Felicity stood atop the hill overlooking the large town below. She drew a deep breath; crisp, cool, morning air tingled her nose and infused her lungs with rejuvenating oxygen. It was the perfect elixir to assuage the residual lag from the red eye bus ride she took across the country the night before.
Her eyes wide, she took in the picturesque scene like an angel overlooking the clouds below the heavens. She witnessed the sunrise about half an hour ago revealing the snow-covered tiled rooftops of the old town below. Further on was a sparkling, silver lake lined with thick evergreen trees. Beyond that, much further in the distance, were snow-capped mountains, ageless sentinels acting as the insurmountable gatekeepers of the region.
It was beautiful. Beyond beautiful, Felicity thought. It was pure and pristine and it made her young heart swell so much that it almost leapt from her chest, ready to take on everything the world before her had to offer.
She closed her eyes, smiling as the feeling of serenity swept around her. Moments later, as if on cue, a church bell rang out through the sleepy town.
Perfection.
She questioned why she had never travelled during the winter when everything seemed clean and fresh. Then again, she regretfully hadn't travelled much at all.
Time to rectify that.
“Okay,” she breathed with eyes wide open, “let’s get started.”
She removed her mittens and reached into her daypack to retrieve a map -- a paper map. She had to grin at the notion. After unfolding it gingerly --the creases were either tearing apart or barely holding together with yellowing scotch tape-- she examined it with twinges of intrigue and excitement. There were little circles all over and accompanying notes such as “Must try!” and “Fun!” and “Oh, my!”
This map was her aunt’s graduation gift to her along with a single plane ticket.
Felicity had guessed correctly that the map was one of many her aunt used when she travelled, a worn out souvenir from one of her innumerable journeys. Many of them took place when she was Felicity's age. Her Aunt Kelly believed in the quest of life, always exploring, always discovering both places and herself.
“These are the places you went?” Felicity had asked her, pointing to the circles.
Her aunt nodded, her eyes wide as she gazed at the paper, a spark of some fond memories twinkling her pupils. “That reminds me. You’d better check if your passport is still valid.”
“We’re really going there?” Felicity asked in giddy disbelief.
“You are, yes.”
“Me? Alone?” Her excitement was immediately tempered by an anxious turn in her stomach.
Felicity's Aunt Kelly had been her sole guardian and her role model since she was ten, through her teen and college years. Yet, just as fearless as her aunt's approach to life was, hers was just as apprehensive.
“What am I supposed to do on my own?”
Aunt Kelly patted her arms and smiled. “You're supposed to enjoy. Do what you want.”
“Okay,” Felicity said, sounding unconvincing to either of them. She joked, “What do I want to do?”
“Be bold, be confident,” her aunt assured her.
Felicity rolled her eyes.
“And if you can't do that, fake it,” Aunt Kelly added with a wink. “You won't see any of the people in these places again, anyway!”
“Be bold,” Felicity sighed to herself as she stood on the hill, wisps of frozen breath spiralling into the air from her lips.
She looked at the map of the country. The first couple of days had started fine. She arrived at the airport and enjoyed her time in the capital metropolis. It was visiting the smaller towns that she was looking forward to, although part of her also feared she may stand out too much as an outsider in the rural areas of the country.
She flipped the larger map over. On the other side were maps of the smaller towns and villages, just like the one before her. Though her aunt had encouraged her to find her own path, she couldn't resist going to the places that were circled on the map. It had worked out well in the city, and the same little inn her aunt had stayed in this town was still there. When she checked in as soon as she arrived, Felicity found it to be so warm and quaint. It was the innkeeper who had suggested she go up to the top of the hill to see the sunrise.
Totally worth the trek.
She made her way down the same hillside trail she used to go up, the same route it seemed everyone else did, her boots crunching through the fresh powder of snow.
-o-
Her morning started with a leisurely stroll along the quiet cobblestone walkways. She loved the idea that the builders and planners of the town obviously never believed in straight roads or paths. It was never a simple matter of getting from A to B. Often, she found herself at the end of a narrow alleyway, faced with a brick wall dead end. She didn’t really mind having to double-back, though.
She came upon the town square. At the centre of the wide-open plaza was a large, tiered fountain. Being winter, the water that should have been spouting from the top and pouring over the sides was off. Still, it was glazed with a shimmering layer of ice and snow, and there were long, crystalline icicles hanging off from it. The morning sun's rays hit the fountain just right, transforming it into an ice princess's giant, glistening birthday cake.
Felicity pulled out her cellphone and took a picture. When she moved around to the other side for another angle, she spotted a man several metres away also snapping shots of the fountain with a DSLR camera. She watched him for a moment as he adjusted the lens and calibrated the settings before taking a few shots. It was kind of cool, to be honest, and the guy, while obviously serious about photography, looked like he was having fun.
Felicity frowned, regarding her phone sheepishly. For some reason, she always felt self-conscious taking pictures with it when someone else was nearby using a proper camera.
“Hello.”
Felicity blinked and looked up and around. Did someone just greet her?
“Over here.” It was the man. Well, obviously it was; he and Felicity were the only one's there this early in the morning.
Felicity offered him an anxious smile as he waved to her. She waved back.
“Good morning!” he chimed, a white smile breaking through the dark stubble covering his chin and cheeks.
“‘Morning,” she replied.
“Beautiful, isn't it?” he said.
Felicity looked at the frozen fountain. “The fountain?” she said. “Yeah, it's amazing.”
“The fountain. The morning,” he said looking all around before regarding her again, “Everything.”
It was brief, but the way he smiled and held his gaze on her momentarily set off a subtle blip of anxiety.
“Would you like a picture?” he asked, nodding at her phone.
“Hmm? Oh,” she said, looking down at her phone then back at him. “No, no. It's okay,” she added waving her hand.
He came over anyway, holding out his hand. “I'll take one of you by the fountain,” he offered.
Felicity took a half step back. “It's okay,” she repeated quickly, “thanks.”
The guy smiled pleasantly. “Come on. You'll look great,” he remarked, still beckoning for the phone. “It will be my pleasure.”
She grinned at him. His smile, not only stretching his lips but curling his blue eyes into cheery crescents, was infectious. Rolling her eyes, she sighed, “Okay, thanks. But I've just got a dinky cellphone camera.”
He took her phone. “It's not about the camera. It's the subject. And besides,” he paused and winked at her, “I'm a professional.”
That earned a chuckle. The charming hint of some European accent in his voice also had a calming effect on her.
He recommended a spot for her to stand by the fountain.
As usual, when she found herself in front of a camera, Felicity struggled to affect a natural smile.
The guy pointed her phone but then paused, looking around it towards her. “Try to relax,” he said.
Of course, him saying that made her more self-conscious and stiff. Felicity wished he would just take the photo already.
“Do this,” he suggested, then gave his arms, hips and face --his entire body, actually-- an exaggerated shake.
She giggled.
“Perfect,” he said and took a picture. “Another.”
Felicity raised her eyes up, then shrugged and chuckled. She posed like a demonstration model, directing attention to the fountain with a flourishing wave of her hands. “Ta dah!” she announced.
“Great!” he said.
She struck a few more poses, including a ballerina pirouette and a high kick.
“Super!” he exclaimed. “Now jump!”
“I'm not going to jump!” she laughed, looking around, blushing.
“There’s no one else here!” he said. “Besides, no one here knows who you are. Who will remember?”
She found his paraphrase of what her aunt told her somewhat befuddling. Still, after yet another conspicuous check of the surroundings, she flexed her knees and managed a jump.
“Again,” he said, nodding, “higher.”
She jumped again, gaining some more clearance from the ground.
“Again!” he cheered.
She jumped higher. Her twin braids floated away from her shoulders.
“Again!”
She did as she was told.
They repeated this a few more times before he said, “Last one! Really go for it!”
She jumped once more, kicking up her heels, and throwing her hands up, reaching for the majestic blue skies above.
Felicity landed on her boots. She doubled over on her knees, laughing and winded, and gasped, “No more!” She felt so hot in her winter jacket and toque.
The man walked over, scrolling through the pictures. “That's alright,” he said, “I got it on the first take.”
“What?” she exclaimed, still flushed.
“See?” he said, showing the first photo of her jumping.
Felicity frowned as she looked at herself. “Why did you make me jump so much?”
The man shrugged. “It was funny.”
Her mouth ajar, she motioned to slap the stranger on the arm, but caught herself and awkwardly tucked her hand away. She took the phone from him and scrolled through the pictures.
“Told you, I'm a professional,” he chuckled. He leaned in beside her to look at the screen. “Pretty good with a dinky cell phone, huh?”
She nodded and sighed, “Too bad I don't have a better camera.”
“I can use my camera,” he offered. “I’m always happy to take a picture of a beautiful woman.”
Felicity shifted her eyes aside to look up at him. She noticed how his arm was brushing up against hers, then suddenly was completely aware of him -- his musky scent, his height, his smiling, handsome face. She stepped aside. “It's alright,” she said, feeling apprehensive, “these are fine. Thanks.”
“I can send them to you by email,” he said.
“No,” she said a little more firmly than maybe she wanted to as she continued to put some distance between herself and the guy. For some reason, the idea that he was after her email set off her alarms, justified or not.
“Are you sure? It's not a problem,” he said as he watched her move away.
Felicity was already turning her back to him. “It’s okay, thanks,” she said. “Have a nice day.”
“Good travels,” he called to her.
She walked away briskly and only looked back when she was about to turn a corner. The guy was crouched down with his back to her, tending to his backpack he had set on the ground.
With a sigh, she turned the corner, her eyes cast towards the cobblestones as she walked, reflecting on how uncomfortable her beating heart felt at the moment.
They never even exchanged names.
-o-
For the rest of the morning, Felicity visited various places her Aunt Kelly had circled in the map. She spent a peaceful hour in a cosy coffee shop watching families walk by the window as they headed to church while she enjoyed a silky, eye-opening espresso and delicious, buttery “Must Try” pastries.
Later, she lost herself in the most amazing bookshop, with leather bound editions of every classic she could think of lining every shelf, from dark hardwood floor to soaring ceiling, from the front door to the back.
She strolled along a winding artisan alley where she peeked in on an array of painters, pottery makers, glass blowers, and blacksmiths proudly working on their crafts. She purchased a few small souvenirs before she had reached the end of that stretch of path.
She visited the two-hundred-year-old church and then the town's local history museum nearby. Although tiny, she still spent a good amount of time in the museum. The curator cornered her and seemed determined to bestow upon her every story, secret and bit of town intrigue his head had stored over the years. She didn't mind; the elderly gentleman's enthusiasm to speak to someone, anyone, about what he knew was palpable. It kind of broke her heart to see him waving forlornly at her by the door when she finally left.
While she was certainly enjoying her leisurely tour of the town, she still hadn't resolved that nagging knot in her gut from earlier that morning. Blowing the guy off like that… it just didn't sit well. Meeting new people, interacting, being social was all part of the trip, she told herself.
But perhaps what she wasn't telling herself was how much of her unease was due to wondering if she'd run into him again.
At lunchtime, she found herself at the busy pub her aunt had circled. A line from the circle led to underlined words: “Game & Stout Pot Pie”. That was exactly what Felicity ordered, along with some pickled cabbage. It turned out, the “Game” part of the pie's recipe was whatever was recently brought in from hunting trips in the wooded hills. Today it was deer.
Overcoming the idea that she was possibly eating Bambi, Felicity dug in, her fork shattering the flaky crust, releasing a plume of aromatic steam into her face. As she rolled the delicious meat, gravy and veg in her mouth, she wondered if Thumper tasted just as delicious.
While savouring the sour-tang of the pickled cabbage, she suddenly picked up on an unexpectedly familiar voice from the bar area. She looked over and spotted the man from the fountain chatting up the barkeep with lively conversation.
Felicity chewed her lip as she regarded him. Angst immediately churned her brain and stomach as she wondered if he had seen her.
Quickly, she stood from her table.
“Hey,” she said, tapping him gently on the shoulder. Managing as relaxed a smile as possible she added as he turned, “Hi, again.”
The man blinked, a slight pinch in his dark, furry brow. “Sorry,” he said, “do I know you?”
Felicity's jaw dropped. “Oh… oh! Sorry!” she said, begging back with her hands up. “I'm so sorry, I…”
The man laughed and motioned her hands down. “Sorry! Sorry! I'm kidding,” he chuckled, smiling. “Of course, you’re the jumper at the fountain.”
“The ‘jumper’?” asked the barkeep.
The man waved a hand. “Not to worry. She's a good swimmer.”
The barkeep smirked and walked away.
Felicity stood frozen, still at a loss.
“I didn't recognize you without your blue hat and rainbow scarf,” he said.
Her eyes looked up as if trying to see the top of her own blonde head while she touched her bare neck. She turned back towards her table. “Oh, my toque and scarf are over there. The hat’s actually turquoise...”
He snagged her by the hand. He winked and chuckled, “I'm still kidding.”
Felicity popped her eyebrows as she gazed at him for a few seconds, looking into his smiling eyes.
“I wouldn’t forget you,” he added with a knowing shrug, “not with those Pippi Longstocking braids.”
She grinned and blushed. She felt ridiculous, but it also felt like a wet blanket was suddenly falling off her shoulders.
“I'm so glad to run into you again,” she breathed. It surprised her to realize how much she meant that.
The man nodded. “Me too.”
She looked down, sighing in relief. She watched him pat her hand as he shook it warmly. His hands, more tanned and larger than her own, were surprisingly gentle.
“I'm really sorry for running off like that,” she apologized. She meant that, too.
He smiled and shook his head. The pinch around his eyes eased, widening them, exposing more of their translucent blue tints as he regarded her attentively.
She bobbed her chin and looked aside with an embarrassed grin. “I’m just your typical, skitterish foreigner, I guess. Everyone’s coming to get me,” she joked.
“It’s not a problem,” he said, his friendly smile undiminished.
“Um, would you…” Felicity paused, mustering her reserves, “...do you want to join me for a drink?”
The man leaned back. “Oh, I don't drink with strangers.”
Her face dropped. “Uh…”
He squeezed her hand. “Hello. My name is Kristjan. You are…?”
“Felicity?” she answered slowly.
“Hello, Felicity,” he said, his subtle accent adding a pleasing lilt to her name. “So nice to see you again. Come on. Let's catch up.”
Back at her table, it only took a few minutes for Felicity to settle into conversation with Kristjan. Even with his attractive eyes on her the entire time, she felt at ease. She gave herself a mental high five for that.
It turned out that Kristjan was also a solo traveller. He had come from a shorter distance, Iceland, while Felicity was from Canada. He was just a few years older than her, but his confidence and ease with everything around him was miles ahead of her own.
“So, how has your morning been? What have you been up to?” he asked.
“Just being a tourist,” she said, shrugging. “I’ve been following my aunt's map.”
“Map?”
Felicity rummaged through her daypack, retrieved the paper map, and unfolded it.
“Ah, low tech,” Kristjan remarked. “I love it.”
She smiled.
“The circles are where your aunt visited?” he guessed.
Felicity nodded.
He asked, “And which places have you seen so far?”
Sitting back in her seat, she shrugged and sighed, “Pretty much all of them.” She shook her head and smirked. “I'm not much of an explorer. I’d probably get lost without the map.”
She hated admitting it. Even saying so, she still wasn't sure if she could just go forge her own path. The thought that she may just go back to the inn for the rest of the day didn't escape her, and that was just so sad.
Kristjan nodded thoughtfully. “Hard to travel by yourself sometimes.”
The two of them sat there for a moment reflecting on the map. Felicity held her breath for a long second, watching him quietly moving his finger around the paper. Then she looked up and asked firmly, “Do you want to check out the town with me?”
Kristjan raised his eyes to her and smiled. “Absolutely.”
“I should finish my lunch, though,” she said, eyeing her partially eaten Game & Stout Pie. She nodded her chin toward it and looked at Kristjan. “Would you like to try some?”
He shook his head and scrunched his face. “I would feel like I’m eating Bambi.”
-o-
It was like seeing the same places, the same streets and paths and shops, with new eyes. Kristjan turned out to be a very knowledgeable traveller, thoroughly reading up about the places he was going to visit. He acted as a charming, personal guide telling Felicity about the architecture and landmarks and certain historical events that happened in different places. She was actually able to offer a few tidbits of her own, having gleaned some knowledge from the old curator at the museum.
When she told him about the origins of the central church’s bells, Kristjan pursed his lips and nodded. “Impressive.”
He helped her negotiate the price for a few more baubles from the small shops and led her to other stores where she got to sample more delectable foods like cheeses, jams, sweets and more. He also led her to an old playhouse where they sat in on a group of school kids rehearsing a scene. Felicity couldn’t help sneak a few peeks at Kristjan while he watched the children; he appeared delighted by them.
They chatted more over coffee on a bench in a small parkette overlooking the crystal lake, talking as if they were friends who were meeting up for the day. Whenever Kristjan laughed, Felicity took the opportunity to observe how easy going and relaxed the man was. It really warmed her spirits whenever he broke out in a good chuckle.
As the afternoon wore on, they seemed to move faster and faster throughout the town, caught up in the “traveller’s rush”. They soon found themselves on the outskirts, walking along a wintry trail, following a tranquil, silvery creek. They stopped at a snow-covered, wooden bridge that crossed the water.
“Wow,” Felicity exclaimed with a satisfied breath of air as she listened to the babbling creek flowing through the frosty bank, and took in the picturesque scene, “it’s so pretty here!”
“Here,” Kristjan said, pulling out his camera and handing it to her, “you can take a few pictures with this.”
With his help, Felicity quickly learned the basic settings for the camera and how to adjust the lens. Kristjan framed some shots for her with his hands, and when she became more comfortable, he stepped back behind her to freestyle her pictures.
He pointed up to the hills. “There,” he said, “that’s where I am.”
Felicity took a picture around the top of the hill where he was pointing then looked at him. “What do you mean?”
“My camp.”
“You’re camping?” she asked. “You’re not staying in town?”
He shrugged. “Not my style.”
She grinned and frowned. “It’s not freezing up there?”
“Actually, no,” he said. “The trees block the wind and I keep a fire going.”
“And wild animals?” she asked, warily.
“Maybe not as wild as me.” He offered a cartoonish bounce of his brows.
It was her turn to say, “Impressive.”
She took a few more shots of the bridge, the town, the hills, and then they huddled together to review them on the display. This time, as they stood shoulder-to-shoulder, Felicity didn’t feel the urge to move away, enjoying the warmth of his arm along hers and his scent wafting around her nose. She did try to hide her blushing smile, though.
Before they packed up the camera to head back to town, Kristjan said, “Wait. I want to take a few more pictures of you. Maybe on the bridge.”
Felicity gave him a wary eye and replied, “Of me?”
He nodded. “I don’t often have the opportunity to take pictures of pretty young women such as yourself.”
“I thought you were a professional photographer?” she said, eyeing him mockingly.
“Yes, well, commissions in Iceland usually mean I’m taking pictures of either volcanoes, glaciers or little horses, so if you could indulge me this pleasure.” He motioned towards the bridge.
Felicity laughed then started for the bridge.
“Wait,” he said again and pulled her back by the hand. She stood looking up at him with a cocked brow as he adjusted her hat and rainbow knit scarf.
“So I won’t look like a little horse?” she asked.
While he carefully arranged her blonde braids and bangs, he said, “I like the little horses.”
Felicity smiled. He paused momentarily to smile back at her.
When he was done, she made her way to the bridge. She called back to him, “Are you going to make me jump again?”
He shrugged. “Do whatever you want,” he said, “the camera will love you, anyway.”
Felicity decided not to jump, lest Kristjan started spreading rumours around the town that a woman jumped from the bridge.
-o-
By the time they made it back to town, it was already early evening and dark. They found a quaint, candlelit restaurant and dined on seared fish and cups of creamy potato soup. They lingered there, chatting as they leaned on the small table separating them. Both of them took their time to down mugs of rich, brown lager while dipping dried fruit into a Toblerone fondue.
They took a stroll through town after dinner, leading themselves back to the fountain square where they had met in the morning. Strings of white lights were strewn all across the plaza, brightening the night. There were a few other people walking about, not many, mainly couples. A man was selling roasted nuts from a cart while another couple of men played the violin and accordion on the steps of the government hall.
Felicity stopped and smiled, taking in the moment, reminding herself of the word she used when overlooking the town at dawn.
Perfection.
Kristjan removed his backpack and set it on a bench. “Care to dance?”
Felicity froze with her mouth ajar. Her eyes skittered around the plaza. “Here?” she asked. She felt her heart race.
“Why not?” he said, shrugging. He nodded towards the musicians. “Look at these two. Don’t they look so sad without people dancing to their music?”
She shifted her eyes to the accordion player and the violinist. They beamed robust, hearty smiles back at her. She crossed her arms and smirked at Kristjan. “They don’t look so sad to me.”
“I’m speaking figuratively. Inside, their hearts are breaking,” he explained, then looked towards the musicians. “Help me out, guys.”
“Beautiful music requires a beautiful woman to dance to it,” the accordion player concurred wholeheartedly.
Felicity rolled her eyes and sighed, “Alright.”
Even as the word escaped her mouth, Kristjan was already reaching for her daypack and setting it down beside his. He quickly took hold of her mitten-covered hands, and soon they were moving around the square, shifting their feet side-to-side, swaying leisurely in front of the fountain.
At first, Felicity kept her head low, looking at the cobblestones.
Kristjan leaned down to whisper in her ear, “No one is watching.”
She looked up and around. Everyone was watching them and smiling.
“No one knows who we are, and we’ll never see them again,” he assured her.
There were those words again…
Felicity slowly relaxed, especially when she saw other couples join them dancing in the square. Soon, she was looking up into Kristjan’s eyes again, enjoying their own little space in the world.
“So what’s next for you?” she asked. “I mean where’s your next destination after this town?”
A big chunk of her kind of hoped he would say something like, “Wherever you’re headed.”
“Home,” he said.
Felicity’s left foot bumped against her planted right foot, and she came to an abrupt stop. Still holding his hands, she said, “Home? Iceland?”
He nodded. “I catch the first bus tomorrow morning back to the airport,” he said.
“Really,” she said, deflated, “you’re taking the bus across the country tomorrow?”
“It’s an evening flight. I have to work tomorrow, meeting with a project manager,” he said, adding, “I actually had planned to leave this morning on the bus.”
She looked aside frowning, thinking.
“Felicity,” Kristjan said thoughtfully, leaning down and whispering in her ear again, “I’m still here till the morning. I would very much like to spend the rest of the evening with you till then.”
Feeling his hands squeeze a little around hers, Felicity slowly leaned away. Her lips parted as she stared back with a stunned expression. She was suddenly caught in his compelling blue eyes which looked back at her in a way that filled in the blanks as to what he meant. His voice and words were just as provocative. She couldn’t find any of her own to speak.
“Felicity?”
Every moment of the day tumbled back through her head in a dizzying instant. From the hills to the plaza, from the pub to the shops and through the winding streets, from the bridge to the restaurant and now back to this moment standing here holding the hands of this man faced with his bold proposal.
It was another sudden dead end, one she wasn’t ready to overcome.
“I’ve had a nice day, Kristjan,” she said, sounding as if she were speaking through a haze. She released his hands. “I really enjoyed it. Thank you.”
Kristjan’s head tilted aside as he watched her step away from him again. Ever the gentlemen, he wasn’t going to make a scene.
“I hope you have a safe trip back to Iceland,” she said as she gathered her bag from the bench. She clutched it close to her as she looked back at him for a long moment. He hadn’t moved from his spot in the square when she turned and strode away. Not looking back, she said, “Bye.”
This time, she didn’t pause as she turned the corner.
-o-
Back at the inn, Felicity ran up the stairs and into her room, closing the door firmly behind her. Leaning back against it, she clasped her palm against her forehead, pushing up her toque. She felt so hot and uncomfortable in her jacket, gloves, and boots.
Even after a minute, she still found it difficult to regain her breath, sighing constantly and wincing at the recurring pang in her gut. She tossed her daypack onto a chair and shrugged off her outdoor clothes. Then she fell backwards onto the bed, placed her hands over her eyes and sighed wearily again.
Kristjan’s voice, his smell, his smile, his warmth all reverberated through her head. Even with her eyes covered, she saw him as clear as the morning sunrise.
She hadn’t taken any pictures of him with her phone. She hadn’t even exchanged email addresses.
Damn it.
She spent a few minutes continuing to berate herself, then lay motionless on the bed for a few minutes more. Finally, she pulled herself back up. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she took her pack from the chair and dumped the contents out beside her.
She sifted through the little souvenirs she had gathered, pausing at the ones Kristjan had helped her procure. Then she picked up her aunt’s map.
“Be bold,” she said, mocking herself. Aunt Kelly would be disappointed.
She opened the paper and looked at the map of the town, staring at the circles. Then she frowned and looked a little closer.
A new circle, inscribed with a different coloured pen, had somehow appeared. Only this circle wasn’t located anywhere in the town. It was in the hills.
Without allowing herself another thought, Felicity left her room, wrapping herself up in her outdoor gear as she quickly made her way down the stairs of the inn.
-o-
“Well, this was a dumb idea.”
That was the thought running through Felicity’s head as she found herself a few hundred metres out of town, trudging up a wooded hill in ankle-deep snow. She used the flashlight of her phone to light the way ahead of her for a few feet, but otherwise, she was surrounded by the cool blue hue cast from the moon’s reflection on the snow.
Fortunately, Kristjan was right. It wasn’t as cold as she thought it would be. Maybe it was because her heart was pounding from climbing up the frigging hill.
She had checked the map when she was back at the wooden bridge, using it to estimate which way to go. At the foot of the hill, she had paused, staring at the trees. There was no path for her to follow. With a stern face and tight lips, she had decided straight up, forging a new path, was the way to go.
Foolish girl.
As the minutes passed and the hill slowly began to feel like a mountain, she continued to clamber up further and further, not looking back toward the town. Only one thought drove her on, carrying her almost to the top.
“Felicity.”
She jumped, startled to hear her name. Scanning her flashlight around quickly she gasped, “God, I hope wolves can’t talk!”
“No wolves,” Kristjan said, stepping forward, hand up to block her light shining in his face, “just me.”
Felicity leaned back and heaved a heavy breath. “Oh, thank God. I made it to the top.”
“Actually,” he said, thumbing over his shoulder, “it’s another thirty feet.”
She groaned, a puff of white vapour rising from her mouth.
“So you came,” Kristjan said.
She nodded. “I forgot to give you my email address,” she said, “I want the pictures I took today.”
“Sure,” he said with a shrug. “Is there anything else you want?”
Felicity looked at the man in the dark, appearing all relaxed and inviting in his heavy wool sweater, and mentally repeated the question.
“Something warm,” she requested.
-o-
“It's beautiful up here, even at night,” Felicity remarked as she looked down at the serene town from the edge of Kristjan's camp. The moon shined bright over the land casting everything in swaths of blue, grey and silver tones.
“It certainly is,” Kristjan said, walking up beside her and passing her a tin mug, “especially at night.”
She took a sip. The warm liquid seeped pleasantly down her throat. “Mmm, nice,” she said, “What is it?”
“Mulled wine.”
“Mmm,” she hummed her approval again and took another long sip. “Warms the belly.”
It also somehow relaxed her and made her giddy at the same time. She tilted the mug high, drinking all of the sweet warmth.
Behind them, a healthy campfire crackled and glowed in front of Kristjan's tent. Above them, a canopy of stars and dark sky kept watch. Felicity closed her eyes and inhaled deeply as if to take everything into her being.
“Now that you're up here,” said Kristjan as he took the mug from her, “there's something I want you to do.”
“What's that?”
He draped an arm around her back and shoulder and guided her sight up to the sky. “Pick a star.”
She leaned her head aside and eyed him.
“Pick a star?” she said as if that was the corniest thing she'd heard. “Don't most of these stars have names or numbers already?”
Kristjan smirked. “I'm not asking you to put it in your pocket like some pet rock. Just pick one for this moment.”
She rolled her eyes then randomly pointed at one. “Okay, that one.”
“Okay,” he said, stepping behind her and wrapping his hands around her arms just below her shoulders, “now say something to your star.”
She tried to turn around to frown at him. “Talk? To the star?”
He held her tightly, keeping her directed and focused on her star. “Say hello to it,” he suggested.
Despite how silly she felt, she looked up and mumbled, “Hello, star.”
“Good,” he said. “Again, but louder… and not like you’re talking to your grade school principal.”
“Hello, star,” she repeated, raising the volume of her voice.
“Louder. Don't you know how far away it is?”
“You're crazy, you know that?” she said, grinning, as she craned her neck around.
“Shout it!”
Felicity turned back towards the sky and yelled, “Hey, star!”
“Great,” he said, releasing her arms and stepping beside her again. “Now that you have its attention, tell it something.”
“Like what?”
“Like…” he mused, then looked up, cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “Hey, Felicity’s star! Thanks for leading her up here to join me! I was very lonely!”
“Maybe if you had screamed like that before I got up here, more people in the town would come join you,” she chided, feeling utterly in safe mode with Kristjan.
He nudged her. “You.”
She thought for a moment, then shouted across the land, “Bambi is delicious!”
Kristjan scratched the side of his head as he cocked his brow at her. “I’m the crazy one on this hill?”
“Thank you, Aunt Kelly!” Felicity shouted, on a roll now. She also cupped her hands around his mouth and added, “I want to explore this whole damn world!”
Kristjan leaned back, arms crossed, regarding her with his admiring blue eyes.
“I want to have fun! I want to learn! I want to experience! I want to discover! I want to eat stuff!” she continued at the top of her lungs until her throat was coarse and filled with the night air.
He clapped his hands.
Felicity drew in one last deep breath. Looking up at her star, she pointed to the man standing beside her and hollered, “I want this guy to kiss me right now and not to stop until the sun rises!”
Kristjan froze in mid-clap. He raised his brows and pushed his face towards her. “Really?”
Breathing so hard that she was swaying as she turned to him, she remarked, “Yeah. Are you deaf?”
His incredulous smile softened to a gentle one as he stepped up to Felicity in the snow, then gathered her up in his arms.
Seizing all the momentum she had charged her heart and mind with, she tilted her head back and closed her eyes. A smile stretched on her face as she felt the touch of his warm lips upon hers. The cool air was still as they kissed, a peaceful silence swaddling them as they came together under the watch of the moon and stars.
The first kiss was an extended one, both of them holding their heads steady save pushing them together with increasing pressure. The successive kisses were a mix of pecks and smacks and little sucks of the lips which Felicity particularly liked. Their heads moved and angled just as they clutched each other tighter and tighter.
After a few minutes, Felicity grinned. As Kristjan moved his lips to kiss her cheek and forehead, his stubble brushing against her fine skin, she cooed, “Mmm… don’t stop now.”
He pulled back and looked at her. She blinked, licking her upper lip, and nodded. Whether her words were meant for him, her or both, she had no intention of doubling-back now.
Taking her by the hand, he led her to the tent.
Once inside, they settled on a layer of blankets and his sleeping bag. A small light hung from the peak of the tent, but otherwise, it was the light of the campfire that cascaded within. They resumed kissing immediately with growing intent and urgency. Once more Felicity was having trouble breathing. Stuttering, hushed breaths escaped from her mouth whenever their lips moved apart.
Soon their tongues were drawn into the encounter, twisting and slipping over each other. They got on their knees and pressed their bodies close. Felicity’s hips suddenly were compelled to roll with subtle but enticing curls, rubbing her crotch against Kristjan’s.
The two of them worked together to shed Felicity’s outer layers of clothing; her toque, scarf, jacket all added to the soft layers on the floor of the intimate tent.
Kristjan leaned back and pulled off his sweater revealing a broad, hard chest covered with light curls of hair.
Suddenly faced with his handsome bare upper body up close, Felicity looked at the open tent flaps and asked, “It’s not going to be cold?”
“The fire will keep us warm,” he said. He gathered her in his arms again. Angling his lips towards hers, he added, “I’ll keep you warm.”
Felicity welcomed his kiss with parted lips and a probing tongue. Her fingers scratched gently at his chest, delighting in the crop of soft hairs covering his flesh and feeling her way around his muscles.
Both their hands moved lower. He raised up her sweater, pulling it over her head leaving her sports bra. As soon as that was set aside, her fingers went to work on the fly of his pants. He helped her and quickly they were pushed down and off his feet along with his shoes and socks.
With Kristjan now only in his underpants, they settled down onto the floor of the tent. He eased her back slowly, always kissing her, always holding her with his attentive eyes.
Felicity wrapped her hands behind his neck as she set her head on his forearm. She watched as he propped himself up as he lay beside her on his side. Their eyes locked, she felt his gentle hand caress her chin and cheeks. It moved steadily down to her neck and her collar. He cupped her breast and massaged it through her bra, dragging his fingers over her nipple, eliciting more provocative swells of her belly and crotch.
Down his hand went as he continued to burn a sweltering gaze of desire at her. Her stomach twitched as he circled her belly button with the tips of his fingers and his knuckles.
As he undid the button of her pants, Kristjan smiled. A second later, he flattened his hand and slipped it under the waistline.
“Ohh,” Felicity moaned and swallowed. Her hand instinctively grasped his arm as his hand shifted and slid beneath the crotch of her pants and panties. She bit her lip and looked up at him with yearning eyes as her body recoiled and stretched. Her thighs spread and clenched alternately as she felt his fingers stroke and probe her with steady, confident, delicate touches. Even as her body was brought to new heights of stimulation, she managed to kick off her uncomfortable boots with the heels of her feet.
Kristjan pushed the cups of her bra up, exposing her white breasts and tight, pert nipples to the night air. With his hand still rubbing her steadily below, he brought his lips down upon her breasts. He graced each with kisses and licks and with a long, hard suck upon each nipple. They popped out of his mouth as he raised his chin, only to cover them again with his lips and trace them with his tongue.
Felicity’s mind and body were in a rattled frenzy now. She blinked toward the top of the tent, her mouth rounded and either breathing out wispish “oohs” or hitching “ahhs”. Her bare belly flexed and twisted seductively, shoving her crotch against his massaging fingers.
While Kristjan kissed and sucked her earlobe, he took her hand and brought it down to his crotch.
Instinctively, she cupped her hand against his shaft hiding beneath his underwear. It twitched at her immediate touch. It continued to stiffen as she rubbed it, hardening to a considerable length. With Kristjan moving his kisses back to her mouth, she blindly yanked at the lip of his underwear and reached for him, grasping her fist around him, quickly stroking the smooth skin lining the hard, ample shaft of muscle.
Kristjan responded in kind, upping the ante, teasing her lips apart and sinking a long finger into her.
“Ohh, God,” she gasped into his mouth, wincing at the spike in pleasure her body felt.
The intimate confines of Kristjan’s tent were soon swelling with the sounds of drawn out groans and trembling moans. Hands were fully engaged, stroking, rubbing, prodding, touching. Lips were locked, tongues entwined.
Felicity’s hips bucked upward sharply, shoving roughly against Kristjan’s hand. She bit at his lower lip as her eyes closed tight and her entire body suddenly clenched. A soft whine purred up her throat.
“Uhhn… God!” she bellowed, loud enough for her star to hear. She came hard against his hand as it continued to slide swiftly between her thighs. She twisted her hips and arched her back again, still spilling forth succulent wetness. It soaked her panties and they immediately cooled by the winter’s night air.
Her body curled as she raised her head up, still breathing hard and hitching, her eyes still pinched closed. A smile cracked her lips, an incredibly pleased smile.
Kristjan eased back, withdrawing his damp, red hand. He sat up and removed his underwear.
Felicity opened her eyes to finally witness the result of her hand’s efforts on Kristjan. A long hard length that matched his stature stood erect and waiting. She drew up her hand mindlessly to the top of her chest as she regarded it with dual emotions: one of nervous apprehension, the other of urgent desire.
On this night, the former was going to be squelched once and for all, she determined.
As Kristjan shifted on his knees around the tent, he watched with unadulterated pleasure as Felicity removed her bra and then her pants, panties and socks. She bashfully admitted to herself that he liked the way he was looking at her as she stripped and then sat naked before him.
“I should take a picture,” Kristjan said, probably 75% serious about it.
“Because you’re a professional?” Felicity asked.
He nodded, with a grin cracking his lips.
Felicity, however, shook her head slowly. “I don’t think you should waste any more time,” she suggested, then cocked her brow and added, “We only have until dawn.”
He laughed his hearty, warm laugh before seizing her by the ankles and pulling her towards him. He yanked her up as he knelt. She threw her arms around his neck, and they smothered their naked bodies together for a truly smouldering kiss.
As he kissed her neck and shoulders, his scruff tickling her flesh, she felt a distinct prod of something long, hard, and warm around her crotch and belly. She moaned and pressed her mouth against his ear, rubbing it with her teeth and gasping with a trembling breath, “Fuck me.”
Kristjan took a firm hold of her and lowered her back down against the blankets. Still kneeling, he slid in close, hoisting her leg over his forearm, exposing her to the touch of his thick tip.
Felicity licked her lips and clutched at the blanket at her sides. Her eyes flitted open and closed as she squirmed at the touch of his head as he rubbed it enticingly up and down along her slit. She gazed up at him. There were no more friendly smiles to offer upon his handsome face, just a sharp, lascivious grin and a dark tinge in his blue eyes that only served to make him all the more desirable.
“Say it again, Felicity,” he said.
“Mmm… Fuck me.”
He cocked his brow. Still prodding her with his tip, he said, “Again.”
Through clenched teeth, she ached, “Fuck me.”
“Louder.”
“Kristjan!” she snapped.
He paused.
She grinned. “Jump.”
Kristjan clamped down on her thigh and drifted his hips forward.
Felicity’s head immediately lifted from the floor as her mouth shuddered with a gasp. She felt him settle a couple of inches into her, before withdrawing then pushing in again another inch deeper. He repeated this a few times, her head listing back onto the floor slowly until he was fully immersed within her and she felt the full effect of his throbbing length along every tingling part of her body.
She looked up at him, watching intently, as the defined lines of his abdomen rolled and tightened with a churning rhythm that pumped his shaft in and out of her. His rugged muscle throbbed and his tip dragged like an anchor head, hitting all the right spots as it moved within her.
The normally gregarious Kristjan fell silent save for the heated breaths flowing past his parted lips. His eyes told her everything, though -- how he felt, what he was feeling, what he wanted and desired, and exposing his vulnerable lust to her. He was a mass of human satisfaction.
Felicity pressed her shoulders down, raising her hip bone and bare belly upward as Kristjan accentuated his grinding probes with firmer pumps and thrusts. She cast him her own stern, determined look.
His free hand took hold of hers, tangling their fingers together. He leaned over her, raising her hand and pinning it to the floor beside her head as he hovered above. Her leg that he cradled in the bend of his arm eased higher, her foot brushing against the side of the tent, opening her to even more turgid thrusts.
The heat generated between their two bodies chased the cool night air out of the tent. Felicity could see the shine from the layer of perspiration on his skin. She felt the glistening sheen on her naked flesh as well.
“Oh! Oh! Oh, God!” She greeted every extended stroke with a longing gasp.
Kristjan reached for her other leg. Both of them bent over his forearms, he pressed forward and down, drawing Felicity’s knees to his armpits, folding her so that he could plant his mouth over his lips. With zealous kisses, licks and sucks preoccupying their mouths, he doubled the speed of his thrusts ending each one with a stiff snap of his buttocks. Now the sounds of their heightening groans were joined by the sharp slap of hot flesh upon flesh.
“Oh! Ohh!” Felicity moaned languidly as she sucked and nipped at his tongue and lips. Her voice shuddered as she squeaked his name, “Kristjan… uhhn…”
“You feel so good, Felicity,” he breathed with a husky gasp, constantly rocking back and forth upon her, “you feel so good.”
Still cradling her legs, he displayed his strength and desire by setting up on his knees, hoisting her from the floor as if she were as light as a pillow. He held her aloft as she embraced him, bouncing her on his lap, meeting her with a harsh buck of his hips upward each time she came down.
“Ohh… God!” she exclaimed, gnawing at his hard, round shoulder. “Don’t stop. God, don’t stop.”
Kristjan completed their sunrise, sunset cycle, falling back onto the blankets. Now Felicity was the one on top, thighs splayed over his strong hips. She swayed her pelvis back and forth over him, rubbing their flesh together, cranking his length inside of her setting off all sorts of electric shivers throughout her. As she balanced on top of his bucking torso, she finally undid her braids and let her blonde hair cascade over her shoulders and back.
The fire danced and sparked outside the tent, illuminating the two beautiful bodies ---passionately and proudly on display-- within. It lit up Felicity’s flesh, casting her white skin in a warm, orange glow. Her fingers locked with his, pushing his hands against his chest, grinding his thrusting shaft, she suddenly had a vivid image of herself. She never felt more sexy and alive.
Judging by Kristjan’s voracious gaze --the wild wolf with blue eyes finally realized-- he wasn’t going to argue.
They continued on in a surging pace, reaching for stores of reserved energy. It felt for awhile they could go on forever.
With Kristjan lying down on his side behind her, he continued to fill her with quickening thrusts, fondling her breasts and tilting her chin aside so that his mouth could meet hers for more lashes of tongues and deep kisses.
Felicity felt her toes curl and the burn in her gut and crotch. Everything was cinching right up to the muscles along her neck. As their bodies rocked and swayed, she could feel Kristjan’s hand clamp upon her breast with increasing desperation. She listened to the intensifying hum in his throat with each fervent snap of his crotch.
Deep within her, she felt him throb, peaking towards a bursting point. She reached down and touched him between her legs, feeling the inches slide into her repeatedly.
As her body gave in to the tightness rushing through it, her eyes remained wide open, looking up as he held her face and suctioned his mouth over hers. She felt his rugged body stiffen against hers, then suddenly shove her with one powerful thrust of his hips, burying his full length and holding it there.
Kristjan shuddered against her as he groaned heavily, his lips sliding apart from hers, warm, damp breath filling her mouth. She felt his length throb quickly within her, felt the rush of hot viscous warmth suddenly fill her. It was such an appealing a thought and sensation, it set her off as well. She moaned with a long, pitched breath while a silky wetness flowed from her.
“Uhn-mmm,” she sighed.
With Kristjan’s raspy breaths at her ear, she sensed the withdrawal of his still solid shaft. Once it was out, he dragged it along her crotch and lower belly, pasting her glowing flesh with their mingling cum.
Gasping and gulping for air, Felicity dragged her lips on his arm and palm, kissing his hot skin as she recovered.
A few minutes later, she nestled up against Kristjan as he lay on his back, her leg draped over his, and her hand on his hairy chest. He pulled a blanket over them, a welcome chill finally skimming over their bare skin. With the campfire still crackling and snapping, their heads peeked out from the tent’s opening and they looked up at the sky.
With his fingertips caressing her back, Felicity grinned, nipping at the knuckle of her thumb. She gazed up into the darkness and found her star. She was comforted to know it was watching over her.
Perfection.
-o-
An hour before dawn, they got up to prepare for Kristjan’s departure.
“You want me to have this?” he asked, holding Felicity’s map as he crouched in the tent.
“I want you to hold on to it for me,” she said, sitting at the back of the tent, still nude and wrapped up in a blanket. “Don’t lose it. My aunt would kill me.”
“You won’t need it for the rest of your trip?” he asked, smiling and cocking his brow.
Felicity looked at the map and shook her head. “No,” she said, shaking her head. She inhaled and repeated more assuredly, “No. I’m sure I won’t.”
“Okay,” he said as he packed it into his backpack along with his other belongings. He asked, “But when will you get it back?”
She crawled forward, the blanket falling away from her back and exposing her pretty, round bum. She kissed him on the lips. Grinning she said, “When I come to Iceland.”
He nodded. “I know plenty of places you can jump around there.”
Felicity grinned, her face close to his. “Mm-hmm… how much longer before sunrise?”
“Just under an hour,” he replied, eyeing her.
She nodded. “I think we have enough time to jump right now.”
They came together with a long, deep kiss. Felicity pulled him back down on top of her, welcoming him in a close embrace as he joined her under the blanket.
As he moved into her with a deliberate thrust, Felicity groaned and whispered, “Just leave enough time for one last thing.”
Even without the fire, the tent was soon filled with a blooming warmth.
-o-
Aunt Kelly turned in her bed when she heard the chime of her cellphone. Switching on her lamp, she sat up against her pillow and checked her incoming messages.
First some text: “Being Bold!”
She scrolled down to an accompanying photo. Immediately, she covered a gaping smile on her mouth with her hand.
It wasn’t the panoramic vista of a snow-covered town and land, nor the brilliant sunrise appearing over the distant mountains that took her breath away. What caught her attention was the back of a woman, leaping high in the air. She was stark naked --her bare butt proudly on display in the photo-- aside from a pair of boots, a rainbow scarf, and turquoise toque with familiar, long, blonde braids flying out from under the rim.
It was a very professional looking photo.
Aunt Kelly grinned. “Be bold, indeed."
