Embracing Ellie: Chapter 13

The bright moon painted the bedroom in foggy, ethereal light. Elena stared at the high ceiling while Daniel slept next to her in peaceful slumber. Her own sleep seemed impossible. Danny was up to something; he couldn’t hide it. The insinuations of the games, the dirty talk, the thing he did to her in the boutique’s fitting room—that was Danny being fun, Danny being playful. Danny’s charm had always won her over. The things they’d done today and the day before were Danny being Danny. This time, for the first time, that charm superimposed their sex life.

Their sex life had always been fun and playful, yet it had been light, respectful, and composed. But the last few days had rendered their prior sex life a little... well, milquetoast. Bland. Wanting.

The fact, though, that Danny was up to something was daunting. The insinuations all led to one outcome, but Danny couldn’t want that, could he? Not for real. Only in imaginings.

Whatever surprise Danny had in store, it involved Hemi. She’d have to be ready with some fast talk and light feet to counter the situation she knew Danny would subject her to. But what about Hemi? She hoped Danny’s antics wouldn’t embarrass them. Hemi was a nice man, a good guy. Danny better not put Hemi in an awkward predicament to get a sexual charge—that would be awful. A sudden comical image came to her. It had her chuckling and rolling to face her husband like she would share it with him. But Danny was fast asleep, face down, looking her way with sensual lips parted and light snoring. She touched a fingertip to his plump lower lip, still smiling at the humorous imagining of Danny holding up a skimpy male swimsuit in leopard-print spandex, with a thong back, trying to sweet-talk Hemi into trying them on.

Danny grumbled and frowned, sleep disturbed by her touch. He worked his mouth around, frowning, adjusting his head on the pillow, seeking returned peace. She left him alone, even though he didn’t deserve it.

After the fitting room debacle, they’d returned to the chalet, and she’d expected (wanted!) sex. But Danny demurred. She’d said, “You shouldn’t put it in me when we’re out in public then, Danny.” She’d meant put the idea, not put his penis. But Danny used the phrase over and over during the evening as a way to paint her like what he referred to as a horn-dog. This, even though he was the one who literally put it in her in the dressing room. She took it and didn’t fight back; the teasing banter was part of his ploy. And so was something else—his sexual denial, his sudden celibacy. She knew what it was about; she knew why he was withholding—to frustrate her, to heighten her need. So she’d spent the evening with sex foremost in her thoughts. Yes, Danny’s plan was working.

She turned on her side to face Daniel again—her handsome husband, her loving man, her funny, playful man. He was up to something, and she had to be wary. But his plan would provide fun—or thrills—or heart-pounding fear. Yes, coming very soon would be another adventure. Another precipice. Danny would arrange her in a proverbial cable car, suspended above certain death. The only thing saving her would be a thin elastic line. And how much would she trust that line? If that line was her connection to Danny, then, yeah, she would trust it.

That said, she touched that supple, berry-colored lip again. It tickled Danny, and he scrunched up his nose. She did it again, and his eyelashes fluttered. It had her smirking. She did it one more time. Danny’s lips parted enough she could get some wet going, making her finger slippery as the fingertip glided across his lip. As his eyelashes fluttered again, she dunked her slick finger into his ear hole. His shoulder flew up, and he came awake in sputtering shock. She darted away, eyes closed, face turned up to the ceiling in the pose of innocent sleep.

Danny muttered in mild irritation, “What are you doing?”

And now she feigned being woken, imitating his own anger, muttering. “What? What is it?”

“You stuck a finger in my ear or something.”

“Don’t be stupid,” she said, sleep-slurring, turning away from him, trying her hardest not to break into laughter.

Danny groaned and shuffled around, trying to get comfortable again.

And Elena stayed turned away, moonlight on her face, smiling with her eyes closed. The vision came to her now of Hemi checking out his own muscular backside, convinced by Danny to try them on. Hemi is unsure, but he looks amazing in them. Danny’s asking Hemi now if he thinks he would have the guts to wear them in front of Elena.

She snuffled laughter into her pillow, wondering how on earth she was going to get any sleep tonight with this scenario playing out behind her closed eyes.

#

Next thing, Danny’s pulling her out of sleep. It’s still dark and there’s an incessant warning sound rising and falling; a loud, alarming siren, piercing and wailing. She jerked upright, the emergency warning rattling her with its urgent demand.

“Up, Elena,” Danny said. “We gotta get up.”

She struggled out of bed. The resort was on fire. Or there was a hurricane coming. Or a typhoon. Maybe a tsunami. She staggered to her feet, sleep-drunk and woozy, feeling like she would fall over—but that siren rattled her nerves and drove her forward with its unceasing demand. Danny shoved a pair of leggings at her, and she fell back to sit on the bed. She put one leg through a leg hole, then the other, kicking her legs till she’d got them pulled up. “What’s happening, Danny? What’s happening?”

“Quick, baby,” he said. “You gotta get dressed.”

“What’s happening?”

Danny pressed a bundle of shirts into her hands, and she sorted out the undershirt and threw it over her head. It was working her arms out the armholes wakefulness dawned, and she shrugged the shirt down to her waist, asking him now with more alarm, “Danny, what the hell is going on?”

He guided her to shrug on the flannel shirt, and she resisted. Danny said, “Elena, we have to get going.”

“What is that alarm?”

“It means it’s time to go.”

“Go where?” She put her shirt on, stepping away from Danny, awake enough now to demand an explanation. When he didn’t answer right away, she put her hands up to cover her ears, hiding away that awful blaring alarm.

“Ellie, it’s morning. We’re going on an adventure.”

“Why is that alarm so awful?”

“I didn’t want to sleep through it.” Now Danny went to the bedside and picked up his phone. He tapped the screen, and the sound was gone.

“That’s your alarm?”

“I didn’t want to sleep through it.”

“It sounded like the world was ending.”

He shrugged, looking at her like a scolded child. “I told you we had to get up early this morning.”

“What time is it?”

“It’s five-thirty.”

“Danny, we’re on vacation. That’s way too early.”

Danny was smiling again, on the move, coming around the bed, saying, “That’s right, but I told you we’re going on an adventure.”

“It’s dark still, Danny. What kind of adventure can you do in the dark?”

“The sun’s coming up, Ellie. You’ll see. Soon, you’ll see.” He stooped to pick up a duffel bag from the floor.

She said, “You packed already?”

“I packed yesterday. Come on, we have to get moving. Hemi will be here any minute.”

“Danny, don’t tell me you made Hemi get up this early.” She staggered along at Danny’s side as he escorted her out of the bedroom and into the main living room.

“Hemi set the time, Ellie. He’s gone to a lot of trouble to show us a real doozy today. But we have to get going bright and early.”

“It’s not bright, though,” she complained, wanting to be back in bed again. Her head felt light and cottony, and if she were to lie down right now, she probably wouldn’t stir again until ten o’clock. She’d agreed to get up early. She’d known they were going out with Hemi today. Now she said, “What’s the adventure?”

But Danny would only tell her it was a surprise. And they ended up in the front foyer, looking out at the car park and the Land Rover they rented, lit by the front light.

“Can we make coffee first?”

“I think we’ll get coffee on the way, Ellie,” Danny said, peering out into the dark.

“Am I dressed right? I can’t hike in this, Danny. At least tell me what I need to bring.”

“Everything’s taken care of, Ellie,” Danny said, not looking her way, still watching out the window.

Was Hemi really coming? This seemed outlandish. Was it some other surprise?

But just then, headlights came down the quiet estate road, slowed at their chalet, and a truck pulled into the dooryard. Hemi’s adventure truck.

She groaned. “What have you got us into, Danny?”

“You’re going to love this one, Ellie,” Danny said, turning her way with a big smile. He came to her with his hands out, took her hands and looked into her eyes. “I promise.”

“I’m not jumping out of a plane.”

“No one’s going to ask us to do that.” His eyes shone with ardor and warmth. His head cocked, and he studied her.

She said, “What are you doing?”

He said, “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she said, this rapport making her curious now.

It occurred to her that Hemi would drive them up the coast to some hedonistic resort. That was why Danny bought that swimsuit for her. But they didn’t bring home the things they’d purchased. They’d been wrapped for delivery and for shipping. Some of the things wouldn’t even go home with them on the plane.

She scowled in mock suspicion, saying, “I’m not going naked on some nudist beach, Danny. You can forget that.”

“It’s a little cold for a nudist beach, Ellie,” Danny said, smiling wider now, knowing he had her curiosity piqued.

Outside, the interior light came on in Hemi’s truck, and she could see the big man in there, sorting some papers, his driver door open.

She looked back into Danny’s eyes. “I’m not going naked indoors at some resort or something, either.”

“Nothing like that,” he said. “Just good-natured fun. Some sport, some fresh air. No nudity. Not on purpose at least.”

She narrowed her eyes on his.

He said, “At least not until later.”

She laughed and embraced him, smiling now too, seeing Hemi coming across the yard and to their front door. She slipped her arm around Danny’s waist and Danny did the same, opening the door to receive Hemi.

Hemi clapped his hands, excited for the day’s plans. “Hope it’s not too early for ya, eh?”

They traded morning greetings, and Hemi stooped to pick up the duffel bag..

“You’re not a porter,” she said. “Danny’ll take our bag.” When she looked aside at Danny, she saw him stooped, too, but with a hand on his lower back and his face winced in pain.

Danny said, “Yeah, thanks, Hemi. That’s a big relief.”

“What ya done to your back there, mate?”

Danny said, “It’s been bugging me for a bit now, but, yeah, I worried about this. I must’ve let on it wrong.”

“You think you can work it out? Loosen it up?”

“Oh, yeah, no worries, Hemi. I’m going to be fine. But you know…”

Don’t do it, you jerk, Danny, I’m begging you…

Hemi, holding the bag, dressed in his fleece and rugged cargo pants, sensed it, too. “Oh, nah, Daniel. Don’t you say it.”

“Yeah,” Danny said, stretching his back like he was sore. “I think I might just meet up with you later.”

Hemi seemed to know what Danny was talking about, nodding along. “Yeah-yeah. You sure you can’t make it? We’re gonna take it easy, Danny.”

“There’s easy and then there’s easy,” Danny said and laughed.

Ellie said, “Why don’t you just tell me where we’re going?”

“And ruin all the fun?” Danny winced again, like turning to say that to her tweaked a nerve or something.

“Danny, don’t,” she said. “Come on.”

Daniel went all smiles again, coming to her and taking her arms. “It’s just a few hours. I’ll catch up with you in no time.”

“But where am I going?”

Hemi, in a good mood for pitch-black pre-dawn, said, “You should probably give her a little heads-up, Danny. You’re sending her off with a stranger.”

“I know where you’ll be,” he said, calm and assured, looking into her eyes.

“Where will I be?”

Danny said, “You’re good on the slopes, aren’t you?”

“Skiing?”

“Danny said you were a good skier.”

“A good skier? I mean, I’ve skied.” Oh, god. She rubbed her mouth and then down her chin and her throat, Turing her eyes up to the darkness, a blue tinge beginning to soak along the horizon now.

“So whatcha say there, Ellie? You ready for a good time? You and me?”

She wasn’t going to say no. She wouldn’t want to offend Hemi. Hemi was an innocent. This was all Danny. Hemi should be rewarded for good behavior. And Danny should be punished for bad. She said, “Yeah. Okay. Skiing. I like skiing.” She stepped down the steps like going off with Hemi was no big deal. “You said you’ll catch up?”

Danny feigned the bad back again. “I don’t think I’d be good on skis, baby. One wrong move and I could be laid up for the rest of our vacation.”

“Yeah, one wrong move,” she said, eyeing him up and down and showing a malicious smile that said he’d already made the one wrong move and he might get laid up for the rest of the vacation if he tried anything else to rattle her. “We wouldn’t want that.”