The Adventures of BFF!Bill and tiger

The dangerous forest excursion part 1

It was the first time you had ever broken a promise to him, but it didn't feel that dramatic at the time. You were starting to feel a bit smothered, a bit like he was forgetting that you depended on him for a lot because you wanted to and because you could, not because you needed to. Bill meant well—almost to a fault, he always meant well—but he was coddling you to a point where you needed air.

It didn't help that for the past week, with another two weeks to go, he had taken you back to Sweden to his family's summer house. A few of them would be joining you next week, but for two weeks you had the enormous house, and all of the land, completely to yourselves. Bill was in his element, a different side of him always came out here, and it was good to see him unwind and relax. But you were dependent on him—on his turf, a small island quite isolated from the main one with no knowledge on how to operate the boat that took you here, no knowledge of the language, no real way of getting around without his help. It was nice for the first few days, he took you hiking through the thick forests that took up the entire back of the property, had taken you swimming in a lake hidden down one of the cliffs made up of rock. But he had also insisted that you not drive to the only store about an hour away, because the roads were winding and difficult and no GPS worked in the remote area. He had insisted you not go for a walk without him because the wildlife roamed at dusk, and they weren't the typical raccoons or mice you were used to. He was glued to your side at all times, and when he got a call from his agent for a great part, it took a lot of convincing for him to leave you in the house alone for an afternoon while he took the boat back to Stockholm, to meet with the writer.

"Bill, you're leaving me here for like, 5 hours. I'll be fine," you had insisted, "I'm going to read my book and nap on the hammock. I'm looking forward to the solitude."

You immediately regretted the last part, it didn't come out harsh but it was honest and his brow quirked. Shrugging his jacket the rest of the way on, he walked towards you and cupped your cheek in his hand. He leaned down, capturing your lips in his for a slow kiss.

"I'll be back in a few hours," he murmured, "Call me if there's anything."

You nodded, stretching on your tiptoes for another kiss and he met you halfway. He hummed, smiling into it when you ran a hand through his hair.

"Break a leg, bud."

"Thanks kid," he said as he turned, "And don't go into the woods alone while I'm gone."

You rolled your eyes and it didn't sit well with him. Walking back to you, he held your chin between his thumb and his forefinger.

"I mean it, tiger. Don't," he said, "These woods will spin circles around you if you don't know the way. You'll get lost."

You sighed, resisting the urge to roll your eyes again only because his were still boring into you.

"Okay, I wont," you said, and it didn't sound honest to your own ears.

"Promise me."

You did roll your eyes this time, pulling your chin from his grasp and turning around. But he grabbed onto your elbow, spinning you back around to face him.

"I am a goddamn adult, Bill. I can go for a walk alone. But if it's going to give you a coronary then fine, I won't go into the forest alone. I promise," you held up two fingers in a boy scout salute. He didn't like your sarcasm and his eyes narrowed at you, but he didn't say anything else. You waved to him from the dock as he revved the boat, spinning it on a dime and heading back to the main island. Heaving a sigh that was more out of relief than you wanted it to be, you grabbed your book, a glass of wine, and headed for the hammock.