What They Deserve

TEN

This time had been by chance; the rendezvous at the park.

He had no intentions of crossing paths with Willow at first.

The place he picked out for Raven was abandoned for sure. It was the perfect place for her. Now all he had to do was ensure she trusted him. Then he could finish her.

His day was open. He had told Raven he had to work when she invited him to brunch. 

Doesn't time apart make the heart grow fonder or some crap like that? 

He knew she was counting down the days until Tuesday. She was lucky he hadn't made her wait until Saturday. But he had to admit that he was eager to get things moving along now that he had her place picked out.

In a moment of boredom, he had decided to watch Willow. It wouldn't be long before he began his quest for her. He knew he should have been looking for her resting grounds, but he liked this game of chase he had going with her; let her get glimpses of him. Let her see him. But no getting too close.

As usual, her windows bore no barrier and he watched as she changed into some exercise clothing then tied up the laces on her well-worn sneakers. 

Not a bad idea.

He rushed to his place and changed into his workout clothes. It dawned on him that he'd need to wash them. He only had two sets and he wore them when checking out abandoned buildings.

He knew that she didn’t go to the gym. The only physical activity she participated in was running and there was only one place that she ever went to. As part of his game, he was going to make sure she saw him again. But for it to work, he  just had to make it there before she began.

When he reached the park, he saw her stretching as she looked at the different paths in front of her. He knew she was debating on which way she was going to take. But he wanted to be, needed to be in control of this run.

He’d followed her and Raven before on several occasions. They always avoided the tree path, so much so that they didn’t even run near it. They stayed clear across the path, running in single file through that section. He knew that’s where he’d take her today as long as she didn't chicken out on him. There was a slight worry that she would.

He allowed her a few more minutes to stretch before he put his earbuds in, turned on the music, and took off. His quick run from his hiding spot to his place to the park had already given him the look that he’d been jogging the park for a while. It gave him an invigorating feeling. He felt her behind him at once. A wry smile lifted the corners of his mouth.

Being careful to keep a steady pace, he matched his footfalls to the beat of the music. She kept up with him without any problems. What made him question things was that she didn’t try to catch up to him. While he was fine with that, because he still wasn’t going to allow contact, it made him wander why.

They were coming up to the path and he found that he was nervous she wouldn't go for it. He didn't like that feeling, shouldn't have felt it. This pushed him to pick up speed a little.

Taking the left turn, he jumped onto the trunk of one of the trees with a vengeance and gripped the branches as he climbed. He perched himself onto one of the thicker branches and realized that if she looked up, she’d be able to see his legs dangling down.

There was no real problem with Willow meeting him at the moment. He just didn't want the hassle of dealing with her and Raven at the same time. This was the first time he had picked two women, friends at that, from the same city to punish. He always gave himself months of following one victim before giving her what she deserved. And then he’d move away and begin again. This wasn’t going to be the same. It couldn’t.

Even though they enjoyed teasing and they enjoyed doing so together, they kept their conquests away from one another. Willow had never met any of Raven’s “men” and vice versa.But that didn't mean he was going to risk giving them their punishments together. Who knew if he could handle two of them at once. That wasn't a chance he was willing to take. He wanted the job to get done the right way. Besides, each one needed to feel like she was the only one. So it made things easier on him to keep from making actual contact with Willow right then.

She appeared, a look of confusion on her face. Her head whipped back and forth as she scanned the trees, trying to see into them he was sure. She put her hands on her hips as she strolled along the path. After a few moments, she gave an aggravated groan and began to sprint away. 

He waited until he couldn't see her before dropping to the ground, surprising a few people on the path. The teen he’d landed in front of stumbled to the side, knocking his friend over. They both gave him angry glares once they got over their shock.

“Sorry.” He heard them complain to his back, but they were harmless and not worth his time. A few other people could be heard murmuring as he took off, annoying him a little.  Yelling over his shoulder, he figured the people would get over it. “I said I was sorry!”

At that moment, all he wanted to catch a glimpse of her.

She was stomping away when he exited off the path, her ponytail swinging from side to side. He could see her hands balled into fists.

It was going to be so easy to get her; she was already captivated by him.