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that is incredibly creepy.”
    “Really?” He thought for a minute, giving her
ample time to watch the muscles in his shoulders shift and tug at
his long-sleeve navy tee as he continued walking. “What happened to
southern hospitality?”
    “It was replaced with tasers and Krav
Maga.”
    Spinning to face her, he asked, “Do you have
a taser?”
    “Absolutely.”
    He chuckled and resumed walking. “No you
don’t.”
    “I totally have a taser,” she asserted,
trailing behind him.
    Shaking his head, he corrected, “If you had a
taser, you would have used it when I startled you.”
    Damn, he's right!
    “You think you’re such a smartass. Fine. But
I did take Krav Maga with some coworkers, so don’t assume that I’m
helpless.”
    In all seriousness, he turned, his distinct
profile barely outlined by the dim moonlight. “I would never make
that mistake.”
    They walked in silence for a few minutes with
only the sound of their footsteps on the pavement and the
occasional crickets. There was something about the man’s demeanor
that made a carnal, fluffy, feminine part of Andi feel safe. And,
to be honest, she wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
    “You never told me your name.”
    “Michael.”
    “That’s so normal.”
    Michael laughed from the darkest depths of
his gut. “You sound so surprised. Would it make you feel better if
I lied and said I was born in a cellar and my parents referred to
me as ‘Experiment Number Nine’?”
    She shrugged, unable to chase back a smile.
“Kind of.”
    Once the humor died, Andi ventured to ask,
“What did that to my car? Do you really think it was a bear?”
    “Did you see it?” There was caution in his
voice, like he was balancing on an imaginary line.
    “Barely. It was big. Sure as hell wasn’t a
raccoon, I’ll tell you that.”
    He shrugged. “Could be a number of things
this far out of town… What are you doing out here?”
    Embarrassed, she stared at the sky rather
than make eye contact. “I was invited to a party.” Reluctantly, she
shared, “I didn’t want to be the only one in the office working
overtime on a Friday night. Again. But I was the last to leave and
got bad directions, I guess.”
    “Ever hear of a GPS?”
    Andi scoffed. “Don’t even. Technology is my
arch-nemesis right now.”
    Raising an eyebrow, Michael remained silent,
continuing to walk with purpose.
    Silence consumed them once more. Andi took
note of the forest flanking both sides of the road, wondering if
civilization had ever bore a finger of light on the tallest group
of trees out here. It reminded her of a line from a Robert Frost
poem.
     
    They cannot scare me with their empty
spaces
    Between stars, where no human race is.
     
    Feeling more isolated with every step, Andi
said, “I thought your campsite was just up the road.”
    “It is. We’re almost there.”
    “What are you doing wandering around
in the woods alone?”
    Her mind filed through episodes of CSI and Bones .
    “I was taking a walk, not wandering.” As they
turned with the bend in the road, Michael pointed. “There’s my
campsite.”
    The dusty gravel circle in the middle of
nowhere had a one-man tent, an old Ford, a fallen tree he’d been
using as a chair, a modest fire pit, and a small stream that
babbled and blubbed into the darkness.
    “Now let’s get you out of those clothes.”

 
     
     
II
     
     
    “Excuse you?” Andi gasped. “What did you just
say?”
    “You’re covered in mud. We can wash them in
the stream.”
    “Is this the part where you offer to let me
borrow your clothes and then take advantage of me?”
    Michael liked her attitude. He found her
peculiar and alluring.
    Crossing that unspoken boundary of personal
space, a flush rushed through Andi’s complexion as his cheek swept
the side of her wispy locks.
    “Why would I do that? I don’t want to take
your clothes off twice.”
    She could have moved. Could have screamed.
Could have done something.
    Shouldn’t I do