Michaelishious - Vol. 2018

Dec. 2nd: Lost in the woods

I was wandering around in the forest, trying to figure out which way I came from. It was getting darker now, and I was tired after spending the whole afternoon searching for nuts and pinecones to use in some Christmas decorations, but I just couldn't find the right path home. I followed several small ones, that probably were made by wild animals like deer and moose, but they only seemed to take me even deeper into the woods than I already was. And it was useless to call for help, because my phone had no signal. I felt the panic rise.

After another good half hour, it was almost completely dark, and I was scared for real. Large beads of tears were streaming down my face, as I stumbled around, probably in circles. And now, I was starting to get cold, too. Exhausted I dumped down on a moss covered stone, sobbing loudly.

"You lost or somethin'?"

I jumped when I heard the voice of a man behind me, and I squinted to see who it was. But I only saw the contours of a person.

"Y-yeah," I answered with a slightly choked voice.
"I-I'm so c-cold. Can you please help me find a way out of here?"

"Sorry, miss. No can do. It's too dark to walk that far. You have to wait until tomorrow."

I started sobbing again, and the stranger came closer.

"Hey. Don't cry. Follow me, and I'll take you to my cabin."

He turned around and started walking, expecting me to follow, but I lost sight of him and felt the panic tightening its grip again. I whimpered, and felt tears pooling up in my eyes, which made it even more difficult to see. But then, I felt a warm, slender hand carefully grab mine, leading me safely through the unknown. And not very long after, I saw a little cottage, where dim lights invited us in.

He wasn't especially talkative, though. Without any word at all, he went inside the cabin, and left the door open for me. And reluctantly, I followed.

"Thank you for saving me, sir," I said at last.

"Michael," he replied, seemingly emotionless.

"M-Michael. I'm Nora. So... Can I... Can I stay here tonight?"

He sat down on a chair by the fireplace, that already was lit, and cocked his eyebrow while looking at me.

"'Course."

A smirk spread across his face, as we finally could get a good look at each other. He was handsome. No. Much more than that. He was gorgeous, and so far from what I expected a hermite living in the forest, to be. Black curls were sprawled freely around his shoulders, and a couple of them played in front of his face. A strong jawline, with three day old beard stubbles, almost made me gasp from the sudden trembling that shot through my body. And not to mention, his beautifully carved cheek bones and perfectly arched eyebrows, that framed the most breathtaking eyes I'd ever seen.

Slowly, I let out my breath, and felt a bit dizzy. I didn't dare to look at him anymore, because of the intensity of his eyes, but I felt his gaze while I put down the bucket of pinecones and walked towards him.

"Never seen you in this part of the woods," he said, and flashed a set of blinding white teeth.

"N-no. I... I'm not very familiar with this forest at all. I just wanted to find some cones, so I could..."

My words belly landed, when I saw his teeth grazing his lips, and I mentally frowned upon my own reaction. What's the matter with me? I'm not usually like this, drooling over a hot guy the way I did now! And I literally blushed when he leaned forward, with his elbows on his knees.

"Hungry?"

I tried to answer, but choked, and my words got stuck in my mouth like a sticky mass. So instead, I nodded shyly. My eyes followed his back, when he got up and left towards the kitchen area of the cabin, and I got a really good glimpse of his profile. He had a posture and the grace of a dancer, and his shoulders and neck made me long to touch him. It didn't help much that he had the narrowest waist and the tightest behind possible, too.