He pauses for a second, wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, and then he peels off his shirt. Holy shit, his body is something else, like a statue of a god. I guess the gym is no substitute for working outside every day because he’s jacked.
‘Oh my God,’ JJ blurts – I’m not going to lie, she sounds like she’s verging on an orgasm.
Jake looks up to see where the noise came from. We both duck behind the wall but he probably saw us.
‘Y’all spying on me?’ he calls out.
We keep quiet. JJ even places her hand over her mouth. There’s a chance he didn’t see us, but his laugh to himself suggests he did.
So JJ and I, like the dignified women we are, crawl back to the lodge on our hands and knees. Just in case there’s a chance we got away with it.
‘Oh my God,’ JJ cackles once we’re inside. ‘He saw us.’
‘Of course he did,’ I reply. ‘You made sex noises when he took his shirt off.’
‘I’m only human, Whit,’ she replies. ‘I didn’t mean to. My soul left my body.’
‘You made sex noises from your soul leaving your body?’ I repeat back to her so she can hear how silly it sounds.
‘Our souls are a key part of sex,’ she replies.
‘Okay, you have to have heard how that sounds,’ I repeat back to her with a snort.
‘Yep, I see what I did there,’ she replies with a grin. ‘But you take my point.’
‘Oh, I take your point,’ I say with a laugh. ‘Maybe give things a go with your inside voice, before you make them public record.’
JJ goes over to the window for another peek.
‘Shit, he’s here, act natural,’ she says.
We dive towards the sofa. I grab a coffee table book, open it up in the middle, and the two of us pretend to be deeply engrossed in it.
Jake comes in and dumps the logs down by the fire. He’s still got his shirt off and his muscles look even better up close. Even his abs have pecs, I swear.
He gives us a smile – maybe a bit of a laugh.
‘Oh, you’re finished?’ I say casually. ‘We were just brushing up on our…’
I look down at the book I’m holding. It’s a guide to skinning animals. Do you know what, I’ll leave that there.
‘I’m going for a shower,’ he says.
‘Okay, no worries,’ I reply.
He heads upstairs.
‘He’s a walking thirst trap,’ JJ says quietly. ‘You’ve landed on your feet, haven’t you?’
‘Only fictionally,’ I remind her.
‘Are you going to share a bed with him?’ she asks.
‘He said he’ll sleep on the floor,’ I whisper.
‘Christ, that would only make me want him more,’ she says.
I can’t help but laugh.