ACT 16: CAVE OF WONDERS
Fueled by crazy surreal dreams, the night saw me tossing and turning. I slept, but not as well as I'd have liked after hiking the day before and going on another hike today. In one of the dreams, Kat had been mad at me for something that I couldn't figure out and as dreams go, I couldn't find the right words to get the reason out of her. Awaking in a snap, popping my eyes open, I found myself alone in bed, wrinkled sheets pulled off the corners and thrashed around.
I put my shorts on and went out to the living room, rubbing my eyes. Kat was in the kitchen, eating some of Lupe's food at the island, standing on the tiled floor, naked. She looked up at me, then back at the red sauced meat on the plate, chewing loudly.
"When do we leave?" I asked, staring at the full pot of coffee.
"Not sure." She mumbled through the meat in her mouth.
We stood in silence. She must have just gotten up also, her frazzled, twisting hair looked like it just came off the pillow.
"You must have been dreaming last night." She told me, putting her plate in the sink and rinsing it off.
"Yea, crazy. Did it keep you up?" I poured a hot coffee and sipped, burning my lip. "Ouch."
"Not really." She shrugged. "Just woke me up a couple of time. I need a shower."
"Alright," I answered. "sorry about that."
"You know, you talk in your sleep...right?" Kat smiled and winked at me as she entered the bathroom.
The shower had been turned off for some time, while I rested on the sofa, deep in thought. I needed to go to the bathroom, then take a shower. Kat was still in the large bathroom, standing in front of the mirror, brushing her teeth. I walked by her almost naked body, snapping the lace string that hugged her hips and ran down the crack of her tan, bubbly ass.
"Still wearing it huh?" I said, entering the toilet room, leaving the door open.
"You haven't taken it off me yet." Her grumbled words came through a mouth full of toothbrush.
"Maybe today." I mused, finishing my pee.
"We'll see." She glanced over at me, head nodding, then spit the toothpaste from her mouth.
The cool shower was a relief from the hot, dry air. I let the water rinse away all my uncertainty, washing it to the floor and circling it down the drain. Kat came in, as I was drying off, dressed in some loose running shorts and a pink tank top that hugged her breasts, squeezing them together. Her hair was pulled back into a tight pony, that stretched the skin on her face back, narrowing her dark eyes.
"No word yet?" I mused, while I shaved.
"Nope." She nodded, standing shoulder to shoulder with me, inspecting herself in the mirror.
The afternoon was approaching quickly, and I knew that Kat would soon decide to stay if they didn't show up at any moment. It really didn't matter to me either way, the hike would be nice, but I could also go for cold beer at the bar. Kat strutted out of the bathroom, her long tan legs gliding. The green hiking boots she was wearing stark against her brown legs.
"They're here" She announced, as she entered the living room.
"Bout time." I yelled back, hopefully loud enough for the boys to hear.
When I came out of the bathroom the two Daryl's were standing together, holding a backpack, big Daryl zipping it up.
"Check this out." Small Daryl's high gravelly voice was directed toward me. He yarded the backpack from big Daryl and tossed it to me.
It was unexpectedly heavy, and I almost dropped it, but I could feel it slosh around.
"What have we here?" I chirped, but knowing exactly what I was holding.
"Well, you have been giving us drinks since you arrived, so we thought we would return the favor." Sam piped in, a big smile on his face and his black curly hair hanging down, shadowing his narrow cheekbones.
"That doesn't surprise me a bit." Kat pushed my shoulder, half-joking, half-serious. "Hope we make it back."
We made it about fifty feet up the beach, toward the trail head before the bottle was opened and everyone shared in a drink. To my surprise, Kat pulled back a tug on the whisky, even though that wasn't really her thing.
Maybe it was just me, but I was hypersensitive about our situation. It didn't seem as though Sam or Big Daryl knew what had been happening between Kat and Daryl. I was looking for little hints, or gestures between the boys, but they never came. It looked as though Daryl had kept the secret, although I didn't expect him to at his age. I put my hand in the pocket of my shorts and traced the round, burgundy button with my pointer finger, then gulped down a little more whisky.
We followed the boys, as they chatted and pushed each other around up the beach, little Daryl shooting looks back at us as we walked. He looked small next to the other Daryl, but his broad shoulders and wide back was proof enough that he wasn't little at all. I caught up with them and put a hand on Sam and big Darryl's shoulders, slowing them down a bit.
"Right here, I think." I slapped big Daryl on the back, causing him to jump and turn. He jerked away, his belly shaking.
None of us where wearing shirts, it was too hot and humid, they would have been soaked already. The four of us stopped and waited for Kat to catch up, eyeing the trail head, where the dark green plants parted.
"Well, are we going or not?" Kat unzipped the backpack small Daryl was wearing and pulled out the bottle.
She threw back a long swallow, wiping her mouth with her arm while she shivered, then passed it around. We all drank. Pulling the remote out to the edge of my pocket, I gave little Daryl a knowing glance, then slipped it back in. His eyes darted over to Kat, who was looking at the trail, surveying it, then shook his head at me. I pressed the button, and dropped it back to the bottom of my cargo pocket. Kat didn't move, didn't even react. Maybe she was expecting it.
"How long are you guys here for?" Sam voiced, as we entered the trail single file, the only way we could.
"Few days after you." Kat responded almost immediately, she was leading the group.
"I didn't know they had flights then." Sam continued, walking directly behind her, his eyes on her ass, as it swung back and forth. Kat's shorts were so high, he could see the crease her ass made over the back of her thighs.
"Well I guess they do." Kat started to pick up the pace, like she wanted to get there.
"I vote we head back to the beach and drink." Small Daryl's voice grumbled in.
"Do you smoke?" Kat stopped and flipped around, cocking her head to the right. Sam almost ran into her, his mouth level with her pointy nipples. Daryl's raspy, smoker-esque voice, was something we never brought up, but for sure thought about.
"No, had some lung problems when I was baby." Daryl shot back. "Talked this way my whole life." He seemed to make his voice deeper and raspier.
"Hmmm." Kat went back to her quick pace and the trail climbed up, getting steeper with each step.
As the hike wound up the hill, the three boys started lagging behind, sweating. It became apparent that none of them hiked very often; big Daryl was even starting to breath heavy. I passed them to catch up with Kat, who was beginning to gain distance on us. when we came upon a clearing and the ground leveled out, we sat and waited.
"I guess they don't hike much." Kat laughed, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
"Maybe I could inspire them to move faster." I put my hand in my pocket and pressed the burgundy button.
Kat jumped off the rotting stump she was sitting on, and grinned.
"You don't know what you're getting yourself into." She stated, glaring at me with her devious eyes.
I pressed the button again, causing her to twitch. "Don't I?"