Author: Chriztine
Rating: R
Character: Arthur Baskin
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction based on the characters established and defined in the movie and book titled Gladiator It is strictly for entertainment purposes. Please do not copy, publish or alter this work in any way without the written permission of the author.
Prologue
Her doctor advised Chriztine she could use change of environment. Perhaps her body would acclimate better and the unexpected lapses of unconscious would improve? She worried about these lapses.
The lapses had started after she had had a big operation, two years earlier. The actual surgical operation had gone well, but her heart had stopped during surgery for a minute or two. The doctors had got it going and they thought there wouldn’t be any complications. Everyone was surprised when the fainting started.
The first time it happened she was still at the hospital and it lasted just for a few seconds. It hadn’t been noticed because they had expected her to be a little weak. The second bout was the first time when she tried to walk after the operation. The next time was about a half year later when she was told that she been out for about five minutes. The time between the lapses shortened and she was out for longer and longer periods.
Chriz had questioned the doctors for answers. It was scary because she often couldn’t say what caused the fainting spells. Another thing that seemed weird was that she often was totally back to normal with in a minute, like it hadn’t happened. The doctors hadn’t found anything that could explain it. The only thing they could like it to was narcolepsy (when a person suddenly fell into deep sleep when their stress increases).
Another thing she noticed was that every time she lost consciousness her memory of events became vague. She found herself very confused at times.
When the doctor said that she needed a change of environment Chriz decided to accept an invitation she got from some friends she’d met on the Internet. They had asked her if she wanted to come to a magnificent place they often visited and lived in. Chriz could come and stay a while and whilst she hadn’t thought she would be able to travel so soon, she took the opportunity when her doctor put her on a sick-list and suggested travel. So she took the chance and contacted Michelle, and was greeted her warmly.
So Chriztine went on her travels and was hopeful she would be away for a month. Chriz thought Michelle was little vague on how she would find the place, but was certain she would do it.
Part One
Arthur ran to the hotel to see if any of his brothers were there. He could only see Michelle behind the desk so he turned on his heels and ran towards the Tavern. It was usual for one of them to be there, and he needed some help.
As he burst inside, he saw that Sid and Hando sitting at the bar. He sighed; they were the last two he wanted to find. He was hoping he’d find John, Maximus or Cort. Arthur hesitated, wondering if he dare ask for help. It was still wet after days of raining and he couldn’t leave the girl lying in the ditch.
He started to walk slowly towards them, wishing that some of the others had been at the Tavern. He looked into the booths and up the stairs, but was out of luck. He had to ask them!
Sid was annoyed because he and Hando were deep into a heated discussion about how some people came to this place, and how they thought they owned it. Sid wasn’t happy being disturbed, especially when he and Hando were having such interesting conversation.
“What the hell is it now, Arthur? You are such pain in the ass, you only come here when you want something!”
Arthur hesitated and swallowed before he blurted it out. “I need help. A sheila is lying in a ditch up the road and I can’t move her by myself. She doesn’t look good at all.”
“Who is it? What’s wrong with her?” Sid asked.
“Don’t know, I think she needs help. I couldn’t get any reaction when I talked to her.”
“Is she a hot sheila, Arthur? Oh what am I asking you for?!” Hando asked.
Sid and Hando got up from their chairs and started to walk towards the door. Arthur took another look around to see if John had shown up. If they couldn’t wake her up, he would know what to do.
Arthur had to hurry to keep up with them as they walked briskly towards the ditch. When they reached her, he saw that the girl was in the same position as she was in when he left her. She was lying on her stomach, half way down in the ditch. Her clothes were sopping wet from the heavily rained grass.
Hando shoved her with his foot but didn’t get any reaction. She looked a very good-looking Sheila with long legs, a perfect ass and long blond hair. He wondered if that was her natural colour. He didn’t recognize her; she was new around these parts.
Sid bent over, careful to not get his precious suit dirty, and turned her over. He’d never seen her before and he thought he knew all the girls. He always introduced himself to every new girl that came to the Crowe’s Point. She looked like a girl he could fancy and he liked the look of her clothes. But he would have to wait until after that his girlfriend got home, but that had never stopped him having fun with the ladies. He watched her chest moving as she breathed and knew she was alive. Why didn’t she react to being moved?
“Okay Hando come here, lift her. Don’t just stand there and glare, Arthur you have to help too.”
Together they got her up. She was quite tall and not so easy to carry. Arthur looked round but couldn’t see any bag or suitcase, not even a handbag. There was nothing that might give any clue as to who she was. They took her to the Tavern and after some argument; they decided to put her in Hando’s room. Sid would like her in his room, but he didn’t dare risk the wrath of his girlfriend. When they put her on the bed and she was still out cold.
“Arthur, I think you should get Dr Anthony. She doesn’t look normal,” said Sid.
Arthur was sent to fetch the doctor. Sid started to undress her gently, making sure her nice clothes wouldn’t get any more creased or ruined. He checked the pockets for clues as to who she was, but he found nothing. It was a mystery. He didn’t recognize the clothing tags, but saw they were very good quality, and they needed to be cleaned.
Hando wasn’t much help and couldn’t help staring at her. She looked like the ultimate perfect girl. A girl that would be approved for the Arian race, even if he hadn’t seen the colour of her eyes. Her skin was light so she would probably have green or blue eyes. It had been some time since he had experienced these kinds of thoughts. Here at the Point he had worked to be more open-minded. He had some of the others to thank for not going crazy and had not missed the gang. But the girl that layed in his bed was a real good-looking Sheila and he could go for her.
Sid started to take her shoes off. He thought she had very big feet and it couldn’t be easy to find comfortable shoes. He untied her trousers. They were beige and made of cotton. He had to lift her hips to pull them down. She wasn’t only long legged; her legs were in a perfect shape. He stroked his hand down after her leg, stopping awhile at her feet. If Hando hadn’t been there, he would have given into his urge to kiss her. He continued to stroke her up inside her leg. He stopped before Hando could say anything. Instead, he started to get her jacket and the blouse off her. They seemed more difficult to remove. After he had undone the buttons he brought her to a sitting position. Her arms hung limp and heavy, and her head slumped on his shoulder. It was lucky that he took off both the jacket and the blouse at the same time because he could not have managed the same procedure twice. He felt her breast through her thin camisole. The camisole seemed to be made of silk and it felt wonderful under his fingers. He couldn’t contain himself and put his hand over one of her breast. A thrilling feeling crept through his body, but he wanted her conscious. He wanted to see and feel the reactions. He was amazed that she still didn’t show any reactions because he had to roll her forward and back to remove her clothing. He thought she could be drunk, but could detect no smell of alcohol on her breath. Her face had some lines on it. That was also something else he would get know about. This Sheila was a mystery and he was going to enjoy finding out about her.
Chriztine could not believe that she wasn’t dreaming. She could not work out what had happened, too tired to open her eyes. She had to know what was happening. Chriz felt like a rag doll that had been thrown in a heap. She tried to work to back to the real world. Whilst she fought for her consciousness, she felt someone undress her and stroke her. That only made her try harder to come around. She knew that she was perfectly able to take her own clothes off when she was a wake. Her anger and agitation rose. Chriztine’s frustration grew because she hated the times when she lapsed. It was terrifying that she couldn’t control over it or herself. And now, someone, maybe some creep, was taking her cloths off and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do except feel his hands moving over her body!
Finally, she was able to wake up and see who it was. The first thing Chriz saw was the blue suit the man was wearing. She looked into his blue/green eyes. She thought she recognized them, but couldn’t place when or where she seen them. Had she meet him before? Somehow she didn’t think so. He was really close to her and his hands were on her camisole so Chriz reacted by trying to keep it pulled down. She absolutely didn’t want to expose herself. Something in her said “not for him”.
He looked into her blue eyes and stopped what he was doing. Perhaps he could tell she didn’t know where she was and that she was scared and confused. He let go of her camisole, but he looked as if he definitely wanted to keep undressing her.
“Welcome back to the world, we were really scared you wouldn’t make it.”
Chriztine stared at him, and deep inside she knew that she should stay away from him. Somehow, she knew he wasn’t a nice guy, a picture about death hung close to him. She forced herself to break the spell and started too look around her. Chriz was lying in a bed that smelled of male cologne, could it be his? The room was fastidious and neat, and she didn’t recognize it. She was very sure that she hadn’t been there before. It was scary. It was one of the rare times she had woken up and didn’t recognize where she was. Chriz remembered were she’d been before she became unconscious. Was she on the way to somewhere? Chriz thought something had happened, was it with her car? Something she was sure about was that she been in a forest so she had to be in the countryside now.
As Chriztine looked around the room, she detected small things, that didn’t fit into the room. Ornaments, small flags, some knives and guns seemed to come from Nazi Germany. They frightened her more than the man next to her. Those things stood for destruction, repression, and death. She tried to avoid the people involved with such things. One reason was because of their intolerance for her kind of people. She knew Nazi’s didn’t accept them. Chriz felt that she wanted to get away as fast as she could, but she couldn’t see her clothes. She looked at the guy closest to her and thought he was not the kind of man who would be a Nazi skinhead, not the way he was dressed.
“Hando, have you any clean clothes for her to borrow or do I need to go over to me and fetch some?” The man in the suit said.
“I will have some.” Hando replied.
Chriztine looked around to see where the other voice came from. For the first time she saw that there was another person standing close to a door which looked like it lead to another room. Her eyes had acclimatized to the light and she saw another guy, the one who answered, the one who must be named Hando. Her heart jumped and she almost fainted. Chriz couldn’t remain silent and heard herself scream.
Part Two
Chriz thought it was a nightmare. Where was she? She would never set foot in any sort of house where Nazis lived. What had happened? Why whas she there and why was this man undressing her? Chriz pulled the sheet up around her and jumped off the bed. She was going to stay there for one more minute!
At the same time, the door opened and two other men rushed in.
She tripped when she saw them and almost fell on the skinhead. Chriz took several clumsy steps and hid behind the two new men as she made for the door. She had to get out of there, she could be there!
For once, both Sid and Hando were stunned, neither of them had expected her reaction. They hadn’t done anything that they thought was wrong.
“What did you two do to her?”, asked the older man that had come into the room.
“What did we do? We didn’t do nothing! Shit, Arthur rushed into the bar, getting us to come out and save this sheila,” Hando waved towards the door and continued. “It was still wet where she was laying and she looked half dead so we brought her here. We were trying to help her!”
Sid had woken up from his trance and added, “Hando’s telling the truth. We haven’t done anything to her. I started to undress her because she shouldn’t have the wet clothes on her. We were really concerned about her. Something seemed to be very wrong with her.’
“I don’t believe you, not after that sound she made and the way that she rushed out of here.”
“Didn’t Arthur tell you that she was unconscious when we both found her and carried her in here. She didn’t wake up until I’d almost finished undressing her.”
“Are you sure you didn’t touch her in any intimate way?”
Hando quickly glanced out the window. He had seen how Sid had stroked her and had wanted to do the same himself. He left it to Sid to get out of his own situation.
“Fuck you! Can’t any of you think anything other than bad things about me!? No, I didn’t touch her. I just tried to get the wet clothes off her. I also tried to find anything that could tell us who she is or maybe why she was unconscious. Believe it or not, I was concerned about her! Don’t you think I know when something is wrong? If she was alright she would have woken up while we were carrying her up here. It isn’t normal and it would have been alright if she had woken up on the way.”
“But something must have happened, you don’t screan without any reason.”
“When she woke up, she looked around some and it was when she saw Hando first that she started.”
Hando turned around and his eyes shot flashes.
“Calm down both of you,” said Dr Anthony as he held up his hands. “If that’s correct, there is something that she doesn’t like. I think we have to go forward very slowly with her and I suggest you two stay away from her until we know who she is and why she reacted as she did, especially you Hando. Arthur, can you find her and take her to your room so I can check her. Sid, where are her clothes?”
Sid pointed at a folded pile on the floor. They looked dirty and creased. The guys did as Dr Anthony told them to do. Arthur walked after her into the hallway where she had stopped and was looking back and forth.
Chrizine didn’t recognize the hall either and knew she was lost. She looked both to the right and left, trying to see which way she should take but she stood there clueless. She really wanted to get out of the house. It was a strange place, she noted as she stood there in a long corridor with several doors. She thought it must be a very large house or some sort of hotel. Before she could decide which way to go, she heard someone clearing his throat. Chriz turned, hoping it wasn’t either of the first to men. The man who stood there was the younger one that had come into the room after she had screamed. He didn’t look terrifying, rather he looked shy and harmless. The surroundings didn’t seem to have affected him either, she might be able to trust him. Chriz was certain that she had seen him before. He resembled both of the other two, so she reasoned that he had to be related to them.
“Oh my God!? Are you alright? What happened to you? I didn’t know what I should believe when I found you in the ditch. God, it’s like you suddenly just came alive! You shocked the hell out of us! Here please, let me help you.”
She said thanks and took the hand he offered to her. Finally she found her voice and whispered; “I’m Chriztine.” She felt kind of shaky so it was a welcome relief to have someone to lean against.
“By the way… Hi, I’m Arthur Baskin, we can’t stand here in the hallway. Follow me and we will get you some clothes, and Dr Anthony would like to come and check you out.”
He started to walk and she followed him. When they had walked to the right they came to a landing and Arthur chose to go one stair up instead of down and into the first door to the right.
The room they entered looked totally different from the first one. This one was painted in a light blue color, the furniture was faded and wooden. Chriz associated it with the style of the 50’s. This room was big but included the bed in one corner. He seemed to have it in perfect condition. In the opposite corner stood a brown bookshelf with details in black, it also had a desk where a computer stood and everything looked to be in exactly the spot that it should be. The sofa and an armchair were in some horrible brown color, in front of it stood a kidney shaped table in teak. To save the wallpaper around the bed, there was a cover of rattan. On the floor lay a long pile rug. He had some pictures on the walls and some of them looked like religious icons.
“The door to the left is to the bathroom and the other there to the right is to a small kitchen. If you go into the bathroom I will see what clothes I can find for you.”
“Thanks Arthur, is it all right if I use the shower I feel quite dirty?”
“That’s all right Miss, and you will find towels in the top drawer, I’ll put the clothes outside the door.”
Chriz went into the bathroom and found a towel before she got into the shower. Maybe it would wake her up more and get rid of Hando’s smell. She dropped the sheet and wouldn’t touch it again. She didn’t see any soap so she satisfied herself with his shower cream, and it didn’t bother her it was for a male. Afterwards, she felt better and as Arthur had told her, he had put some clothes outside the door. Chriz looked at them and tried not to chuckle. He had given her a shirt, a cardigan and a pair of trousers with sewn creases. They looked as if they come from the 50’s too. What was it with this guy who seemed to love that era so? But he looked nice. The clothes weren’t too big, the trousers were just in the right length, she knew that she had long legs and was tall. The shirt and cardigan were a few size bigger, she was glad they were because she knew that she was broad-shouldered, and now it wouldn’t look so obvious. She thought Arthur was so cute. When Chriz came out, the doctor had arrived.
“My name is Anthony and I’m the doctor here, Arthur said that your name is Chriztine and you speak with an accent.”
“Yes, and among my friends I’m called Chriz. I come from Sweden. May I ask were I am?”
“You don’t recognize where you’re at? Have you never been here before?”
“Nope, and I wouldn’t come here voluntarily, I think.”
“Do you remember what you were doing before you passed out?”
“Since two days I’ve been travelling, I’m on vacation and have flown from Sweden. Then I rented a car and started to drive.”
“Have you been able to sleep? Eat properly? Drink enough or had any alcohol?”
“Yeah, as normal, I don’t drink when I’m driving.”
“Can you think of anything that could have caused your blackout? Have you any sickness?”
“Excuse me, would you please tell me where I am first?”
“Okay, you have come to a place called Crowe’s Point. People usually don’t come here if they aren’t invited or aren’t connected with the guys here. Do you have any memory of coming here?”
She closed her eyes and it went several minutes before she answered. “Yes, and I think I was invited here. But I thought I was somewhere else after I saw the first … Oh no! Why didn’t I recognize him? I must have insulted Hando!”
“Then you know about it and who Hando is. I don’t think you insulted him, only surprised him with you reaction. Is there anything you would like to tell me?”
Chriz looked at Arthur, and placed him from “Love in Limbo” and she didn’t want to say anything while he was there, so she shook her head. Now that she knew where she was she could place the first guy too, it was Sid 6.7 and her feelings told her that she should keep her guard up around him. Some of her memories come back of what she been doing before she fell. She was on her way here and something had happened to her car. Chriz thought she had started to walk to get some help when she had got the bout.
Dr Anthony had seen her look at Arthur and asked him to go down and fix something to eat and not come back for half an hour. He wanted to check her out so it wasn’t any problem with her. After Arthur asked her if she wanted anything special he went out.
Chriz was glad he left and she was still not sure if she felt up for being examined, but thought it might be best if she allowed him. Anthony started to ask some questions, such as if it had happened before and if she visited any doctor regularly. He listened to her heart and breathing, and looked her into her eyes. He couldn’t find anything unusual. He told her that she looked very healthy.
“But I think there is something you’re not telling me. There isn’t anything special you want to tell me?”
“Nope, not for the moment and I think it would take some time before I get a new fainting bouts, it has been a few weeks between them. My doctor couldn’t find where they comes from and he hoped a travel vacation could help.”
“Then I think I have done what I can for the moment, if it isn’t anything else you can think about.”
“I’m kind of dizzy but I think something happened to my car and it’s probably somewhere around where they must found me. My things would be in my car. Do you think anyone can get it here?”
Before Anthony could ask her more questions, there came a light knock on the door and Arthur came back with a tray. The food smelled good and Chriz felt that she was hungry.
“I will see to it that your car is taken care of. I would recommend you to take it easy the rest of the day, even if it feels like you are okay. If you start feel queasy don’t hesitate to visit me and if there is anything you want to talk about you are welcome in my office.”
“Thank you, Dr Anthony.”
Arthur had brought some food for himself too and we sat in his kitchen and started to eat. There was an awkward silence and they couldn’t find anything to say. Chriz was kind of shy with strangers and she still felt shaken from the rude awakening she gotten. Arthur seemed as if he wasn’t used to being with girls either. So finding anything to talk about wasn’t easy. They looked at each other when both didn’t think the other was looking.
Later, when both of them were about to take the jug of fruit juice, their hands touched and they both withdrew, suddenly pushing the jug over instead and the juice started to pour out on the floor. Chriz reacted by trying to save some of it and Arthur did the same so they smacked into each other’s foreheads. It must have looked funny and Chriz thought it was so comical that she couldn’t do anything but laugh. Her laugh became contagious and Arthur began to laugh too.
They managed to save so much that they got a half a glass each. Arthur jumped up and took a rag to get the juice from the floor. The incident seemed to solve the tension between them.
When Chriz wanted to help to dry up the juice, he replied that she was a guest and she should take it easy like Dr Anthony said. But she was stubborn and didn’t listen to him, even though she should have.
After she had helped him and stood up, she did so too quickly and the blood rushed down from her head to her feet. Chriz began to faint. Arthur saw it, and caught her before she fell to the floor. He led her to his bed where she lay down. He went back to the kitchen to finish the last of the mopping, then he came back and kept her company.
She looked so vulnerable and pretty, thought Arthur. The incident had really helped their shyness and they had started to talk and get to know each other.
After some hours he got a phone call from the Hotel. Her car had been brought there and they had taken the liberty to bring her suitcase to the room they had prepared for her.
Part Three
Chriz thought it was nice of the boys to carry her things up to the room that was made for her at the Hotel. Arthur had followed her there and she was happy that they didn’t meet anyone. She was still shaken from the meeting with Sid and Hando. She hoped it would be a long time before she bumped into them again. She didn’t want to try to explain her behaviour to them and hoped that they might forget it.
She was grateful to Arthur for going out of his way to make her feel welcome, and that was all she could cope with at that time. Chriz needed to take the time to take in her surroundings and get used to the place. She felt everything was moving too fast with the awakening she had.
Seeing the boyz together at the same time was stranger than she had imagined and so far she had only seen three out of the twenty she knew to be there. She had thought it wouldn’t be so hard, but she was proving herself wrong.
When Arthur had invited her to the Tavern for supper and a chance to meet some of the other boyz, she declined. She didn’t want to be rude, but was still feeling very strange following her collapse and felt an early night was the best remedy.
Chriztine or Chriz as he’d been allowed to call her, seemed shy and unused to being in a crowd, so Arthur understood her need to spend her her first night at the Crowe’s Point alone in her room. He had felt the same way, and he lived there! Of course, she also had been through the experience of having Sid and Hando as the first people she met. Arthur wouldn’t have whished that experience on anyone, but having found her in the wet ditch, he hadn’t had much of a choice.
Now that he had known her for a few hours he found that he already had special feeling for her. Could this mean that they had the connection that the boyz and their girls were talking about? He envied John, Maximus, Bud, Cort, Jeff, and Colin. He even envied Sid and Hando, but he would never admit that part out loud.
This was a new experience for Arthur. He’d never felt anything like this before, a warm tingling through his body. It was a special feeling he never thought he would experience for any girl. He had always resigned himself to being lonely. He was at a loss as to how he should handle this, it scared him. At the same time he found the emotions he was feeling very interesting. Unfortunately he didn’t feel close enough to any of his brothers to speak with them about how he was feeling.
Arthur suddenly jumped as someone cleared his throat behind him. He hadn’t realized where he was walking, and found himself in the garden below the hotel. He turned to find Hando standing there.
“Arthur, which room has Michelle given the girl?”
“Didn’t you promise Dr Anthony to stay away from her?”
“Yes I did, but you know that I could check the register to get which one she stays in and I thought it is easier to ask you when I saw that you followed her to the hotel. So tell me!”
Hando’s voice was sharp, and when he turned his piercing glare at Arthur, he didn’t dare to not tell him which room Chriz was staying in. It was true what Hando said, he would find out soon enough anyway.
After giving Hando the information he fled quickly into his office. He was glad to see some paperwork waiting for his attention. It would take his mind off things.
Chriztine’s curiosity took over hand and she had to check the rooms, because when Arthur and she had entered, she had seen that it was two. The first one was a combined living room and kitchen. To the left was the bedroom, where you also come into the bathroom.
The combined living room/kitchen was white or in a light color; when she got closer she saw it was light, light green. It was furnishing with a dark bookshelf on the wall to the bedroom. It held a stereo, video, DVD and a TV. A few books, CD and tapes were standing in it, but there was a lot of space that could be filled. In front of it was a glass table and a black leather sofa. A bench stands as a partition off the kitchen area. It was a small table and two chairs except the stove, kitchen sink and refrigerator.
The bedroom had a yellow tapestry and a fluffy bed. In one corner stood a wardrobe and a drawer. She was very glad that wasn’t any mirror there, it would be enough with that in the bathroom. To her joy she saw that the bathroom contained a bathtub. It was really nice rooms that she thought she would love to stay in. It was so much her; little amazing she thought.
Chriz walked back to the first room and went outside that door that she’d seen; out to the balcony. It was situated so she could see over a garden and in the direction to the tavern, which she saw a glimpse of.
When she was standing there she saw Arthur walking in the garden. It looked like he was in his own thoughts, because he didn’t see the other person standing under one of the trees. The person was standing so still that even she’d missed him first. When he gave his announcement Arthur jumped and Chriz almost did the same when she saw who the person was- it was Hando.
They were to far away so she couldn’t hear what was said between them. From Arthur’s expression, she understood that Hando had asked something he didn’t want to answer, but was too afraid not to. She felt sorry for Arthur and understood how he felt. She’d also run from Hando as she saw Arthur do the next second. She quickly went into the room, when Hando’s attention turned to where she was.
When Hando found out which room the sheila was in, it was easy to pick out her window and balcony. After Arthur’s hasty departure he turned his gaze in her direction. He saw that she was watching his ‘little chat’ with Arthur, but turned away when she saw him look in her direction.
There was no way he was going to stay away from her, not a good looking sheila like she was. But he would have to go slowly to win her, not scare her away. He really wanted her. He was at a loose end for a few days before his girl arrived for the 7th April party. Should he wait until after?
He stood watching for a bit longer, but when he saw the curtains being drawn he knew there was no chance of spotting her again for the moment. He went back to his room to plan his approach.
Part Four
Chriz pulled all the curtains for the windows, she didn’t want anyone to be able to see in. She was glad that they were made of a heavy fabric which darkened the room. She took her suitcase, put it on the bed and began unpack her clothes.
After Chriz had hung everything up, she took her toilet bag and went into the bathroom and started to fill the bathtub. Maybe a long relaxing bath could ease the tension that she was still feeling. She poured some marigold and lavender and soon the scent was in the whole room.
While the tub was filling she went out to put some music on. She went through the CD’s and to her big surprise she found a rare CD she never thought she would see anywhere else than in her own collection. Chriztine just adored Cameron Daddo’s voice and had always loved to have him on when she lay in the bath. Maybe it was something special with Aussie guy’s.
Back in the bathroom, she took off Arthur’s clothes and folded them, she would give them back the next day and didn’t want them to be crumpled. It was nice to sink down in the water. First Chriz just lay there and took in the moment.
After a song or two she started to scrub herself. Then she inspected her legs and decided it could wait until morning to shave them. She lay there stroking herself, along her legs, hips and stomach. Her hands lingered on her breasts. They were in a good shape. Much better than they where before. They had been too big and didn’t make her proportions right. It felt good and she was very pleased with her body, it still felt new for her. The doctors had done a very fine job and it wasn’t anything she regretted. She would do it hundred times again. Everything was better than the body she was born with.
Chriz admired herself for a while, then took her nail file and started to fix her nails. One was broken and needed extra care. The nail polish was damage too so she removed it so she could replace it when she got up from the bath.
Chriztine felt better after the bath and she had taken care of herself. It wasn’t just the rude awakening after having laid in a ditch, but the traveling had affected her too.
She felt she needed to relax, and soothe her shattered nerves back in place. When the new nail polish was dry she went to the bed and sunk down in it. She felt like a princess in the fluffy comforter, or it was more like she was the ugly duckling.
It didn’t take many minutes before she was asleep.
Her heart pounded and she was breathing hard.
She was on the way home and walked the same way she always did. When she had reached the park two blocks away from their apartment a gang of skinheads had appeared. Immediately she knew there would be a problem.
She recognized a few of them, they were in the same school so they would know who she was. They had been worse and worse lately dogged her every movement. She increased the speed of her walk and she tried to ignore them, but they were determined to give her a lesson.
They were faster than her so they started to push her, heckle and hit her. She didn’t want to fight and the only way to avoid it was to run like hell.
She was usually fast, but this time it didn’t look like she would be able to get away from one of them.
The guy that chased her came so close that he got his arm around her waist, and she was trapped.
They fell to the ground, and when she turned to push the skinhead away from her, she found herself looking into the greenest eyes she had seen. Something didn’t seem to be right.
She managed to get an arm free and quickly punched the skinhead as hard as she could. She got up and took a few steps but fell. And all went black.
Sometime near the morning Chriztine woke up and found herself laying on the floor in the living room. She had the comforter wrapped around her. She manages to role out of it and crawl back to the bed.
Her head hurt and feeling gingerly with her hand, she felt a bump just above the hairline. She found her right hand was stiff, almost as if she’d hit something with her fist.
Part Five
Next time Chriztine woke up – it felt better, she still had the bump in her head and her hand was just little tender. There was no bruising, so she thought probably hit it against the floor when she fell. She lay in the bed and tried to decide what she wanted to do. She was there on vacation and planned to be there at least three weeks, so she would have time to learn to know the people there. Today she first thought she would look around the place, see how it looked like. She would also walk over to the Tavern to give Arthur his clothes back and ask if he knew where her clothes were.
Chriztine was also thinking of what happened yesterday. Apart from the rude awakening, she liked it so far. Arthur seemed to be a good lad and in a way she felt that they were alike – both odd and shy in their own way. He’d really helped her to feel better and it had been fun when they accidentally pushed the juice can. She smiled at the memory. Arthur looked real cute, even more when he blushed.
When she was laying there and thinking of him she felt that they could be real good friends. When they both got over their shyness they worked well together. Being the same age helped with their friendship. She preferred him to either Hando or Sid, the very thought of them sent shivers throughout her entire body. Hopefully she would find the Point big enough to enable her to avoid them during her visit.
To get rid of the chill she started to think if there would be anyone else that she might be friends with and who was it that she might be more involved with? There had to be someone, she’d learnt from the mails and the board that most of the visitors there had a connection, and hadn’t Dr Anthony said that yesterday too?
When Chriz thought about it she wasn’t certain which one of the incarnations it could be. When she thought of who she had learnt about first, her thoughts became blurred. She knew that she had seen several films without thinking how good looking the creator was. It was after her first operation that she had really gotten into his films and learnt that he was raised in Australia. After that she was hooked.
Subsequently she had to see all films she could get a hand of and a few of then spoke more to her than the others. It was at least three that she always comes back to. Chriz and her friends had a real go over one, which they quite often watched, might it be him? She liked him in that semi-longed hair, when it curled.
Or could it be any of the others she had fallen for more? It hadn’t been the first film she seen, but after the first time she had come back to it very often. Maybe it was that the guy reminded her about her cousin. That had made that she come to love the character. He seemed so kind and was looking so good. He also seemed to be a person that was very easy to talk to. She would very much be with him, but know at the same time it would be small chance it would happen. It wasn’t only that she thought he already be with someone. When he was like her cousin he wouldn’t look at her direction.
The third guy she could think of and hope for would be in the same age – early twenties and a good guy. Protective of the girl he choose and jealous. Whoever it ended up to be, Chriz knew that she would not make the first move, she was too shy for that. Chriz didn’t want to rush things and wanted things to happen as and when they should.
She got up from the comfy bed. Put her robe on her and went to the window and glanced out. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day so a walk in the area would be a perfect thing to spend the day. After she started the stereo she went to the bathroom for her morning ritual.
She always began with her medication. She wished she hadn’t needed too take it, but without it her metabolism wouldn’t work. Then she shaved and picked away the hair that she definitely didn’t want. After that she rubbed her body with lotion to stop her from drying out. Chriz concluded with her make up. She liked what she saw in the mirror.
One hour had passed by the time she was ready to call down to the reception to ask about getting breakfast. Michelle, answered and told her there should be a list beside the phone with numbers so she could call directly to the kitchen and then someone would bring the order up for her. Chriz had missed the list, but saw it now so she said thanks.
“How are you feeling today? Have you been able to land?”
“I’m feeling good and I think I will take all in my own pace. I’ve some time to meet all I think.”
“If it is anything you need don’t hesitate to ask,”
“Thanks, that I will remember. See you later.”
It didn’t take long after Chriz had talked with Anabella in the kitchen before there was a knock on the door. She opened the door and to her surprise it was a guy that hadn’t the facial similarities with the boyz. She had been holding her breath to meet any new of them.
The guy looked good, he was blond like herself maybe little darker. He was taller and had a well fitted body. She thought he must give the boyz a good competition among the girls.
“Hi, I’m Rick and work here as a waiter. Hope the food tastes good.”
“Hi Rick, it probably will because I’m starving. Have you worked here long?”
“It has been some time, why?”
“I’m thinking of taking a walk later and wonder if there are anything special I should see?”
Rick mentioned a few places that sounded interesting, so it would probably be a long walk. Chriz asked if it would be possible to arrange to pick up a packed lunch to take with her. He would take care of it and she could come and get it when she went out.
Meanwhile in one of the rooms above the tavern one of the guys stood in front of the mirror studying his face. The girl really did manage to hit him hard at the cheekbone. She was strong. The bruise was a clear proof of that. He thought he’d managed to not scare her, but she was so apprehensive and he hadn’t been watchful. It happened too quickly. He couldn’t decide if he should try to hide it or not. It would hopefully disappear in a day or two.
Since Arthur had brought him to her, he couldn’t get her out of his mind. She looked so perfect and mysterious at the same time. He thought she was a hot girl and he wanted her. The picture he saw of her laying there in the bed, with her long, blond hair floating over the pillow made his groin get hard.
He definitely had to have her and that soon.
Part Six
Chriz put on her Nikes and took her backpack, containing her book, notepad, pen and her lunch. Now she would make her acquaintance with the surroundings.
Looking around, she decided Rick was right telling her it was a big place full of all the boyz special places for her to see. She was finding it hard to decide if she should stay near the beach and the sea, or adjourn to the forest and mountain she had seen.
Chriz was walking in the margin of the wood when she looked down to the beach and saw someone there. She stayed hidden behind the trees and watched, making sure she couldn’t be seen. As the figure came closer she could see it was a man, but couldn’t work out if it was one of the boyz or not. She kept very still, unwilling to let the man know of her presence.
The man was kicking about in the sand as if anger. As he came closer to Chriz she saw who it was – suddenly she no longer needed to decide where she should continue her walk. The beach was out of the question at the moment. It was too soon for her to meet with Hando again.
Like a deer alert to danger, she carefully retraced her steps, making sure Hando didn’t find out she was there. When she felt she was deep enough into the woods she quickened her pace away from the beach.
On her way to the deeper forest she passed an ice rink and saw a path that seemed frequently used so she felt little safer. She didn’t need to worry that she would get totally lost.
Chriz had walked for a little over an hour since passing the ice rink when she noticed a sunlit glade.
Chriz was hungry and felt she needed to rest her feet so she went there. Taking out her sandwich, drink and book, she settled down comfortable to enjoy her solitude and her reading.
Andy was standing behind the bar drying some glasses when Sid came down the stairs. He didn’t look like his ordinary self and it took awhile before Andy had figured out what was different about him. Sid wearing one of his blue suits and his hair was perfect as always. First Andy thought it had to be that Sid’s eyes looked exhilarated, even if that wasn’t unusual, it was a long time since he had looked like that.
When he came over to sit on a bar stool Andy could see what was wrong with Sid’s look.
“Sid, where have you got the nasty bruise from?”
“It’s not of your fucking business.”
“Why haven’t you fixed it? You always do.”
“I might want to feel like one of you for once. Have you seen the new girl here today?”
“The girl, that Hando and you helped yesterday … No … what will Lady say when she hears you’re asking about one of the others girls?”
“What do I care.” With those words Sid left the Tavern.
He brushed past Arthur on his way out, who looked back and whispered “Oh God please don’t let it start again.”
“Start what Arthur?”
“That Sid starts to harass a nice, vulnerable girl. Have you the list of the inventory?”
“Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
Hando was walking around kicking every stone in the sand he came across. He still hadn’t worked out how to get closer to the new Sheila. He both felt the big urge to take her and follow Dr. Anthony advice to stay away from her.
She was so fucking beautiful and looked so fragile in some weird way. After her reaction yesterday he really didn’t want to scare her more. But if he didn’t approach her he wouldn’t be able to get to know her. At the same time he didn’t think he would get to know why she had reacted the way she did.
He hadn’t seen her in the morning and she had left the curtains closed at the window. When he was on the beach watching the shore a shiver went down his back. He felt as though he was being watched. He turned around, but when he couldn’t see anyone he just continued cursing and kicking.
Hando whished that maybe she would come to the Tavern in the evening. She would be rested and relaxed and hopefully he would be able to get closer to her without her screaming at the sight of him. If that didn’t work, he would make sure he was the one that returned her cleaned clothes to her.
He decided that this was a good plan.
Arthur’s heart was pounding. Every time he found himself thinking about Chriztine he could feel his pulse racing. He really wished that she would have no more confrontations with Sid or Hando. He regretted that he had asked them for help. He really wanted to spare her from it, but then he hadn’t seen any other option to get help with her.
Now when he had seen Sid’s look and heard the end of his and Andy’s conversation he feared the worst. What had he started? It was bad enough that Hando was watching them yesterday. He decided he had to make certain that he was always around to make sure she was never alone with either Sid or Hando.
Should he tell the older boyz what had been happening so that they would be alerted to any problems that may occur?
Arthur decided to wait to say anything to them and he would go up to her later and see if they could eat dinner together.
Both Dominic and Johnny were cursing over Chriz’s car. The new cars were almost impossible to fix with all the computer components on board. With no authorized car repair shop with the right equipment at the Point, it looked as if they were going to have to get the car repaired outside. They had tried everything they could to get the car going with no luck.
“If you can’t find the problem Johnny, I think we’ll have to call Colin to have a look or get it to the outside, or the thing may never run again.”
“Well, you’re the mechanic mate, and we’ve checked everything we could think of, so maybe we’d better ask Colin. If he can’t fix it we’ll have to make a call outside. Do you know how long the girl is staying?”
“No, Anthony and Chelle didn’t say. Hopefully she will stay for at least a week, then she can some to the party on Monday.”
They left the car to ask their brother for help.
Part Seven
Chriztine had been so deep into her book that she had forgotten the time, so when the sun had disappeared behind the trees she started to get cold. She replaced her bookmark, put the book in her backpack, and started to walk back to the hotel.
There weren’t any people around and even the lobby was empty so Chriz went up to her room. She felt that she was hungry again, but she couldn’t decide whether to eat downstairs, at the tavern or have something sent up to her room. As she was thinking about it she checked in the mirror and refreshed her make up.
Just as she had decided to call the front desk the phone rang. Chriz froze, who knew the number? She hadn’t given it to anyone. She let it ring several times before she reached out and picked up the receiver.
“Hi it’s Arthur, how are you feeling today?”
“Hi Arthur, I’m feeling fine. I was just thinking about coming to find you. I wanted to return your clothes and thank you for lending them to me.”
“There’s no hurry with that. I’m calling because if you are feeling better I wonder if you would eat dinner with me?”
She glanced at her watch and saw it was well past time to eat. Chriz thought it must have taken Arthur hours to plick up enough courage to call her.
“That would be nice, but I don’t fancy doing it in public, I still don’t think I’m ready to meet any of the others yet.”
“If it’s okay with you I can go past the restaurant and bring some up to you. Does that sound good?”
“Yes, please I will wait for you.”
The boyz that were in the tavern noticed Arthur when he passed for the Hotel. They raised their eye brows because they couldn’t help noticing that he had put a lot effort into his appearance. He had a suit on him and a colored tie. His hair was water comb parted in a side.
A few of them started to mumble and wonder what had happened. The only time they saw him dressed up like this was at a party or very special occasion. The next one wasn’t due for four days, so he was a little early. None of them were well up with the gossip about the arrival of the new girl yesterday. They had all only heard up bits and pieces.
Arthur’s heart was beating fit to burst. But he was on the way to Chriztine. She had accepted his invitation to have dinner with him in her room, and he was bubbling over in high spirits. He couldn’t believe that she’d been thinking of him, even if it only had been to bring his clothes back. He never imagined she would want to see him again and thought it may be time to strengthen their friendship. Arthur hoped there was something that was starting to building between them. That it really could be his turn to get someone to care about.
The meal was ready and he had got a tray to place it on. He had been in the garden and picked up a pink rose, which he laid on the tray.
He found that his palms were beginning to sweat and he rans them down the sides of his trousers to dry them, then he knocked on the door.
Carefully was the door opened a small chink and he saw some of her blond hair. When he had moved so Chriz could see who it was, she opened for let him in.
Chriztine was wearing a long skirt, a blue blouse and had her hair hanging loose. She was a vision he would love to see everyday. He was amazed that she didn’t wish to meet any of the others guys as it was usual for most girls to want to meet the better known brothers. He was too shy to ask her why and could only hope that she would tell him when she was ready.
“Are you thinking of standing in the hall for the rest of your life? Come in.”
Arthur didn’t need to be told twice and entered the room with the tray.
“Where will you sit and eat, the kitchen or on the sofa?”
“Kitchen table please, then we can change to the sofa if you brought any dessert.”
Arthur took the tray to the table and started to lay out the food. He had ordered a complete dinner with starter, main dish and a dessert. He hadn’t been sure if she drank any wine so he also brought a pitcher with juice and some coffee. He laid the rose beside the plate where he hoped she would sit.
“Should we start Chriztine?”
Chriz sat down where he had hoped. She lifted the rose to her nose and took in the scent. When she had put it between their plates she said, “Thanks Arthur, but you didn’t need to put so much effort just for dinner.”
“I wanted too, it isn’t so often I have the opportunity to invite a girl on dinner.”
Arthur blushed feeling the need to loosen his tie.
Chriz saw that was a large dinner and as the starter he had chosen scallop on a bed of pasta and garlic sauce. First she had looked suspicious at it but she took the fork and tasted a bite. It wasn’t so bad so she would eat it. She didn’t feel too much like wine so she has some juice. She asked Arthur what sort of fish it was.
“It’s a shell fish, a bit like a small clam. Didn’t you like it?
“There’s nothing wrong with the taste, it’s just that I don’t usually eat shell fish or conger.”
The scallop was followed by a steak with a salad. She actually drank some of the red wine with her steak. Both she and Arthur were a little uneasy and fell into silence several times. Blushing when they made eye contact.
Chriz liked him and wanted to be his friend. She knew there were several things she would need to tell him sometime in the future, but having made the same mistake before, she knew it might be best to wait until he knew her for the person she is now. She had spilled the beans too soon many times before and didn’t want to jeopardize their embryo relationship by speaking too soon.
Arthur caught himself to giggling a lot because he was so nervous. He was really trying to handle the situation and wished that he had more experience with girls so he knew how to entertain her. He had listened to the stories his brothers had told him about their dates and dinners, but it was difficult to put the theory into practice.
Not having many friends. Arthur spent most of his time either reading books or watching films and TV, so he couldn’t help noticing a book that Chriz had left on the partition, and asked what it was. He thought he recognized it.
“That’s one of the books with Jack Aubrey in it. I thinks it’s called ´Post Captain´ in English.”
“You think?”
“Yeah, it’s in Swedish, so I don’t know the exact original title.”
Arthur told her that they had the complete series of the books at the Point since the Creator had signed for the film as Jack Aubrey, so he had read all 20 volumes. They got involved in a discussion of the books and their impressions of the characters of Jack, and Stephen Maturin.
In the beginning Chriz had difficulty with some of the naval terms, but together they worked them out. Arthur said he was sure that if she wanted to, she could borrow the next book in the series.
Chriz told Arthur she loved the part of the book where Jack had to wear a bear skin while he and Stephen were fleeing through France on their way to Stephens castle in Spain when the war between England and France began. She said it would have been fun to see that in the film. They discussed the way Patrick O’Brian had described the people and settings. Also the way Jack was so different on land and sea. The way his human side was shown, and how even though he was a master of the sea, on land he was lost a lot of the time.
They could both relate to that feeling and shyly smiled at each other.
They ate their dessert on the sofa followed by coffee for Arthur while Chriz had juice. Chriztine put on some soft background music. They spoke of many different things to try to get to know each other a little more. Arthur talked mainly about his life at the Point, while Chriz just scraped the surface of her personal life, spending more time explaining to Arthur what life was like in Sweden, and describing the countryside around her home.
Chriz could finally no longer hide her yawns, so Arthur reluctantly wished her goodnight. It was way past midnight, and neither of them had noticed.
Part Eight
Arthur walked to his room with a smile on his face. The evening had been one of the greatest he’d spent at the point. Chriztine was everything he was looking for in a girl. She was nice, and easy on the eye, and they seemed so alike. He was really looking forward to the next few weeks knowing that she would be there.
Chriz had told him that she had taken a month’s vacation time and she planned to spend most of it at the point. She had mention that after walking round during the day she realised what a big place it was, so she was sure that she would find plenty of things to do and see during her visit. Arthur agreed that there were a lot to discover there. He wasn’t sure he knew every corner himself.
He thought to himself that it would be wonderful to be the one to show Chriz some of the places, but he would first need to speak with Michelle to arrange some free time to do it. He really hadn’t counted on finding a girl that was interested in HIM, so he usually spent a lot of his time working. He realised though, that with the party coming up on Monday he would have to wait until after to take some time for himself.
It was quiet at the tavern. It was Thursday and he thought that most people were waiting until Monday to arrive. Arthur was thankful for that as it meant that his brothers wouldn’t ask him awkward questions or start tease him.
Arthur was certain that it wasn’t only his feelings that were in a whirl. It had to be some tentacles reaching in there because of the creator’s upcoming wedding. He thanks both him and God for that way that he felt his life was about to change.
Amongst the last thoughts Arthur had that night was the thought that it was about time something happened to him.
Finally Chriztine was alone. It had seemed that Arthur was never going to leave her room. He hadn’t been happy when he had first seen Arthur go over to the Hotel. It got worse when he heard the dinner order being placed. Why would they be having dinner together? He wasn’t happy to have to wait longer…
Sid had been hanging around all day trying to get to talk to the new girl. Luck was against him and he kept missing the opportunity. She didn’t seem to visit the Tavern or the restaurant in the Hotel. No-one he asked had seen her either, so all he could do was keep an eye on Arthur.
Thanks to that he found out she was in her room. He didn’t want to let anyone know what he was up to, so he had to wait until he knew she was alone again. He was glad that the day had been quite warm and dry because he had planted himself down in a spot in the garden to enable him to watch both the windows and the path.
He was grateful that he hadn’t been seen as was feeling a little guilty at leaving Lady alone. It didn’t help that he’d eat lunch and dinner with her to keep her quiet. He had thanked his lucky stars when she and some of the others had decided to have a `girlie night’ which left him to play as he pleased.
During the day and the long hours of waiting in the evening, he’d had a lot of time to think. He had found it easier to plot following the slap he had taken from her. The voices in his head weren’t all battling to be heard at once.
He wasn’t just thinking of things to do with Chriztine, he was also hatching plans against some of the others residents. If truth were told, he wouldn’t normally be having these thoughts if he was his normal self, but that was a detail he didn’t react to at present.
For most part of the evening Hando had been sitting in one of the booths drinking beer. He had spoken with some of his brothers, but had mostly listened to their conversations and watched the bar in case the new Sheila would turn up.
He was sure no-one would think he wanted to get anywhere near her. If he didn’t get up to the Hotel he would follow Dr Anthony’s advice to stay away from her. No-one could ban him from the Tavern without good cause, so if she showed up it would just look like a coincidence that he was there as well and confronted her.
When she hadn’t turned up by eleven he went up to his room. He wished that he was on the side that had a view of the Hotel from the windows. Instead he comforted himself by lying on the bed and sniffed his pillow that still held a hint of her fragrance.
Hando fell asleep and began to dream.
After Arthur had left, Chriztine made certain that she locked her door. She then drew the curtains and switched off the lights. Even though she was tired that she couldn’t stop yawning, she made certain that she removed all make up and make the others night tasks.
When she was in bed her thoughts returned to Arthur. He was a nice guy and she liked him. He wasn’t bad looking either, but there wasn’t that attraction that she needed to tell her she could fall in love with him. There had to be someone else at the point that had brought her there, but who?
Sid had watched as Arthur went with an easy step to the tavern, and when he was no longer in sight, Sid turned to stare at Chriztine’s window. He watched the curtains being drawn and knew it wouldn’t be long until she was in her bed.
He decided to wait a little longer before going to her. He closed his eyes and began to fantasise about the things he would do with her.
She was lying there waiting for him, all too blistering. He would just have a pair of satin boxers on ready for her to remove. In the background an exciting symphony would be playing and he would move towards her in time to it ready to continue his seduction. He would take his time leaving her wet in anticipation of his entry. To start with he would allow her to keep on the silky satin camisole and panties. He would reach out for her foot and kiss each toe in turn, adding feather light strokes along her legs. She would lay there watching him, the desire in her eyes turning them a shade of blue to match the deep ocean. He would kiss on up past her knees, across her thighs, and finally reached where she wanted him to be, but instead of diving in, he would kiss her lips and neck, working back down to his ultimate desire. She would have to wait for the goodies he had in store for her. She would be fully with him in that game and knew if only she could hold on, it would all be worth waiting for. He would nestle his hand in her long blond hair, smell her fragrance, kiss her ears and whisper the kinds of words that would make her writhe under him. He would once again reach her mouth and they would kiss for an eternity.
Sid had to open his eyes, it was all playing out too clearly for him. He was so hard it was the most painful fantasy he could ever have if he couldn’t go any further. He thought wickedly that if he couldn’t have Chriztine, there was still Lady, and she had never refused him yet.
When some of the tension had left him, he found his mind drifting back to his fantasy. He closed his eyes and continued from where he left off.
Part Nine
Chriztine’s second night seemed to be calmer, but after a few hours she started to dream. This time she wasn’t in her native city, but she recognised where she was. She must have seen it before somewhere.
Chriz went into the mall and headed towards one of the shops. As she was walking, she felt that she was being watched. It was the middle of the day and the place was crowded, so the watcher would be able to stay well hidden.
She had to pass a TV store, and when she looked in the window, she noticed that most of the sets showed the same image, it was the people walking past the store. Chriz saw herself and hurried past. Just before the store was out of her view, she thought she saw a glimpse of something purple.
Chriz continued to the lingerie store. She had decided it was time to add to her wardrobe. There were a lot to choose from, but she finally decided on some lace panties and some beautiful satin camisoles. She loved the way the fabric felt against her skin.
Even while she was in the store she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched. She began to feel very uncomfortable. She spun round to see if there was anyone there, but found nothing out of the ordinary.
She went to one of the fitting rooms to try on her choices. She undressed and began to model the garments. She had just put on a pair of black panties and contrasting camisole, turning to see the effect in the mirror, when all the light went out. As there was no window, Chriz was left in total darkness.
The next thing she knew, she felt a pair of hands travel over her body and someones breath washing against her neck. This was not something Chriz wanted to happening to her, so she turned round and managed to scratch the intruder with her long nails. She knew she had made a lucky strike as she could feel the blood and skin under her nails. She took advantage of her surprise attack and while her intruder was still stunned, she grabbed her clothes and ran from the store.
Chriz did not awake from her dream, instead, her breathing changed, she turned over and slipped deeper into her sleep.
Chriztine had been lying there and seemed to be waiting for him, as he had hoped for. She was his beautiful blond doll. Sid stood watching her sleep. He understood by her tiny movements that she was in the throes of a dream. It seemed to be making her warm as she had pushed the covers away from her to one side of the bed. She lay there dressed in her panties and blue satin camisole. Sid could no longer restrain himself, so he went towards her and started to stroke her body, just as he had in his earlier fantasy as he waited to enter her room. He hadn’t counted on her reaction. As quick as a leopard, she turned to defend herself, her long sharp nails cutting deeply across his face.
Sid jumped back, pressing his hand over his injured chin, and fled from her room. Again he had failed to have her, and her reactions had been faster than his. He cursed himself for allowing her to go to his head.
He had gone into the corridor, being careful to lock the outer door so she wouldn’t suspect that anyone had been in her room. He headed down into the lobby and behind the reception desk. If he remembered correctly there should be a mirror in one of the drawers. He had to see how badly damage his face was.
Sid found the mirror and on inspection he found quite a livid wound to his chin. It was so deep it was oozing nanogoo. Some had dripped onto his purple suit. He would have to make some running repairs, the cut was too obvious to leave. He looked round for some glass to seal it with. He didn’t want to take any out of the windows, and he couldn’t turn up at Lady’s wounded as he was. There was no way he wanted to try to explain to her what he had been up to most of the evening. It looked like he had lost in a fight with a big wild cat, and there were no roaming at the Point.
Lucky Sid spotted an empty glass that had been forgotten on a table. It was enough to seal his wounded face…but not his wounded pride. Like a beaten dog with its tail between its legs, he headed to Lady to lick his wounded soul.
Sid let himself into Lady’s room. It was dark and he could here her rhythmic breathing, telling him she was fast asleep in bed. He took of his ruined jacket and placed it on a nearby chair. Then he headed into the bedroom, undressing along the way. He eased up the duvet and eased himself in beside her, enjoying the warmth of her body against his.
Lady stirred as his cold fingers and hands roamed over her body on the way to her breast. She had tried to lay awake waiting and wondering when he would come to her. The girlie night had ended early so she was back in her room before midnight. She had called Sid’s room but got no answer. She hadn’t felt like searching for him knowing in her heart that he would come to her.
Somehow her internal clock told her it was very late, so she knew that he must have been up to something to stay away from her so long. She had noticed that he was starting to look like the old bad Sid, and there was a change about him. For one thing, he had been walking around with a bruise on his face all day. That was unusual as he was so meticulous about his appearance. Vanity thy name is Sid! Then when she had told him about the girlie night, he had accepted it with such ease, no sulking or whining like he usually did. She decided to ask him what he was up to the following day, for the moment she was too interested in joining him in the little night games he was starting…
Part Ten
Chiz looked suspiciously at the blue splash she spotted on the bed sheet. What could they have come from? She was certain on that she had removed all of her makeup last night. She pulled back the cover to see if she had left a pen in the bed, even though a thought came to her that she didn’t own a pen with that shade of ink, and that she had done no writing in the bed. On finding no pen she again wondered what could have caused the stains. One thing she was certain of was that they had not been there the previous day.
She went into the bathroom, and on looking in the mirror, saw that she had indeed removed all of her makeup. She sat on the toilet and turned her hands over, noticing that the blue stains under her nails. Then she froze! It could only mean one thing. One particular person had been in her room, and part of last night’s dream was in fact a reality. Chriz would never willingly invite him into her room and decided that she would have to be more alert where he was concerned. Now she shuddered, wondering if she could be safe — when he had so obviously invaded her personal space.
Looking at the parts of him stuck under her nails, she hoped that she hurt him, even though she knew he could heal himself. She had seen the film and knew all it would take was some glass. She debated whether or not to leave the evidence for Michelle to see, or wash it all away and say nothing.
Chriz knew that there was abundance of help available to pin Sid against the wall and get a confession out of him, both from the former law enforcement brothers and any of the others Sid had bothered in the past. The break-in, would be easy to prove with the blue stained sheets. There was also the evidence on how close he had come to Chriz with his nano-goo still under her
nails.
Chriz didn’t want to get the boys wound up and cause any trouble, so she decided to keep the events of the previous night to herself. Instead, she hoped that it would not happen again, but if it did, she knew that she would have to try to deal with it herself. She was use to taking care of herself and she was not a girl to play around with once she got angry.
She was offended at the way her privacy had been invaded, so after breakfast she donned jogging pants and a sweatshirt and headed off for a run. She needed to work out the agitation. She found a good path and started her run. After awhile she came to a glade.
She began to stretch and go through some martial arts training techniques. When she had stretched out her entire body, she sat on a limb to relax, calm her breathing and collect her feelings.
An hour later she was back at the hotel. On her way through the lobby she heard raised voices and caught few asking looks. Because she was hot and sweaty after her workout, she went straight to her room for a hot shower rather than stay to find out what was amiss.
Zack was taking the first morning shift in the reception. He had noticed the mirror lying on the desk. There was a blue print on it so he knew it had been used by Sid. He scanned the lobby to see if anything was out of place. If not for the FBI training, he may well have missed the remnants of a glass thrown into a waste basket.
What had Sid been up to now? He hoped that Sid didn’t think he could get away with any of his old behaviour and start terrorising the new girl. He had heard about the rude awakening Chriztine had on her arrival. She didn’t need to be exposed to Sid. Zack decided he had to tell the others of his findings.
After a few hours Zack had spoken with several people and they were all gathered in the lobby arguing over the best way to broach the subject with Chriztine. Because none of them knew her all that well, they were undecided on the best way to approach her. It was during this argument that Chriz had returned from her run.
The people that saw her didn’t seem to think that she was looking upset or uncomfortable about anything, so they decided that just two of them should go up and visit her to hear if she had anything to tell them, and to be on her guard.
Chriztine didn’t hear the knock on her door, as she was in the shower. When she finally heard the sound, she pulled her robe tightly around her and walked to the door.
“Who is it?”
“Chriztine, it’s Dr Anthony and Zack Grant, we want to talk to you about a few things that concern us.”
“What about? I haven’t had any more fainting spells or done anything wrong.”
“We are concerned about you because it seems that Sid is up to something. We found some worrying evidence that worried us, please can we come in and talk with you and really see that you are okay?”
“Okay, but give me five minutes to dress please.”
Chriz opened the door after a few minutes. She said ‘Hi’ to Anthony, whom she remembered from her first day, and greeted Zack. When they went inside, she noticed that Zack was carefully casting the room and even tried to see into the bedroom. She was sure that the blue stain on the sheet wouldn’t be visible unless the quilt was lifted, and she wasn’t about to let him do
that.
“As you could see, everything is okay. I don’t have any problems. The only person I have met is Arthur, and I can’t think you would believe that he could do me harm.”
“No, not Arthur, but do I see a bruise there on your hairline? May I ask how you got it?” It was Zack who had taken over the conversation.
“I got tangled up in my sheet yesterday and fell out of the bed. I think I hit my head on the chair or on the floor. Why are you concerned about Sid?”
“The last few days he seems to have fallen back into his old bad ways. He has always loved to harass the new girls that visit here if he can get away with it. Usually he is on his best behaviour when Lady is around as their connection seems to keep him in check, but this doesn’t seem to be the case at the moment.”
“So we were wondering if he had been around trying to bother you. Has he? We just want to check to see if he is keeping away from you as I told him and Hando after your first day here.” continued Anthony.
“No, to my knowledge he hasn’t been here, and if he did turn up I can take care of myself.”
“Don’t say too much, you don’t know him. He’s a master when it come to the art of trouble making. It’s one part of him that we don’t think we can ever change however hard we try.”
“It would be difficult when he is based on … how many serials killers and murderer, somewhere over 100?”
“183 so it is nearly 200, and none of them is anything to play with so please be careful.”
“I believe you, and if I get any trouble I’ll be sure to tell you, but hopefully he won’t notice me. I’m not very good around a lot of people. I prefer one or two or even being alone. I took this trip to relax from a hectic life and discover new surroundings.”
“Okay, Zack, we’ve done all we can do so I suggest that we leave Chriztine alone now.” Anthony said.
“Are you sure you are okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. You don’t need to make a fuss of me. If anything happens I’ll be sure to tell you.”
“What have you planned to do today?”
“It’s a nice day so I may go to the beach and read. I feel like taking it easy after my early run.”
“Please come to the tavern for a meal or a drink if you feel like it. There will probably be some people there that we can introduce you to.”
“I don’t know. I think I’ll just take it as it comes. I’ll see how I feel later on, but I’m not making any promises.”
“Okay then, good. We’ll see you later if you decide to come along. Have a nice day at the beach.”
They were eating a late breakfast when Lady looked across at Sid. She noticed that the bruise on his face was no longer there. She suspected something else may have happened and he had healed himself.
“It was very late when you came to me last night. I thought you would be here waiting for my return. What did you get up to?”
“Are you accusing me of something?”
“No of course not, I was just curious. I called you around midnight and didn’t get an answer. I see your bruise has gone from yesterday so I wondered if you had cut yourself and healed everything. Have you anything to tell me?”
“Of course I healed myself and I don’t like your tone.”
“It’s not only me that has been wondering about the way you’ve been acting lately.”
“Ooh, please why can’t you or anyone else ever leave me alone! Why most everyone be on me all the time? I’m tired of it.”
Lady was stunned and could just look after Sid when he walked away from her. He took his jacket and smashed the door behind him. This didn’t bode well.
Part Eleven
Arthur slept well. The evening With Chriztine had been the best he could remember. He smiled widely at the memory of how well they got on together. She was a very nice and special girl, and she seemed interested in him!
He hummed some songs as he got ready for the day ahead. He wondered if he would be able to persuade Chriz to loin him in the restaurant tonight. He wanted to date her, but he couldn’t think of many places to take her. He wanted to be able to show his ‘brothers’ and the other girls that there was a girl that was interested in him. He didn’t want to become the resident virgin! If she agreed to dinner, he hoped that he could ask her to the Sunday service. He would really like that, if it wasn’t too soon to ask that of her? If everything went to plan, he was going to ask her to the party on Monday.
Arthur needed to check on the party arrangements, so he went down to his offices. He hoped that after a few hours of hard work he would have built up the courage to speak with Chriz. He was so deep into his work that the time flew by.
“Arthur shouldn’t you come and eat some lunch, you have run around like… I don’t know what?”
Arthur turned around to see who was talking to him.
“I don’t think I have time yet to eat, Jack.”
“Please calm down you have it under control and I don’t think it will suffer anything if you sit down and eat.”
“No, no, no I need to get this fixed. Have no time.”
Arthur began to walk away from Jack that first stood still, but soon followed him.
“Something’s going on, isn’t it? You’re glowing mate and rushing around like there’s no tomorrow. Could it be anything to do with our new arrival?”
“You know I have a lot to do to prepare for the party…”
“Arthur, don’t run, talk to me! It isn’t just the party is it, you’ve been organising things around here for a long time now and no event has ever made you glow as you are now. I would say you’ve met someone.”
Arthur’s only reply was a bright crimson blush, which only confirmed Jack’s guess.
“Come on, we’ll go and catch a bite to eat and you can tell me all about her. I’ll help you catch up later and then you can go see her, if that’s what you want.”
“Okay, okay. I can do that, but please promise me one thing, Jack. This will go no further.”
Jack placed his hand over his heart and promised that his lips were sealed.
Chriztine breathed a sigh of relief when Zack and Dr Anthony left her suite. She hoped they hadn’t sensed that she was being less than truthful with them. She knew there was no visible evidence of Sid in her room. She decided to play safe that night and wedge a chair under the door handle.
She may have been wrong to arrive at the Point to grab some down time. Never in her wildest dreams did she think she would come up against an element to make her keep on her toes at all times. Chriz hoped for no more lapses during her stay. She never knew when a fainting spell would over come here, and up to now she had been lucky not to get hurt. The scariest part of her last attack was who she had seen the moment she woke up. She hated what she had been through to cause her to be the way she was just now. If she hadn’t become sick and needed the surgery in the first place, things should have been fine. Why was life trating her this way?
Chriztine went to her closet to pick out some beach wear. When she’d mentioned that was how she was going to spend her day, she wasn’t certain if she would or not, but now she made up her mind to chill out on the beach with a book and maybe write as well. She chose a sleeveless stretch top that she had made. It was one of several she had sewn in different lengths. This one reached below her behind, but still managed to leave nothing to the imagination. To this she added a combined skirt/shorts which was of her own design and that she was proud to wear. Both were a blue/lilac colour. She slipped on her blue shoes and placed everything she thought she would need for the day into her backpack. She decided to take her blue dress jacket just in case it turned chilly later on. After looking in vain for it she remembered that she had worn it the day of her arrival. She made a mental note to ask Michelle or Arthur for her clothes back. In the meanwhile, she picked up a sweater to take along with her.
She saw Zack at the front desk. She just nodded to him, deciding to wait until later to ask about her clothes. The weather was still good and it was quite warm for the beginning of spring. It was certainly a lot better than the weather in Sweden. She was pleased as it meant she didn’t have to worry about not wearing enough clothes.
When she got to the beach she walked along the shoreline for a while. She hadn’t seen Hando walk there so she was pleased she could get closer to the water. The beach area was everything she thought it should be with grass, white sand, a few rocks, and distant cliffs. The sea was almost Mediterranean blue in colour. It looked very inviting and if it warmed up before the end of her stay, she decided that a swim was definitely in order. When she looked closer she could make out shells and seaweed in the water.
Chriz walked in the opposite direction from her walk of the previous day, and when she got closer to the cliffs she hoped to find a place that was sheltered from the breeze coming in off the sea. Her wish seemed to have been fulfilled when she found a perfect spot. It was a magical place where wishes seemed to come true.
The spot was so perfect. It had some grass enabling her to sit off the sand. She could lean back onto the base of the cliff, and the wind didn’t reach the pages of her book. She also had a wonderful view of the sea from where she sat. There were also some trees close by to afford shade if needed. Through the trees she could make out the tavern, and behind it the hotel.
As she sat, she began writing and sketching a few things that she might use for her clothes designs. Chriz liked to save her impression of things around her to convert someway into her clothing designs. She loved dressmaking, she was good at it and had designed a great deal of the clothes that she wore. One day she hoped to have a full collection of her designs that she would be known for, even if in her own eyes she would never be in the class of the great designers like Giorgio Armani, Donna Karen, Oscar de la Renta or Donatella Versaci.
The weather was so warm that after an hour she began to feel tired. Maybe the sounds of the water rolling in moving the sand on the beach, the soft movement of the branches rustling the leaves and the bird song that made her feel sleepy. Chriz laid her sweater on the grass and lay down closing her eyes and listening to the sounds around her. After a few minutes she was asleep.
In his room he admired his reflection in the mirrors. Sid just couldn’t understand why the new girl was able to resist his charms, even when he knew he had only gone to her in the dead of the night. He was astonished, no-one should have been able to resist him when he was so concerned about his appearance. He never wore anything but the best designer clothes and kept his looks in top form. He turned to view himself in every angle.
Maybe she would look at him if he made some changes he had been thinking he might need to do. The idea had been rolling around in his head since she hit him that first time. Sid was aware that the boyz always warned every new arrival about him, constantly telling them of his antisocial ways and how they wished he would reform. If he changed now would they take him seriously?
He wasn’t sure who he should choose first to show he was willing to change his ways and apologise to. His best bet would be Maximus, John Biebe or Bud White, but he thought that they would have trouble to believing that he was being sincere, even if they could accept or understand his actions. They were the ones that would have the other brothers backing in whatever they did. He understood that his actions over the years had inflicted deep wounds on his brothers. At least he knew it was better to try to bring his brothers around first than to try to start with the girls.
He changed his clothes, and for once he put on something they wouldn’t be used to seeing him dress in. He had gone to the laundry room and ‘borrowed’ some of the others clothes to go along with a few other items from earlier raids. He let his hair dry without a hint of gel to keep it pristine. He then went out to find some of his brothers in order to have a talk with them.
After his daily training and shower he headed for the beach. Hando hadn’t seen the girl, so he hoped that she may be walking outside and if he was lucky she may end up down on the beach. Maybe outside in the daylight she wouldn’t be so scared of him. If she wasn’t there he would make sure he got to be the one to give her clothes back to her.
It was almost noon when Hando approached the place Chriztine had found and was asleep in. He saw that there was a shape on the grass that wasn’t usually there. He knew the beach areas by heart because he loved to spend a lot of his time there. He walked closer and saw the blond hair flooding around her head. His heart beat faster realising that Chriztine was actually there. How should he approach her? When he got a bit closer he realised that she was sleeping. The last thing he wanted was for her to be scared by him again, so he stopped and just gazed at her for a moment, then he walked away.
Hando didn’t want to leave her totally, so he went around the cliff and climbed up on it. He found a perfect place to lie and look down at her. From above she looked so angelic with her hair spread around her. She seemed to be so at peace and he tried to store the image in his mind. He turned over onto his back as lay there starring into the heaven.
If he had just met her earlier and show her off as his, they would have envied him. Not to mention how good looking their children would be. Not soiled blood there, superior genes to carry the legacy.
When he had won her trust he would try to become her boyfriend. He hadn’t seen her with anyone yet, so why should it not be him? Things between Stef and him hadn’t been so good lately and it was some time since he had seen her. He wasn’t even certain that she would return to the Point. He really missed having a Sheila.
Hando was roused from his thoughts by sounds that told him Chriztine was waking up. As quietly as possibly he turned round again to look over the edge. He watched her pick up her things and hang her sweater over her shoulders.
She stood up running her fingers through her hair to get rid of any blades of grass that had caught there during her sleep. It seemed so sensual to Hando that he felt himself harden. He was certain that she didn’t realise she was being watched.
Luck was on Hando’s side as Chriz never turned towards the top of the cliff. She started to walk through the trees towards the Hotel. Hando followed her departure with his gaze. Her every step affected his body and he couldn’t stop thinking of how it would feel to gently stroke her.
When she was out of site he looked down again to where she had lain asleep and saw something. It had almost been hidden in the sand making her forget it. He hurried down to see what it was.
Hando found a brown notebook with silver symbols printed on the cover. That must be what had flashed in the sunlight. Hando picked it up knowing that if he left it there and it rained, it would be destroyed. Hando decided that would be a waste. He looked briefly inside and saw that it seemed to be a journal of some kind of sort.
Part Twelve
Colin was lying under Chriztine’s car trying to find the fault it had developed. It wasn’t the best rental in the world. They had totally stitched her up once they found she was from another country and didn’t seem to know a lot about cars. If he had a rental business he would never prey on the vulnerable like that.
Usually Dominic and Johnny would be able to fix any problem, but this one was tricky. He hated the newer model with the computer equipment. He tested everything with no luck. It was indicating there was something wrong, and the thought was that it was down to the starter motor.
“Johnny can you take the cable from the plus pole on the battery please?”
Johnny had been waiting for the next order from Colin. He did as he was asked and waited for the next command.
After a few minutes he heard a muffled, “You can put it back now.”
Colin came out from under the car muttering and cursing, to where Johnny was standing.
“Okay, we test this, and if it doesn’t work there’s only one more thing I can think of it being. If that fails it’s got us beat.”
Johnny went to the driver seat, being the cleanest one there. He turned the key getting nothing at all from the engine. The starter seemed completely dead. He looked at Colin with resignation across his face. One more chance and then they would have to contact the outside for help.
Colin dived under the car one more time to check if it could be the relays, sensors or both. Meanwhile Johnny checked the spark plugs.
Suddenly there was a flash. Johnny dropped the spark key and was thrown back. From under the car there was a thump and a great string of inventive curses.
Chriztine awoke from her sleep with a start. It felt as though she had been hit by something. She looked around and realised that she was still on the beach and must have dozed off. The shadows had rolled over where she was and she felt a shiver run through her body. She got up, put her things in her backpack and wrapped her sweater around her shoulders.
Before she left, she drew her hands through her hair ridding it of any loose grass. That usually happened to her if she didn’t tie her hair back. She would need to give it a brisk brushing when she got back to her room. A fleeting thought went through her mind about getting it cut short, but she knew that wouldn’t happen any time soon.
Why did she feel that something had hit her? It was light a lightening flash or an electric shock, but the day had been clear and she was nowhere near any power lines. So what had happened? Was she about to have another blackout. She didn’t want to be on the beach alone if that was going to happen, she needed to be close to other people.
She was feeling things that she hadn’t felt before. It was a surprising feeling and it was disconcerting that she didn’t know why she was feeling this way. It wasn’t the same way she had felt before she became unwell. She couldn’t put her finger on it.
Mysterious things seemed to happen in this place, premonitions come true. She felt that she was being included in the magic of the place. It was a bit hard to understand and believe the things going on around her. She wondered if Sid was the only person she needed to watch out for?
Happily no further strange feeling overcome her on the way back to the hotel. She no longer felt as if she may have a blackout for which she was grateful. She hoped that she would stay okay for the rest of her time there.
“What the fuck happened Johnny. Are you okay mate?”
“I have no idea. I’m sweet mate, you okay?”
“I just hit my head in surprise. What did you do?”
“I was just replacing the spark plug after checking them.”
The guys stared at each other for a moment, noticing no visible bruises on either. After making sure neither of them was hurt in any way, Colin finished what he was doing. Johnny didn’t dare do anything else just incase it happened again!
“Hey Johnny, what do you say, shall we see if we can finally fix this damned monster?”
“You do it Colin. I don’t know if I fancy touching it again, wasn’t much fun getting that shock from it.”
Johnny retreated a safe distance from the car. Colin realised how filthy he was so he picked up a rag to wipe off his hands and placed a cloth on the seat. After seeing the worried look on Johnny’s face he almost didn’t turn the key. He took a deep breath and did it.
The car started! It sounded good. A quick glance at Johnny showed a surprised look on his face. He switched the ignition off. He couldn’t believe it and thought that if he tried to turn it over again it would be as dead as before, but the car started perfectly once again. He still couldn’t believe his ears, so tried it again just to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. He checked the dash and there was no sign on the computer display of any problems.
“Whatever it was that just happened, it seems to have fixed the problem.”
“That’s great ‘cos we wouldn’t have any time to get it to a shop before next Tuesday if we hadn’t have fixed it.”
“Can you get it to the Hotel for Chriztine and leave the key at reception?”
“I don’t think I dare, it might stop on me. I’ll stay here and clean up. If you take it down you’ll be able to catch a shower and spend more time with Chelle.”
Part Thirteen
Arthur and Jack had gone to one of the booths in the tavern where they eat their late lunch.
“Now Arthur please tell me about her. Who is she?”
Arthur could barely manage to start telling Jack about Chriz, but he did the best he could, stammering and blushing all the while he spoke. He was glad that Jack didn’t interrupt him, as he was sure that the words would have stuck in his throat. It felt good to confide in someone, and Jack seemed to be a good listener, maybe better than some of the older or more popular boys.
“Arthur you should absolutely spend the evening with her and ask if she will come to the service tomorrow.”
“I have never asked a girl and I don’t know what to do if she would say no.”
“After what you say it looks like she would feel comfortable with you and that say she like you, so I can’t think that would be any problem. Let me think.”
They finished the meal in silence. Jack tried to come up with a good way for Arthur to proceed that hopefully would work both for him and Chriztine. If it had been Jack, he would have chosen the direct route and gone straight to Chriz with the invitation, but she seemed as shy as Arthur, so going quickly could cause a problem.
“You hadn’t decided anything to do tonight?”
“No, just vague to maybe eat dinner. Why?”
“Perfect – come with me and we go to the gift shop, buy something …”
“What are you planning … I can’t do it – no.”
“Yes, you can and let me finish…”
What Jack proposed was exactly what Arthur wanted to do, so he was easily convinced that he could pull it off. They headed for the gift shop. The biggest problem was knowing what to get. Arthur suddenly realised he hadn’t a clue as to her preferences, and really hadn’t learnt anything about her at all. After walking around the shop he still didn’t think that he saw anything appropriate.
Jack made his way to the card shelf to choose one. He didn’t think it needed to be too elegant, after all, it was only a dinner invitation. It needed to be simple, but not plain. It had to convey Arthur’s liking for her. After going through half of the selection he found one he knew would be perfect. He took it from the shelf and turned to see if Arthur had chosen a gift yet.
“Isn’t there anything that Chriz mention that she liked?”
“I can’t remember anything apart from the fact that she likes to read, and I think she has journal in her room. She spoke a lot about her country, more so than about herself.”
“Ok, maybe you could buy her a notebook… nah… something smaller perhaps. I know! You could get her a nice pen and some candy, then you can put it with this card.”
“Are you sure, is that good to give to a girl?”
“Of course Arthur, all girls love to get gifts.”
Arthur chose a nice blue pen and some gel candy. Before they left the shop he wrote the dinner invitation in the card. As he had more preparations for the coming party he left the gift and not at the reception for Chriz.
When Chelle saw Chriztine walk through the lobby she called for her.
“Arthur was here some time ago and left this to you.”
Chriz walked to the counter and took what Chelle was reaching out to her.
“Thanks.”
“How are you today?”
“Aah, just fine thanks. As it’s been such a beautiful day I spent a few hours at the beach.”
“Yes, indeed and it is really promising to stay fine and we hopefully get lucky with it on Monday.”
“Is there something special then?”
“Don’t you know that it is Russell’s birthday and he’s going to get married?”
“Oh, I forgot about that. Well, if you’ll excuse me I think I’ll go up to my room and get rid of the sand I brought back from the beach.”
“Do so. See you. Take care!”
Michelle looked after Chriz when she walked up the stairs and didn’t see Colin come in.
“Was that Chriztine, darling?” He said and leant over to kiss Chelle.
“Yes, I think she sounded better now than last time I spoke to her. I hope she will feel comfortable soon so she wants to stay.”
“Don’t you think she wants to?”
“I’m not sure, but I know she has two strong connections here and one seems to work.”
“She has? Who is the lucky guy? Why that’s?”
“I’m not certain which of them is the love connection yet, but so far Arthur seems to have fallen for her. They ate dinner together last night and he stopped by earlier to leave her a gift.”
“Ahh good for him he needs someone doesn’t he?”
“He certainly does, Colin. How did it go with her car?”
“Fine, we got it started awhile a go. I’m glad we don’t need to get it to the car shop in the town. I parked it outside and here are her keys. I also come to pick you up, are you ready?”
When Chriztine got back to her room she threw her backpack on the sofa and headed into the bathroom to get ready to take a bath. While she waited for the tub to fill, she walked back into the sitting room and looked through the CD collection to choose some music. After not finding anything on the shelf that would match her mood, she rummaged through the pile that she had brought with her. She decided on one of her Swedish CD’s by her good friend Dick. On the way back to the bathroom she remembered she hadn’t looked at the gift Arthur had left for her.
In the little box were some candy and a pen. She opened the envelope and saw the card. The card was white with some flowers on. They were slightly raised. Inside she saw a pretty handwriting, at least to come from a guy. She read the text and her heart started to beat faster. It was a dinner invitation down at the restaurant. Would she manage to go and eat dinner with him down at the restaurant?
She poured some rose fragrance into the water, slipped out of her clothes, and settled down for a soak. She was trying to decide if she would join Arthur for the dinner or not. It had been nice the previous day when they ate in her room, and they seemed to get on well together, but there was something missing. Chriz wasn’t thinking of getting a boyfriend, at least not yet. She barley knew him, and wasn’t one to make hasty decisions. He was kind of cute and terribly shy. It was very flattering and she felt elated that a guy would take notice of her, especially as she felt that was more than her looks Arthur was interested in. She wasn’t sure if they would be good together, both being shy. Arthur didn’t seem to be the kind of guy to work out in the gym either.
Half an hour later Chriz made up her mind to give him a chance and eat with him. She needed to eat anyway. She called the number he had put on the card and said yes. He sounded anxious and she realised that she had left until the last moment to call him. She couldn’t mistake the happiness in his voice as he arranged to meet her at the entrance of the restaurant an hour later.
Her next problem was deciding what to wear. She was reminded that Arthur had told her that her blouse and jacket (her favourites) were still at the laundry following her arrival. She had brought a few clothes with her, but nothing really fancy. She decided that she probably had something that would be suitable for the restaurant. She had only brought one skirt with her, it was a long slim black one that went with anything. She chose a yellow shirt from her closet, which she put on over a black vest, then she tied the ends round her waist instead of buttoning it up. She checked in the mirror and decided that she would do. She had thought of plaiting her hair, but decided to leave it loose after realising that if it was tied her bump would show.
Looking at her watch, she realised it was time to go downstairs. Getting ready had taken longer than she thought she thought it would. A last glimpse in the mirror, and she was out of her room, pausing only to lock the door, and heading down the stairs. Chriz didn’t meet anyone on the way, for which she was grateful as her heart was already beating way too fast. She silently wished that the restaurant wouldn’t be busy.
As Arthur realised that she was as shy as him, he decided to make sure that they didn’t sit in the large restaurant. A lot of people had started to arrive for the party on Monday and he knew that it may be busy.
He was happy that Jack had helped him to do the tasks he had taken on him to do. That meant he would be able to spend the evening with Chriztine. So when she finally called to say yes he left his office and ran up to fix himself.
After a shower he put on a light blue shirt and choose a dark, striped tie. To that blue trousers with sewed creases. To finish the outfit he took a cardigan instead of a jacket when it wasn’t so formal. He laid some grease in his hair and combed it into a part side.
He felt his heart beating faster than normal. He was nervous both for the date and for what the others may say. He looked at his watch and realised he was on the way to being late. He didn’t want Chriztine to have to stand around waiting for him.
Arthur breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Chriz hadn’t arrived before him. As he waited he was unaware that he was pulling nervously at his cardigan. During the few minutes he stood there a few of his brothers passed by with their ladies. They said hello as they passed and Arthur knew he had given them something to whisper about. It was very rare to see him waiting there with an expectant look on his face. Soon they realised that he was probably going to have dinner with the new girl.
When Chriz appeared Arthur had to swallow several times, she looked magnificent. She had chosen nice clothes that showed how tall she was and what a nice figure she had. Once she came up close he saw that she was blushing and probably had seen how he had stared at her. He didn’t dare to hug or kiss her even if he had wanted too. Instead he offered his arm and took her to smaller restaurant, which had less people and was more cosy.
As Chriz didn’t really like any of the starters, they skipped that course and went straight for the entrée and dessert. Arthur was surprised when Chriz agreed to share some wine with him.
Chriz noticed that they got some wondering stares from the few people that were there too. Arthur gave her some courage or rather felt good to not feel she wanted to run away. She tried to just concentrate to be attentive to her company.
“Thanks for the gifts. I think the pen will come to be useful when I like to write a lot.”
“That wasn’t anything and I didn’t know what to give you so I get some help from Jack.”
“Jack?”
“Jack Corbett he have helped me with the work today and been a very good adviser it seemed.”
“Okay, you might send a thank to him too.”
“I will. You might meet him tomorrow if you want to come to the mass with me tomorrow?”
“Mass? Like a church service?”
“Yes, Cort is holding one every Sunday. Haven’t you seen the chapel?”
“No, I haven’t seen any chapel, but I haven’t been around everywhere yet. I don’t know if I want to go.”
Chriz saw the disappointment in Arthur’s eyes and thought that maybe she should consider going. It would mean having to meet more people and get introduced to the other boys. She wasn’t sure if she was ready for that.
“Arthur, I don’t really feel comfortable enough to meet so many people yet. I think I’m still shaken from my unusual arrival. I hope you won’t hold it against me if I don’t turn up.”
“Yes, I’m sorry that Hando and Sid were the first people you met when you got here. It was unfortunate that they were the only ones around when I needed help for you.”
“Please, please it’s okay I said that to you last night. Let’s forget it.”
“I feel so bad for it.”
“You don’t need to.” Chriz put her had on Arthur’s to really show him that she was over it.
Arthur looked up and left his hand under hers. It was the first personal contact she had made, and he wanted it to last as long as possible. It felt good and right to him. He got embarrassed when he felt the
blush rise up on his face and saw Chriz look away. He wondered how she felt about him. Could she feel the same way as he did?
Part Fourteen
Would she finally get over feelings of unease? At least she couldn’t remember having any nightmares that night. Chriztine had managed to fall asleep quite quickly after getting into bed. The evening hadn’t ended too late and she was grateful for that.
She had spent a very nice evening in company of Arthur. He had invited her to dinner in one of the hotel restaurants. She had been about to say no, but after the evening had drawn to a close she didn’t regret agreeing to go. It hadn’t been as terrible as she thought it could have been. Chriz thought that she may actually soon be able to overcome some of her shyness and finally be ready to meet some of the other boys.
Looking at her watch, Chriz saw that she had been asleep a long time, probably due to the fact the she hadn’t had enough sleep earlier. She was so warm in the bed that she really didn’t feel like getting up, so she lay there thinking about her experiences since her arrived. She also wondered what she was going to do with the rest of her time before her vacation come to an end.
No matter what she had experienced, she was sure that she wouldn’t leave the Point. The place was so big she was certain that if she needed solitude she would have no problem finding somewhere to go. There seemed to be a spot for every soul, and she already loved it.
“Soul”, Chriz said out laud, remembering it was Sunday and Arthur had asked her to attend the Mass Cort would hold. Another glance at her watch and she saw she might yet still make it in time.
Just thinking of hearing Cort’s voice and seeing him standing there in front of the congregation made her heart beat faster. Chriz couldn’t decide if it was the fact that he had been one of the first characters she had seen which made her feel this way, or if it was just her thinking about him that made her feel warm all over. There was also the fact that she was certain there would be a lot of people there.
So if she listened to her body signals, it wouldn’t be a good idea to attend. She realised that she had to eventually meet the others or they would be thinking that she was a ghost, or just plain odd. She didn’t want that, but it was very hard for her to change the habit of a lifetime. The uncertainty was always there.
Chriz decided to try and give it a go, and if she managed she knew someone that would be very happy.
“Arthur, Arthur how can I explain to you that I feel nothing more than a good friendship?” She asked her mirror. Chriz hated to disappoint him, but she knew that she had to try and explain how she felt to him. The longer she left things unsaid, the harder it would become to say them, even if she knew she found it so hard to be able to speak of her feelings.
“Sunday and church – what should I wear?”
A dive into a suitcase to see if she had forgotten to unpack any clothes revealed that she hadn’t. So looking in the closet, she decided on a pair of blue trousers in a so called pirate model, and a green shirt.
A glance through the window told her that the weather was still nice so if she got into the church she would be able to spend some time later outside. With that she looked through her backpack to make sure she had her book, journal and sketchpad in there. She saw the book, sketchpad and pencils, but her journal wasn’t there.
That was strange. Didn’t she put it in there? When was the last time she had used it? She couldn’t get a clear memory of when she had seen it. She started looking around her rooms. Luck wasn’t with her however, and it was nowhere to be found. Standing for a moment in thought, she vaguely remembered having it at the beach the yesterday. Maybe she had dropped it there.
Because she felt her journal was important to her she went down to the beach to see if she could find it. She easily found the place where she had been sitting and laying the day before, but it wasn’t possible to see any signs of her been there. The wind must have swept all traces away. She looked under the grass and run her feet through the sand to see if it had been covered.
Unfortunately she searched in vain for the journal. What had happened to it?*FN* She hadn’t spotted it on the way to the beach either. Even if she wasn’t too worried about anyone being able to understand what was in there she still felt very uncomfortable about not being able to find it.
Mostly of the writing was in Swedish, which would make it unreadable for most of the people there. Then she realised that there was some pictures that could reveal things she wanted kept private, and sometimes she had written passages in English as well. She had to find it.
Who should she ask about it? Who would be discrete? Thinking of some of the drawings inside made her quickly eliminate Arthur or any of the other boys. Just thinking of them made her blush. One of the women would be a better bet, but did she know any of them well enough to ask?
When she didn’t find the journal she returned to her room and changed into her workout gear and trainers. The best way to calm herself down was to run and do some training. It would settle her down.
Chriz took a different path and decided to go further into the forest, and maybe up to higher ground. It was so quiet and peaceful that she almost felt as if she was in her own church. The birds and small animals were easily heard. Every step she ran, the natural noises blended with her breathing and heartbeat. She didn’t slow down in a long time as she decided to run to the point of exhaustion.
When her heart was beating fit to burst and the foreboding of blood taste came she was a long way from the hotel in the depth of the forest. She looked around and soon spotted something that looked like a hollow and an opening. With one more push she sprinted there, stopped, placed her hands on her knees and tried to regulate her breathing.
Once Chriz could breath easily again and her heart beat was returning to normal she took out and drank some of the water she had brought with her. After a few more minutes she began stretching and training. When she thought she had done enough she decided that it was too early to head back. Instead she looked around and spotted the sun rays edging through the trees, and where they hit the ground she sat down. Luckily there was convenient tree for her to rest her back against.
Johnny felt restless. He hadn’t slept too well during the night. He had the mysterious flash playing over and over again in his head. He couldn’t understand what had happened and how Chriztine’s car had suddenly been fixed. He was just happy that neither Colin or he had been injured when it happened.
His bed was a mess as he had tossed and turned so much. The room felt stuffy and small. Looking at his watch he saw that it was later in the morning than he thought. He took a shower to rid himself of the sweat that was coating his body, then he headed down for something to eat.
He really didn’t feel like hanging round the Tavern so he headed off towards the forest in the hope of finding somewhere a bit cooler. He quite often walked through the forest, and sometimes hunted there as well. He had one of his rifles with him just in case he came across any animals. He knew it was probably a little late in the day to spot anything, but who knows.
He cursed to himself that even the solitude of the forest couldn’t erase what had happened yesterday. It bothering him, which didn’t help him track anything to shoot. He just kept walking and walking.
Johnny had heard the whisperings about the latest arrival at the Point. How Arthur had found her, and seemed to be dating her. He cringed a little with jealousy thinking that the nong had been able to meet a girl and he was still unattached. He had been there longer, and had more experience of girls. He understood from those who had seen her that she was good looking.
Without knowing it, his legs seemed to be taking him in the direction where Chriztine was sitting. The only thing that might have told Johnny he wasn’t alone would have been the sound of her breathing; still little heavy after her training. He was so deep in his own thoughts that he didn’t hear anything.
After almost falling over some branches, he decided he should concentrate where he was going. He realised he wasn’t far from the track that should widen up in a few hundred meters and lead back to the Hotel and Tavern. Almost I front of him where the opening of the track was he saw something that didn’t fit in with its surroundings. It was bright – pink!
He carefully moved closer and saw more of the colour and realised what it was. It was a sweatshirt, and it was worn by a girl. His heart began to beat faster, and suddenly he felt warmer. He moved closer to a spot that gave him better view.
It was a vision. He had to pinch himself to prove that he wasn’t dreaming of angels and fairies. He fell in love with the sight in front of him. He barley dared to breath, worrying that would break the vision.
The girl was sitting against a tree and was bathed in sunbeams. Some of her hair had fallen out from her scrunchie band and it flew around in the breeze framing her face like a halo. It was long and blonde. Johnny noticed that she had a pale complexion which completed the idea of a vision.
He slowly sat down in the same spot he had been standing. He didn’t want this moment to end. The minutes ticked by and he loved every second he was able to watch her, especially as she didn’t seem to sense him there and never stirred from her spot under the tree.
Johnny was still there as the girl started to move. She rose up, stretching like a cat, careful not to strain her muscles which had gone to sleep after the long rest. Her movements told him she had a well trained and graceful body. He had never seen anyone like her, and was determined to find out who she was.
As Johnny hadn’t given his position away, he decided not to follow her. He was experiencing some very strange feelings that came over him and wouldn’t let him go. It was all new to him, like something unknown had touched him.
After some time his breathing, and the temperature seemed to return too normal. Johnny got up and made his way to the path that would take him back to the Hotel.
Part Fifteen
Arthur was pacing back and forth in front of the church. His eyes were on the path and he was praying that Chriztine would come. He wanted so much for her to feel ready enough to meet everyone and attend the mass. Everyone that usually attended was already there, and there was still no sign of her. With every passing minute, his heart sank a little more and filled up with disappointment.
Arthur knew that Chriz had told him she couldn’t promise to attend. Their evening had gone well, and he had hoped that would have made her feel more at ease and secure enough to come to church with him. She had looked fantastic. During the dinner she had seemed to have overcome a lot of her shyness when she had placed her hand on top of his. He could still feel the warmth of her touch, and thinking of it made his heart pound faster within his chest.
He couldn’t believe that the boys she still had to meet would be so terrifying to her. He hadn’t yet gotten over the fact that he’d had to ask Sid and Hando for their help on her arrival. She had looked so vulnerable and fragile that if he could go back and do it all again he would have looked a little further for assistance.
Still staring down the path, which was empty, he let his thoughts wonder to what her reply may be if he invited her to the party. He hated the thought of her sitting alone in her room when everyone else was having a good time. As soon as the right opportunity arose, he made up his mind to ask her.
He didn’t realise that he had company. Jack had come out from the church and was standing next to him.
“Arthur, Cort wants to start.”
“I’m on my way. I was hoping a few more might have turned up, Jack.”
“Tell it like it is, you were waiting for Chriztine you, am I right?”
“Yes, you’re right. I asked her to come today. She said she might, but she didn’t promise anything.”
“Maybe she isn’t a girl that likes to go to church.”
“I don’t know she still a big mystery.”
During the mass, Arthur was distracted and didn’t pay attention as he usually did. His thoughts were with Chriztine and with what he wanted to ask her. After he repeatedly sang the wrong verses, Jack elbowed him in the ribs. By the end of the mass he was more alert.
Outside, after the service, Jack managed to get Arthur alone.
“Pity that she didn’t show up.”
“Chriztine was probably not ready.”
“What about tomorrow? Have you thought of asking her to the party?”
“Yes, I’ll ask her.” Arthur replied, his face showing clearly that he wasn’t used to talking about girls or women.
“May God be with you.”
Jack suddenly rushed off from where they had been standing. Arthur looked after him, not sure how he should take the comment. He wandered off at his own speed, still pondering on when he should ask her.
It was so quiet and peaceful in the woods. The sun was strong enough to keep her warm, and the breeze was perfect. Chriz felt she could stay there forever, but she knew she should soon head back to eat.
She had been sitting a long time, so she carefully stretched as she got to her feet. When she felt loose enough, she began to jog. The need to run off any negative emotions was no longer there. She actually felt a lot better than she had.
During her run back, she decided that she must tell Arthur her feelings, hoping very much that he would still want to be her friend. He had been the nicest person she had met so far. Maybe she would be brave enough to meet some of the others. Sometimes she hated being shy.
Thinking of her shyness made her to smile. That was something her brother/sister always tried to help her with. It was so much easier when they were together. She was happy that they were more like friends than siblings. At least they never seemed to fight like other brothers and sisters tended to.
Arthur let the phone ring about ten times before replacing the receiver. He had been trying the number constantly for the last half an hour, but Chriztine had not answered. He began wondering where she might be.
He picked up the phone and gave her number another try with the same result. He then decided that he would go over to the hotel and see if anyone knew where she might be.
Michelle was sitting at the front desk, looking very busy. His hopes dropped when he realised she might not know. He waited a while watching people coming and going, but Chriz wasn’t amongst them.
“Arthur, can I help you with anything? Is there a problem with some of the arrangements?”
“No, Chelle. I’m here for something personal. As you’re so busy though, you may not be able to help. Would you know where Chriztine might be?”
“You right, there is quite a lot to do round here. Sorry, I haven’t seen her around the last hour or so. Have you tried to call her?”
“Yes, but there was no reply.”
“I think I saw her earlier this morning for a couple of minutes. From what she was wearing, she looked like she was getting ready for a run. Was there anything special you wanted her for?”
“If you see her, Chelle, could I ask you to give me a call to let me know she’s back please?”
” If I see her I will do that.”
Arthur left Chelle deep in her paperwork work. He went to his office and busied himself in party details. Most of the arrangements were complete, apart from the last minute stuff that had to be done on the day, so he soon found himself sitting there shuffling paper to keep occupied. The phone call didn’t come either.
He looked down at his watch, and decided he should go and eat.
The lobby was quite lively when Chriz got back. She hurried up to her room as fast as she could without making eye contact with anyone.
Before she got into the shower she put an order to get something to eat.
The knock on the door came punctually and she rushed to get some clothes on. Looking out the peephole, she realised it wasn’t Rick. She thought she recognized him, but he was partly turned from the door so she wasn’t quite certain which of the younger boys he was.
As she opened the door, the guy turned to face her and she had to take a deep swallow. Welcoming him in with a wave of her hand, he went the rest the tray on the table, giving her a few moments to compose herself. He turned from the table, stretching out his right hand towards her.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Jeff.”
“Hi Jeff, thanks for bringing the food up.”
“It’s nothing really, and I like to help, well more like I need to as it’s getting very busy here ready for the party tomorrow.”
“I noticed earlier that it was getting a bit crowed. Is it always this busy when you hold parties here?”
“It’s getting more that way as more people discover this place and we get more popular brothers here.”
“The place seems big enough to cope.”
“Yeah, and it’s getting bigger for every day.”
“Right.”
“I’m not kidding, I’ve seen it with my own eyes. How are you liking it so far?”
“Except for a few things that scared me shitless. I love what I’ve seen. I’ve managed to find some calm and peaceful places.”
Chriz found it very easy to speak to Jeff. She hadn’t expected it, seeing as she had a crush on him. She was happy that she didn’t feel uncomfortable with him.
After chatting for about five minutes or so, they said goodbye to each other and Chriz sat down to eat what she had ordered.
Chriz felt the same for Jeff that she felt for Kim. There must be something about gay guys that made you feel at ease in their company. She hoped that she and Jeff could become friends.
Her thoughts went to her sister and how she would react when she was told about the guys. Probably Kim would be most interested to learn about Jeff and Rick. She was always interested in other gay couples, even if he was no longer a man.
Chriz was proud of the way her sister was at ease with herself. There had been a few hard years but they had been there for each other. Thinking back made her homesick and she realised she missed Kim. To ease her pain, she took out her note pad and began to write to her.