, then,” said Monica. “Michelle will come back tomorrow to spend the day with Elijah. Now, who’s ready to make our way back to Darren and Hope’s cabin before it gets too dark?”
The group groaned collectively. The sun was just beginning to set off in the distance, painting the sky with warm hues of orange, red and purple as it made its decent.
Everyone clamored to put back on the layers of clothing they had shed not too long before and prepared to go back out into the cold mountain air. As they filed out one by one, I gave Michelle a quick kiss that no one else could see.
“See you tomorrow,” we both said to each other. She looked as excited as I felt, which made me very happy.
Even though I was not ready for Michelle to leave, inside I was happy as I started making plans for what the next day would bring. I planned for us to enjoy each other’s company even more than we had just enjoyed it in my bedroom.
In my cave, I was king. And I was about to make Michelle my queen.