Author's Notes:
All characters in this story are 18 years of age or older at the time of the events described.
Please check the story tags if there are erotic genres you find distasteful and prefer to avoid. I like to cover a lot of ground, sometimes.
This story is the second of many in a series called, "The Children of Eros," which focuses on the experiences of several mythic beings who survive through the ages by harvesting the emotional energy of human sexual release.
Laura and the Cave Troll - Children of Eros #2
Laura learned about the caving expedition when she heard Dan and Joel talking about it from the cubicle next to hers. At first, she thought, "Walking around in a cave? What's so fun about that? Dark, smelly, cold and damp."
But, when she overheard that Brian would also be going, she started to think differently. Brian was gorgeous, and single. He was senior management, too--but not over her department. If he were to ask her out, H.R. would have no real problem with them dating.
Unfortunately, Brian had never shown any sign of having noticed Laura. Maybe that could change, she thought, if she spent some time with him and his friends doing something they liked.
So, Laura stood, crossed her arms atop the cubicle divider, smiled at the men, and said, "Caving? That sounds like fun. Mind if I come along?"
Dan and Joel glanced at one another. "It's just guys," Dan said, "hiking around, having a few drinks. No other women."
That
did
give Laura pause. Dan and Joel were both married, but still... walking around in a dark cave with four drunk guys could be... risky.
Then Joel said, "Phil's going along, too," and Laura immediately felt better about the idea. Phil was gay--maybe the next best thing to a wing-woman, she thought.
"That's okay," Laura assured them. "I'm not worried; I know you guys."
"Well," said Dan, maybe a little reluctantly. "See you Saturday then."
####
Saturday morning, Brian picked everyone up in his SUV. He wore black jeans, a snug black t-shirt and a khaki jacket. He looked like an off-duty FBI agent, with his square jaw and piercing blue eyes.
The other guys wore blue jeans--Dan with a blue polo shirt and Phil with a skin-tight green t-shirt that went well with his dark skin and showed off his sculpted physique.
Laura wore fawn-colored capris with light brown calf-length boots, a pale pink top, and a short jacket to match the pants. She thought she looked fantastic. Did Brian's glance linger for a moment when he saw her? She couldn't be sure.
When they got to Joel's house to pick him up, he came to the door and told Dan, "Sorry, man, I can't come after all. Carol's mother is sick, so we have to drive out to see her this weekend. I'll catch you guys next time. Have fun!"
After a two-hour drive, they pulled up at the cave entrance, blocked by a ticket booth. They parked, organized their gear, bought tickets, and set off into the chilly darkness of the cave.
It took more than a half-hour to get deep enough into the caves to leave behind all the families with loud children, as well as most of the rest of the tourists.
Everyone had brought beverages, and, after three airline bottles of Merlot, Laura was feeling quite festive. She laughed and joked with the men, who gradually warmed up, after initially seeming a bit put-out by her crashing their party.
A few minutes after reaching the quieter, less frequented depths of the cave, Brian, in the lead, abruptly stopped, exclaiming, "Hey, look at this."
The guys gathered around, staring at the floor. There was no room for Laura to get as close, but, in the pool of light at their feet, she could see what looked like a footprint in the solid stone.
"Some sort of fossil?" asked Dan.
"Must be," said Phil. "It doesn't really look all that... human, does it?"
"Maybe a Neanderthal," Dan said, "or some kind of... ape?"
"... a cave ape," said Phil, "did they have those? I'd look it up, but..." No cell service in caves.
Brian shone his light further along the tunnel. "There are more," he said.
They followed the footprints for about forty feet before Brian halted again. "They stop here," he said.
The three men regarded the last of the footprints. Dan said, "I wonder why they just suddenly started, then suddenly stopped. And... does it seem like they got deeper?"
Brian knelt, feeling the indentation. "It does seem like this one is an inch or so deeper than the first one. Maybe... more erosion closer to the surface?"
After a few more moments of silent consideration, Brian proceeded into the cave, followed by the other guys. When Laura got to the last footprint, she paused, went to one knee, and felt the edges of it. They were as sharp as if the print had been made an hour ago in damp mud. How could erosion have affected it so deep in the caves?
When Laura rose, the men had moved down the passageway far enough that she was no longer in the globe of light from their lamps, so she hurried to catch up. In her haste, she stumbled over an irregularity in the floor and reached out to steady herself against the cave wall.