The Mating Game

Race Against Time

I was still awake last night when Laura entered our shared bedroom. I remember being happy that she wasn’t with him very long and it made me feel smug. I didn’t want them to enjoy what they were doing. Braiding my hair in the morning sun, I am excited that I am the first one up. I guess Miss Laura needed to sleep in a little extra this morning because of last night’s escapades. Too bad she won’t be able to play mother hen this morning and wake me up. I couldn’t possibly be awake early because I was stewing all night over Aaron and Laura. OF COURSE NOT! I shake my head trying to rattle the undesirable thought from my mind. Quietly I tiptoe out of the room and slowly pull the bedroom door closed. I have my mind set on doing some exploring this morning.

“What are you doing?” I feel a warm breath on my neck.

“What the” I squeak jumping from the sudden invasion of my personal space.

“Good morning, Can I help you?” Aaron asks moving away from my ear.

“I was just going to take a look around.”

Pushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear I give Aaron my most innocent smile.

“Why didn’t you just ask? I’ll take you on the grand tour.” Aaron places his hand in the middle of my back and gently guides me to the front door. For the next hour, Aaron walks me around the farm telling me all the pertinent information I would need to know now that I am living here. He is kind while he is leading me around our home and for the first time since I arrived here, he seems unguarded.

“That’s about all there is to see?” he says placing his hands in his pockets.

“Could you show me how to get down to the beach?” I have been waiting to see the beach since he first mentioned it on day one.

“Sure, it’s this way.”

Once more Aaron places his hand on the curve of my back and guides me through the foliage, helping me over rocks and other forest debris. I slip only once while walking down the sandy path towards the beach, but Aaron’s grip on me keeps me upright as he pulls me closer around my waist to keep me from falling. The heat from his body seems to penetrate somewhere deep inside of me as my stomach tightens. All I can focus on is the nearness of his body and his strong arm wrapped around my waist.

“You okay? It can get slippery as we get closer to the beach.” He says helping to sturdy me.

“Yes, thank you,” I say moving out of Aaron’s grip unable to make a cohesive thought in my mind when he is touching me.

“Here it is. This is my favorite place on the entire property.”

He says spreading his arm out like he is presenting me to his most cherished possession. The beach has fine, soft, white sand that feels like your walking on flour. On the shore, there is a nice place for wading out into the water, as well as some rocks on the east side of the shore, which extends out into the ocean. I bet I could easily catch some crab here. I just need to make a few traps.

“Well, what do you think?”

“I have never felt such fine sand. It feels like heaven on your feet.”

Then pointing towards the water, I continue speaking. “I think this would be a great place for catching crab and maybe even diving for clams. Have you ever tried?” My brow furrows as I stare intently at Aaron waiting for an answer. Running his hand through his hair, he looks like he is pondering my question carefully.

“You know I never really thought about it to tell you the truth. And none of my other mates have ever mentioned either idea to me. I’m not really sure how to go about doing either one of those things, but I do know that it is a good spot for fishing.”

“You know I’m pretty good at wrangling up some fish. Catching them. Not cooking them.” I give a little laugh.

“Obviously,” he says jokingly looking at me with those beautiful chocolate eyes of his.

“I could show you how to make a few crab traps and how to place them in the water. Also, it’s pretty easy diving for clams, you just need to know where to look. Can you swim?” I squint my eyes and place my hand above my brow to block the brightly shining morning sun.

“Can I swim, Pshh. Of course, I can swim, and I’m pretty damn good at it too.”

He says while crossing his arms. He looks like a little boy when he stands like that. It’s cute.

“Well, I was one of the fastest swimmers in containment,” I state in my cockiest voice.

“Yeah, in a girl’s containment camp.” He mumbles.

Oh no he didn’t just say I may be a good swimmer for a girl.

“Well, we’ll just have to settle this in the water.” I say taking off my top to reveal my undershirt.

“Wait are you serious? Right now?” Aaron stutters following behind me.

Slowly I shuffle my shorts down my legs and kick them off to the side. My undies are clinging to my butt, so I stick two fingers in the hem to readjust them.

“Yeah, what are you all talk and no show?” Stepping into the surging water, I wait for his response.

He doesn’t say anything he just removes his shirt and stands beside me in the surf. I am momentarily distracted by his tan, muscular abs, and athletic arms. I begin picturing them around me but soon my gaze moves to his chest, which looks so smooth, I want to reach out and run my fingers along his beautiful skin just to see how soft he would feel under my fingertips.

“Alright, we’ll swim out to that rock and back. First one back to that driftwood wins.” Aaron points to a rock about 150 yards out and then to a piece of driftwood about ten meters away. I nod my head in agreement.

“On three, one, two, three,” I say as I dive into the water with Aaron following right beside me.

He is a strong swimmer, but I think I’ll pass him on the way back. He seems to be using a lot of his energy at the start of the race. He is a few strokes in front of me when we reach the rock, but I turn quickly in the water to make my way back to shore. Soon I am matching him stroke for stroke, but as we get nearer to the shore, I pull ahead of him. It turns into a foot race on the shore through the last bit of water, but I had too many strokes on him, and I win. Bending over with my hands on my knees I take in many deep breaths.

“s**t, you kicked my ass,” he says falling back to sit in the sand.

He brings his knees to his chest and wraps his arms around his legs.

“It was close but looks like the girl came out on top.” I sit down next to him, the water just barely lapping against our feet.

“Well, what do you want for winning?”

“I can have anything I want?” I ask mischievously.

“That depends on what you want. Spill it.” He is looking me in my eyes, but I soon catch his eyes as he glances down my body and back to my face.

When he realizes I saw him, he turns his head away with a little cough. Looking down to see what he was looking at I soon realize my clothes have become completely see-through.

“Jesus Christ!” Throwing my arms around my chest, and standing up I run towards the beach where I discarded my clothes.

Aaron doesn’t move he remains sitting on the beach laughing hysterically. “I swear I didn’t see a thing.”

“I’m glad you find this funny.” I quickly put my clothes on and begin walking up the path towards the house.

“Whoa, Whoa” he catches my arm.

“It’s not my fault you wanted to strip down to your underwear and have an impromptu race on the beach.” He winks at me. I have nothing to say and continue walking and pouting at the same time.

“You know it’s pretty cute when your face gets all pouty like that, and your cheeks are bright red.”

Oh god not the cheeks giving me away again. I cover my cheeks with my hands and walk at a quicker pace.

“It’s not like you weren’t going to see it anyway. I mean we do have to mate.” I state matter of factly and slowly run my hand over my head tracing the length of my braid with my hand.

Nodding in agreement Aaron states “I guess you’re right. I just wasn’t expecting it this early in the day. I’m more of a night kind of guy myself.” He bumps me with his elbow trying to lighten the mood.

I have no response and just let out a loud sigh. This man is completely and utterly confusing. For a day and a half, he was a complete hardass. Then last night he starts joking with me, and this morning this happens. Men are crazy, and they say we are the hormonal ones. I think not. When we arrive at the house Aaron promptly assigns Laura to maintain the home and cooking, Katie will continue working with him, and I will now be in charge of the animals and their care. Let’s try not to screw this one up.