Page 21 of The Hunt

“Calliope, you’re the one that gets trapped in quicksand.”And it was up to him to save her.They always did this, by bringing furniture together out in the yard, and Calliope would be beneath a cut-up canopy, and he would be the one trying to save her.It was fun.

Now, he didn’t like this.

“This isn’t good,” she said.“What about the hunter that was chasing us?We didn’t name him and he had no face, but that was one of our games.”

“Then the killer birds,” Jaxson said.

“And let’s not forget the poisonous snakebite.”She ran fingers through her hair.“We’ve got to be wrong, right?I mean, this isn’t possible.”

He took a bite out of his steak and looked at her.“Unless that is the point.Think about it, we’ve gone back to a time when everything made sense.We were the best of friends, and nothing could come between us.We were a solid rock, and we lost each other.Now, we’re finding each other, and what better way to find one another, and remember who we once were, than for us to have a live action replay of our games?”

They stared at one another.

“We never mated during our games,” Calliope said.

“We never needed to.We were best friends.The inseparable duo.We were a team.”

“And we’re still a team, and now we’ve got to mate,” Calliope said.She glanced down at her chicken.“I’ve ...never been with anyone.”

This surprised him.

“I didn’t go to prom, because I didn’t want to see you with another girl.So, I stayed home, watched horror movies I hated, and ate ice cream.”

Jaxson couldn’t help but smile.

“Hey, I’m trying here.Opening up and telling you very private stuff.”

“I didn’t go to prom either,” Jaxson said.“There was only one person I ever wanted to go with, and that was you.There was no other girl.”He looked at her.“Until you, I had never kissed another girl.”

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not.I didn’t want to be with anyone else.”

“I had never kissed another boy either,” Calliope said.“If we’re being honest...”

“I’m a virgin,” Jaxson said.“There were offers.I’m not going to deny it.There were a ton of offers, but I didn’t want any of it.I wanted you.I can admit that now.”

He saw the smile on her face.

“So, we’re both virgins.We’re here to be mated, and we have just figured out that our Hunt is in fact a manifestation of our imagination as children.”She pressed her lips together.“What does that mean for everyone else?”

“I have no idea, and right now I don’t care.We’ve got our work cut out for us.”

He loved her smile and how it lit up her whole face.She looked so damn happy.

“Well, we managed to fend off a bear, and I guess we better look forward to doing a lot of other stuff.”

He nodded.

“I guess eating and sleeping, as we’re going to need our strength.”

Jaxson couldn’t have agreed more.They did have their work cut out for them.They played and explored that much as kids, though he couldn’t remember if there was a particular order, or if they had taken random days.

Whatever was going on, they were only going to be able to make it out of here together.That was the only way it would work.

---