Author's Notes: Thank you once again for taking the time to read my story, and especially those of you who commented or favorited this story. This is a new hobby for me, and it's gratifying that what's in my head is somewhat interesting to others. I can see why people do this for a living.
About the story: After "sleeping" with Hannah in Ch. 02 and hearing the warnings regarding Jess, Jeremy has a lot to think about. But this is a story about change, and he would never have foreseen the curves coming his way.
All sexual activity is by persons 18+.
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MB
The boys spent the afternoon stalking each other with paintballs. Since there were only a handful of kids in school who liked to play, not really enough to play team games like "Capture the Flag" or "Defend the Castle," they'd devised a game they called "Manhunt." The premise was simple: one player was a lone wolf terrorist suspected of plotting to bomb area targets. The remaining players were part of the task force designated to capture or kill the terrorist. Playing in the wooded grounds of the land Jeremy's family owned, the "terrorist" was given a 5-minute head start. The rest of the players would then spread out and attempt to eliminate the threat. Capture of the terrorist could only be accomplished if a member of the task force got the drop on the terrorist, who gave himself up. Of course, since capture means you don't get to shoot your buddy with a paint gun, most missions were treated as "shoot to kill." Theoretically, there was a 30-minute time limit. If the subject survived, he was considered to have eluded capture. He could also win by eliminating the members of the task force; that's the route most "terrorists" took.
Since they played on his home turf, Jeremy liked to be the first terrorist. He liked to listen to the sounds of the others moving through the woods and brush with his eyes closed, to see if he could figure out who was where. Hank was a pretty big boy, maybe 6' 2" -- 240 lbs., and he tended to walk with a heavy tread. Mark and Rob were both 5' 6" -- 5' 7" and closer to 160 lbs. They tended to be harder to track, but they hadn't grown up playing war games on army bases, and didn't appreciate how far the sound of a broken branch or rustling leaves could carry. AJ was right in the middle at about 5' 10", but he had two things working against him: he had almost no muscle tone and began breathing heavy with minimal exertion, and he was near-sighted, which meant that he often had trouble tracking the others if they were careful.
Surprisingly, the one person who liked to play with them that Jeremy found difficult to elude was Ava. She might live in the city, but her world revolved around the outdoors. Summers, and just about every break in school, meant time spent on her grandparents' farm, hunting and fishing with her father, brothers and cousins. They'd grown used to the pesky little girl as a fixture in all their activities; in truth, she was much more comfortable in the company of boys than other girls as a result. The skills she'd honed on the hunt translated very well over to their game.
Today, Jeremy had cheated a little bit. Knowing of the plans to come play, he'd visited the land over the weekend and built a perfect hiding place in the bend of a creek where a pile of debris had collected with the runoff from melting snow. He'd just settled into his hiding place when the whistle signaling the start of the hunt sounded.
Knowing he was unlikely to be disturbed for the next half hour, his thoughts turned to the "Jess and Hannah problem." He'd been undecided about his feelings for Jess already; hearing the way Hannah and her mom talked about Jess was a real concern. The events at the bowling alley, and her casual dismissal of his concerns, also were troubling. Still, he probably could have put all of that aside more easily if not for waking up with Hannah in his arms this morning.
He wasn't used to sleeping with other people touching him, but something about having her head resting against his chest and her arms wrapped around him felt so...
right
. Of course, it didn't hurt that he also felt the swell of her breasts against his stomach and luxuriated in the smells of strawberry in her hair and vanilla from her lotion. He'd woken as the sun rose, but finding Hannah still with him, he hadn't dared move. He'd waited long as humanly possible to take care of his morning needs, just for a few more minutes holding her in his arms. He'd longed to tuck her hair behind her ear and cradle her head as he gently kissed her lips.
"Don't move dirt-bag!" Jeremy was broken from his reminiscing by the harshly whispered notification that he was now covered. Cursing himself for not paying better attention to the game, he could see Ava sporting a smug smile and ready to fire at him.
"How'd you find me so quickly?" he asked. "I thought this was going to be an easy win."
Ava smirked. "You disturbed some ground climbing over the bank, so I was pretty sure that I knew where you were. It was harder to get into a good firing position without you knowing I was here than it was to find where you went."
"Oh. Well...that was stupid."
"Now, do you surrender, or do I take the shot?" She laughed and said, "Pleeaase make a run for it!"
"No, you got me fair and square. It's my fault for letting other stuff occupy my thoughts. If this were real, I'd already be dead."
"Anything I can help with?" she asked, lowering her weapon.
"Maybe. I think I could use a woman's perspective. But you might not think much of me if I tell you."
He could see that she was intrigued. Before he knew it, she was climbing into the brush pile with him. "I don't see any other women around, so if you need a woman's perspective, I guess it's mine you're getting."
"Thank you. The problem is..." He hesitated. "No, this is too embarrassing. Forget it."
