Knocking Around Inside My Head: Weekend Write-In

A Good Man in Kakadu (#hidden)

I am a good man.

He didn't care that the others were looking at him with a teasing smile on their faces when he sat down beside her yet again. Jen was laughing so hard at his story, tears streamed down her face. Their bare knees bumped together as the truck jolted down the dusty dirt road. When they rounded corners they slid into one another on the bench seat. The other were jostled by the ride too, but John didn't really notice them. He could not take his eyes off Jen's smile.

John had nothing to be ashamed about. They were together 24/7 with twelve other members of the tour. He was above board, open and honest about Harriet. Jen, too, had told him all about West. He had just purchased a new truck even though he was out of work.

Loser.

John would have never done that. He worked hard at his first job after law school and saved up a down payment for a home. Recently, he landed a high paying new job in Wales, which did not start for another six months. Harriet generously encouraged him to go but declined to accompany him. She hated heat, hikes, and mosquitos. The opportunity had come up so suddenly she felt she could not leave the family she nannied for in the middle of the school year. So, to her delight, he placed an engagement ring on her finger before setting off to travel the world.

The group climbed out of the back of the truck and started up the trail. The mid day sun beat down and they were all delighted when they reached a large pool with a waterfall. Jen hesitated. She was fearful of the saltwater crocs, dismayed that they could leave the ocean and travel miles up freshwater rivers.

"You're a triathlete. You don't have to out swim the crocs, just the rest of us," John coaxed. She laughed and joined the group for a refreshing swim.

They left their clothes behind and hiked further up the hot trail in their swimsuits. They were the youngest on the tour and quickly left the others behind. John stared at Jen's toned legs and ass as they climbed the steep rocky path. He was fascinated by her athletic physique, so different from Harriet's curves. She was a registrar, a Yankee, who had just spent a month at a rural Aboriginal health clinic where she upgraded West from a boyfriend to a fiancee to deter unwanted advances from the attending physician.

Asshole.

Sweating again, John climbed into the next pool they reached and swam under a small waterfall. A rock overhang created a roof and back wall. The falls enclosed the rest of the intimate space. He turned to see Jen enter. They were alone. Hidden from the world, Kakadu dissolved into a brown and green impressionist painting behind Jen's silhouette. Their eyes met, and despite the rushing of the river everything stopped. And then she smiled.

I am a good man.

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Word count = 500