The things that matter

Chapter 12

"Weren't we going to the lagoon?"

"After the lucky we've been, do ya want to cook the baby?"

"Okay, you have a point. And so where are you taking me?"

"Well... you know trolls are very noisy and they don't give you any privacy, and they harass a lot, always, with everything."

Anna's laugh echoed through the trees; a tiny moon lit minimally the summits of the mountains while the stars shone with all its power, recovering their prominence after the pass of the already extinct Northern Lights; and the icy breeze from the winter mountains stirred her hair and the cute crown of leaves that she still wore on her head, highlighting, even more, the contrast between the reddish color of her hair and the intense green of the plants. I was mesmerized by that image; by the woman who was holding my hand, almost losing herself in it, with the illusion and intrigue spread over her gaze and her blind trust moving her steps.

"So..." she asked making me react.

"Well... when I was just a teenager I found near the valley what I suppose at one point had been a small warehouse or something like that. It was abandoned, full of... you know, flora and fauna... but it was quiet and it was the perfect place to hide for a few days when Bulda started asking me awkward questions, so I cleaned it up and made it some kind of... bed."

"Did you take your pickups there as a teen?"

I could feel it. That fun and understanding smile that she was giving me, would become the base of the worst of the storms depending on my answer. Luckily, this time there was nothing to fear.

"There was never anyone to take."

"Anyone?" she said apparently offended.

Apparently, not even the most inoffensive of responses was free of charge.

"Yeah, I mean, it didn't seem like the place to take you. You know, there's nothing more than a bed and a window up there... what would have looked like I expected if I had taken you to such a place?"

"And what do you expect now?"

Seeing her wicked grin, I knew that I went red as a beetroot.

"Not... not that I expect anything, well yes, I mean, it seemed to me that it would be nice to be completely alone for once. Although, of course, now we're never entirely alone. But I don't think the baby finds out, ya think? Would she? He? I mean... It doesn't matter, we can go somewhere else to do whatever you want."

While I was babbling uncontrollably, Anna took a couple of steps closer to me, stood on tiptoe, and whispered in my ear.

"You are sooo cute."

For a change, she was toying with me.

"I want to know the hiding place of young Kristoff."

Ashamed as I used to end every time she resolved to do it to me, I turned and walked, staring straight ahead, ready to reach our destination and achieve, for once in my life, be the one to make her blush.

"Don't you want to take Sven with us?" she asked running ahead of me and stopping right in front of me.

'This's my chance. Vendetta!'

"No. I want your moans to be just for me."

Her eyes gave away her surprise and, the sudden blush on her cheeks and ears, her desire. The perfect revenge. Or, well, it would've been if I hadn't turned even redder than her. Unable to hide it, I grabbed her hand and walked again past her, making sure to always stay one step ahead of her so as not to humiliate myself more than I already had. Anna laughed with pleasure and clung to my arm without saying a word until we reached my precarious hiding place.