Chapter 24

Krista

When the guys and I wake up the next morning, I feel refreshed, satisfied, and ready to take on a bright new day.

Sure, the obvious choice is to just have sex all day while we have fun and chill out in the cozy cabin, especially because they give me so much positive attention and tell me how pretty and sexy I am all the time.

Alas, we all have jobs to do, and the real reason we’re here at the cabin still reigns supreme in my brain. We must press on with our research.

We need to test out most of the experiments today, if not all of them. I’m excited to witness the results, and I’m secretly a little anxious to determine whether our formulas will pan out and become a roaring success.

We spend the entire day testing outside with the glorious help of King, who’s able to gather the missing information we needed in order to fill in the links and puzzle pieces.

We instantly see results after the first experiment, which honestly boosts my ego and my spirit, but we aren’t quite all the way where we need to be yet with everything.

It’s not the perfect solution, but with more testing, I’m confident that we’re certainly on the right track with everything.

Long story short? I’m happy with the results, and I think that once we really solve the equations and make everything resoundingly perfect, we’ll be extremely joyful to celebrate the fact that we’re mastering the perfect concoction for cleaner coal in the mines.

“You guys are helping me fulfill my ultimate dream,” I tell Dylan as we walk back inside the cabin together.

He beams from the praise and pats my back gently. “Anything for you, gorgeous.”

I’m swooning and maybe drooling a little as I stare at his package and daydream about his throbbing junk inside.

“Seriously, though, I’m so thankful that you guys are always here with me. You’re like my trainers and my lovers and my bodyguards all rolled into one,” I joke.

“We wear many hats,” Simon laughs.

“Yeah, we’re the master multi-taskers,” King adds with a chuckle.

“I’m starving,” I realize as my stomach grumbles in hunger.

“Holy shit.” Dylan points to the clock on the stove. “It’s already four o’clock.”

“Wow,” I say, honestly having no idea we’d gone that long without food and that we were so diligent in doing the experiments that we completely lost track of time.

Simon trots over to the fridge and opens it to retrieve some snacks, but Dylan pushes it close and stands in front of him.

“Do you have some sort of problem, dude? Or anything against us eating?” Simon laughs and looks at me and King as if he has no idea what’s going on.

“I have a better idea,” Dylan says slyly.

“Oh, shit, not another ‘great’ idea.” Simon rolls his eyes.

“Just hear me out.” Dylan laughs with playful defensiveness. “We can put some snacks out, but the person doesn’t get to eat them until they do a little game first.”

Simon and King groan, but I’m all for it.

“I love games!” I exclaim happily.

“See, somebody agrees with me.” Dylan smirks at his two best friends.

“Whatever,” King states. “I just want to eat.”

“You’ll like the game, I promise,” Dylan says, ever the eclectic and creative one of the bunch.

“So,” he begins, grabbing some papers and a pen as he begins tearing shreds off the paper sheets. “How we play is like this: when it’s your turn to grab one of these delicious snacks, you can’t eat it until you pick one of these folded pieces of paper. Each one will have an animal sound on it that you have to mimic. Then, you pick another paper on the other side, which will have a position you have to go do while making the sound.”

“That sounds so fun!” I squeal and clap my hands.

“See, Krista’s already practicing.” King points at me and chuckles.

“Yeah, so is everybody in?” Dylan asks the group.

“I suppose,” King says.

“Sure,” Simon responds. “It’s not like you’ll give us a choice anyway!” He laughs.

Everybody makes Dylan go first, partly because he’s the creator of the game and also because we want him to act it out so that we know exactly what he’s talking about.

“Ah, I get lion and jumping jacks,” he states while reading the papers.

“Hop to it, little buddy,” King instructs and leans back in his chair to observe from a front-row spot.

I giggle, then explode in fits of laughter as Dylan roars and jumps up and down, performing his jumping jacks.

“You look so hilarious!” I point and cackle, having the best fucking time with my three dream hunks.

“He looks more like an idiot to me,” King squawks with laughter.

“Okay, big shot,” Dylan quips back, finishing up his round by flashing his rock-hard abs and flat stomach at me. “Let’s see how good you do.”

“Woohoo!” I chant and holler, clapping my hands while whistling at Dylan’s amazing body. “I’ll take seconds of that.”

Dylan casts me a huge grin and a deep bow while moving out of the way to give King his chance.

“Alright,” he says and shuts his eyes as he grabs two slips of paper. “Let’s see here...aha!” He smirks at the other two guys. “I got ‘meow like a cat’ and lunges.”

“Too easy!” I yell with delight. “Do it!”

King begins lunging around the room while meowing, gesturing his hands to me as if he’s trying to reel me in.

I’m laughing so hard I feel like I might pee my pants. King really overdoes it by galloping around the room at the end, and then he finishes his set with a tender and passion-filled kiss with me that makes the other two guys whistle.

“Hey, I’m jealous,” Simon retorts.

“Too bad. It isn’t your turn yet,” King states with playful smugness.

“I want a turn!” I grin excitedly.

“Go for it.” Dylan gestures to the bent papers. “Pick a good one.”

“Oh, I intend to, but I think I already picked three amazing choices.” I wink seductively and trot with a sway of my hips to the counter while the guys swoon and drool over me.

I pick a dog and push-ups.

“Well, this is harder than it looks, fellas.” I laugh as I get into position and begin barking like a banshee.

Dylan comes up behind me and pretends to hump my fully clothed ass while I poke it out, extending it on purpose for him to give a little light smack.

“Oh, that’s nice.” I giggle as I continue to get my set complete, stopping at ten.

“Whew, that’s my workout for today.” I laugh and high-five my men. “Good game, boys. Good game.”

“Same to you, my lady.” Dylan tips an invisible hat and gives me another little bow.

“Hey, guys, it’s getting late,” King comments. “Don’t you think we should start packing up to head back to the city before it starts getting dark?”

“Good idea.” Simon bites into a protein bar. “We’re losing daylight...fast.”

“You guys are wimps. I’m not afraid to drive in the dark down these back roads,” Dylan boasts pridefully.

“Yeah, well it’s too bad you aren’t going to be the one driving, you dipshit.” Simon laughs because he’s the one who drove us up here.

“We need to come up here again though...seriously.” Simon nods as he zips up his duffel bag.

“I agree!” I comment, feeling motivated not only to spend quality alone time with the guys but to work as well.

“I find myself able to concentrate better when I’m up here, away from the noise of the city,” Simon admits.

I stare at him with a wide grin. “You took the words right out of my mouth,” I tease him. “I’m just thinking the same thing—that it’s easier to focus up here in the peace and quiet.”

“I’m game for another road trip,” King states in agreement. “You know I love an adventure. Not to mention, the sex is awesome.” He gives me a wink.

“Yes, I concur. The sex is incredible.” I laugh with a nod.

“We can be as loud as we want and be naked forever if we want to.” Dylan giggles playfully.

“In the summer, sure,” I comment. “Not in the winter.”

The guys carry my bags out to the car again, being chivalric and wonderful.

“Thank you, guys. I feel like a lazy bum just watching you work up a sweat.”

“You just sit there and look pretty,” Dylan tells me and flexes his muscles for my benefit.

“Well, that’s easy enough to do.” I laugh as I follow them outside.

When we get to the car, shock fills me, and my chest caves in. I can’t breathe, and it feels like the world’s moving in slow motion.

“Oh my god!” I point to the ground. “That tire is slashed! Do you think we hit something on our way in?”

King frowns. “It’s unlikely...”

“The back tires are slashed, too!” Dylan yells.

Simon groans. “This other front one, too.”

“Well, shit!” King says and kicks a tree trunk beside him.

“What’re we going to do now?” I cry in frustration.

“It’s going to be okay...” Dylan tries to calm me down, but his efforts are in vain.

I’m borderline hysterical. “Why does nothing work out for us?”

“We’re making leaps and bounds with our research,” King reminds me and gives me a hug. “We can fix the tires.”

“I just hate the way everything’s stalling. The signs are making me feel like the research is heading nowhere, and I’m just plummeting, spiraling down,” I mumble into his shirt.

I know I must sound like a drama queen to him, but I’m angry in the heat of the moment.

“We can cheer you up,” Dylan says and places the bags on the ground with a sigh.

But there’s stamina still left in his voice, and he sounds determined at all costs to keep me happy.

“Yeah,” Simon agrees. “There’s always a silver lining.”

I really hope they’re fucking right.