Giselle

July 2002

Prisoner’s log.

Day…unclear and getting fuzzier the longer I’m here.

I’ve lost count of how many days I’ve been trapped in this miserable place without any contact to the outside world. I’m not sure how long I can go on like this before I start crawling the walls or make friends with an inanimate object. Volleyball anyone? It’s getting harder, but I still have a shred of hope that I’m holding onto like a life raft for my reprieve any day now. As Disney as it might sound, I know my prince is just around the corner to save me and take me away from here. At least Rapunzel had a tower that she could look upon the land from. What the hell do I have?

So much melodrama and I should know, I watch Dawson’s Creek. A disgusting snort escapes and my hand flies to my mouth as I roll onto my side in a full—blown belly laugh. Each word slowly disappears with each little square I doodle over the fake diary entry that fills the back cover of the magazine I’ve been flipping through. It came from my mom’s overflowing stash back home so it’s not like she’ll notice it’s gone or even care. Then again, she’d have to feel anything these days to care. But I shake my head forcing any negative thoughts out. I truly will be miserable if I don’t let myself enjoy my current surroundings at least a little bit. The reason why we’re here doesn’t matter right now.

My eyelids flutter close and as I take a deep breath. The smell of fresh cut grass and the briny ocean air from the Pacific fills my lungs and I sigh laying my head back. I love the beach, it’s one of my favorite places especially here in Oregon. The sun kissing my body and bronzing my skin to perfection is something I would do every single day. I just wish I had a friend or my brother here to enjoy this amazing weather with me. It doesn’t matter where you are or how much money you have, it’s meaningless if you’re lonely.

The vinyl plastic from the lounge chair sticks to my sweat—soaked skin and squeaks as I try to roll onto my side. My toes curl as a shudder travels down my spine. So gross. A dip in the pool would probably be a good idea right about now, but I stay firmly planted in my spot rather than moving the ten steps it would take. I'm too sun drained to even move.

The glossy pages of the magazine slip from my fingers as I continue flipping through it. Who are all these people? And why is that woman wearing a goose for a dress? Or is it a swan? Either way, it looks absolutely ridiculous. Must have been some sort of statement or something. Who knows?

This must be an older issue, I think as I read about another celebrity’s disaster wardrobe from the Academy Awards, which was months ago. I aimlessly turn the pages, not really reading anything when the sky above me darkens. A storm must be coming in because the light above me is almost nonexistent.

Odd.

Blocking the sun with my hand, I shriek not prepared for the who not what standing in my light. The iPod skitters across the deck as I trip over my own feet ripping the earbuds out of my ears. Whimpering in pain as my ass slams down on the scorching concrete I silently curse whoever interrupted my afternoon and question why the hell he’s standing in my backyard.

A sharp pain travels through me as I gently lift my hands from the hard surface where they attempted to break my fall. That’s going to leave a mark. A hiss slips from my lips as I run my palms against the tops of my thighs and I leave a long scratch in its wake. What the fuck? Turning my hands up the teeny tiny asshole of a pebble is staring back up at me. Who would have thought that something so small would have the power to cause so much damage?

Plucking it out and tossing it to the side, I’m pulled from my own thoughts when I hear, “Shit. Are you okay?”

Oh, right. I almost forgot about the creepy offender who caused this whole problem in the first place. Ignoring the pain that’s pretty much covering every part of my body at this point, I glance up to the man behind the voice. My eyes travel up, up, and then up some more. Wow. His tan skin pops against his khaki pants and pastel polo. A drop of sweat slides down the side of his neck from his disheveled sandy blond hair. Seriously who is this guy?

His eyes are wide and focused directly on the mess I just made of my thigh. At least that’s what I’m going to pretend he’s doing because it’s less creepy than thinking this guy is some leering rapist.

“Why are you in my backyard right now?” My voice comes out a little harsher than normal, but seriously W—T—F? Who just walks into somebodies’ yard like that? Not normal people, that’s for sure.

Trust fund crazy takes a small step back and grabs the back of his neck rubbing his fingers against the skin there. The muscles on his arm tighten and even though I’m thoroughly creeped out, I can appreciate a great forearm. “Sorry I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Did he not hear my question? Whether or not he scared me is so totally not the point right now. The hand that was just running through his messy lock’s lands in front of my face. I narrow my eyes at his offering and instead say, “You have exactly thirty seconds to tell me who you are and why you’re here. If you don’t, I’m going to start screaming at the top of my lungs. Trust me, you don’t want that to happen. Both my father and brother will come running to my rescue. They’re big. Huge. And they carry guns. Big ones. They’ll rearrange your face for even thinking about touching me.” I keep my face neutral spewing the lies so well I believe them myself. I was raised a pacifist and I don’t think my father has stepped foot in a gym in his life.

His mouth curls at the corners into a smirk and I really want to wipe it off his scruff covered face. My bottom lip slides between my teeth and I bite down hard thinking about the feel of his short facial hairs scratching against my soft untouched skin. Ugh, where did that thought even come from? I might be lonely but that doesn’t mean I need to throw myself at any guy that just wanders into my yard.

Pushing his hand into my face again he says, “I’m Anders.” When I don’t allow him to help me up, he leans down and his warm breath is against my ear as he continues, “I wouldn’t describe Marek as big, let alone huge, but even so I don’t think I need to worry about my best friend ‘rearranging my face’ or coming after me with a gun.”

He doesn’t even hold back his laughter as he throws my own words back at me. Well, that was not what I was expecting at all.

I slide my hand into his and finally let him help me up from my hard slab of concrete. An electrical current travels through his hand to my own and I don’t know if it’s my mind playing tricks on me or not, but I swear his grip tightens on my own as we finally come face to face. Well, halle—freaking—lujah maybe my prince just landed in my backyard after all. The Universe sure works quickly.

Still holding onto his hand, I trail my eyes down his sculpted body. The preppy rich boy look does absolutely nothing for me, but damn he fills out his clothing well. If he was one of the boys at home, I wouldn’t give him a second glance, but something about him stops me from doing just that. His attire aside, something about him screams dangerous and unattainable. Maybe it’s because I know he’s my older brother’s best friend or just because he’s a college boy, but I feel like there’s something else dark hidden behind his eyes. I flick my tongue out and run it along my bottom lip. Looks like this summer just got interesting.

Anders clears his throat and I don’t even feel the slightest bit ashamed at my obvious ogling. I didn’t see it, but there’s no way he wasn’t doing the exact same thing with me. Between my triangle bikini top and my cut—off shorts, my attire doesn’t leave much to the imagination. I match his smirk and hold my own against him. Yep, I’m going to have a lot of fun with this one. Training my eyes on his own I reply with, “It’s nice to meet you, Anders, I’m Giselle.”

He instantly drops my hand and takes a giant step away from me. Rude. He looks around the yard and takes another small step away from me. Avoiding eye contact with me altogether all he says is, “Oh, so you’re Marek’s baby sister.”

I can’t help but notice the extra emphasis he adds onto the word baby. So, my brother has talked about me? Probably only in passing and to let his buddy here know I’m off limits. Or knowing Marek he drove that point home on their drive over here from school. What a waste.

Rolling my eyes, I pull back releasing my hand from Anders’ grip, and turn away from him. With a quick glance around, I spot where my MP3 player landed. I mentally cross my fingers as I pick it up from the grass. Other than a few scrapes on the side it appears to be damage free. Thank you, Lord, for small favors. The lawn chair that I previously occupied looks less inviting than it had before, but I slide onto anyway.

Sliding one earbud in I toss out, “You better run along then, don’t want my big brother to beat you up for looking at me the wrong way. Or God forbid he found out that you touched me.” I put the other one in and pretend to scroll through my music and say, “Pathetic,” under my breath. No guy can have a mind of their own these days, too afraid to cross the big bad Marek Outlaw. Whatever. As far as I’m concerned it’s his loss, not mine.

I jump again in my seat, fortunately, this time staying on my chair as one of the earbuds is pulled from my ear and his breath warms my skin. A small shiver travels down my spine and I force my hands into fists stopping myself from grabbing him and pulling his lips to my own. This guy is incredibly sexy and it’s not even the least bit fair.

“I am the furthest thing from pathetic, princess. I have respect for your brother and I’m not going to blow up a friendship by chasing after jailbait. I might have a dick, but that doesn’t mean I am one. There’s a difference.”

Without another word, he drops the cord from his fingers and it swings back and forth in front of my face. I’m half torn between wanting to jump up and punch him in the face or forcing him to show me exactly what he can do to me with his little friend below the belt. Just because I may be a virgin doesn’t mean I haven’t fantasized about sex. And I have. A lot. I’ve just never found someone who I was the least bit interested in sharing that part of me…until now.

Who knows, maybe I’ll return home this year as a new woman with a little part of me stripped away. If anyone’s going to do it, might as well be a college boy who, with one interaction, already sets my skin on fire. It’s only eighty degrees outside, but my entire body is ablaze. I watch his form as it gets farther and farther away from me. When he walks around the corner of the house toward the front and I lose sight of him, I can finally breathe again.

Holy cow.

I wanted a little excitement in my life this summer, but a guy like Anders is not what I expected in the slightest. What am I going to do with this now? I think a little bit of fun is definitely in order. We’ll see how long he can resist because I saw him eye fucking me as much as I was with him. Yeah, I’m thinking I can handle a little bit of sexual tension and drama during my vacation.