Wild and True: A Frankie Love Escape

E
dited
by
Larks and Katydids

Cover by
Mayhem Cover Creations

Copyright © 2016 by Frankie Love

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

F
or the women
who have forgotten how utterly wonderful they are.

I think you're the bee’s knees. And more.

You, my dear, are the freaking Queen of your own honey pot. ;)

xo, frankie

S
ipping my hot toddy
, I nestled deeper into the plush cushions of the oversized chair in the lodge. Wearing my Uggs, leggings, and a comfy sweater, I was more than ready for a getaway with my two best friends. There was nothing on our agenda besides drinking and relaxing. Callie was already busy booking a massage, and Willow had gone off in search of our room key.

I appreciated having a few minutes apart from them. We’d been traveling together all morning, and I needed some breathing room. They were my best friends, but I swear Callie had spent the entire car ride lecturing Willow on career options and my ear buds hadn’t canceled out the conversation. I needed some quiet.

My day-to-day life was loud enough, and with my internship wrapping up I was finally on the downswing of an intense schedule. Not that the magazine industry is ever slow, but I’d worked my ass off for months, and it had paid off.

I had a full-time job starting next week with the city’s Arts & Entertainment magazine. This was my one weekend off before my first grown-up job, and I was going to enjoy it.

Sinking deeper into the cushion, I set my phone aside. There was no reception here, which was exactly what I needed: a weekend off the grid. My chest felt warm from the steamy whiskey, and it felt decadent not to be checking my phone every five minutes.

Looking around the lodge, I thought back to the website for this resort. Willow had insisted we come to this place, Eagle Cove—so when Callie’s boyfriend unexpectedly broke things off with her, and Willow realized she didn’t have any shifts scheduled, we went for it.

Eagle Cove was a bit more rustic than the website had depicted, but I didn’t care. The views were spectacular. Water views peeked out for every cabin and a giant eagle’s nest was nestled high in the trees. We had taken a private ferry to get here, and we were in the middle of nowhere, an evergreen-covered island oasis in the Pacific Northwest. Some of Willow’s friends had been here for a kayaking trip, and she’d been dying to visit for months.

She was mostly interested in the hiking, but for me, the soaking tubs were where I wanted to go. The website had shown pictures of three soaking tubs—all different temperatures—and a dry sauna. I was ready to get to our room, put on my swimsuit, and head over to them. I could already imagine closing my eyes as the steam covered me.

“Wow, Court, you finished your drink already?” Callie’s voice was intense, and it made me wish her long-time boyfriend hadn’t broken up with her right before this getaway. It was only making her come off as more severe.

“Yeah, what’s it to you?” I said, laughing, refusing to let her get to me.

“It’s not even dark out.”

“I didn’t know there were rules about when I could drink.” Callie and I went way back—we had been college roommates—and because of that I usually put up with her bossy attitude.

Sometimes, though, it was just too much. Today I was in no mood to deal with her bitchiness. “You seriously need to chill out, Callie. You didn’t give Willow a break the whole way here. It’s a little exhausting. This weekend is supposed to be fun.”

Callie ran her fingers through her blond hair and nodded. “I’ll try.”

“I know things are hard with the break up and all—”

“No, you don’t, Courtney. You’ve never had a serious relationship. You don’t know what this is like.”

“Okay, harsh much?” I rolled my eyes, which I know is totally obnoxious, but I did not spend five hours in the car to get here just to have her negativity. She was right: I hardly dated, much less had a boyfriend, and although I blamed it on my internship, the truth was I’d never had the guts to put myself out there. “Do you know what’s taking Willow so long?”

“Who knows. I swear she’s trying to drive me nuts by insisting health insurance is for grown-ups. We
are
grown-ups.” Callie was right, we were grown-ups, but just barely. We had graduated college and were still just trying to figure out our lives. I had my magazine job, and Callie was working at an advertising agency, but Willow was a barista and for some reason that wasn’t good enough for Callie.

“I just don’t think it’s any of your business Callie,” I pushed. “She likes her job, and does the best latte art ever—just give her a break.”

“It’s just that she graduated with honors. She could do anything.”

Not wanting to talk behind Willow’s back I picked up my mug and walked it back to the bar. By the time I came back, Willow was walking towards us, her bohemian skirt fluttering as she moved through the lobby.

“What took you so long?” Callie asked.

“There was the hottest guy in front of me and I couldn’t help flirting.”

“How hot?” I asked. Even though I hadn’t had a boyfriend in ages, I still wouldn’t pass up details on a hottie.

“Like hotter-than-Kyle-at-work hot,” she said, knowing my sweet spot. I’d been crushing on Kyle, a food editor, for months, but never had the guts to talk to him. My friends insisted that I was cute; my problem wasn’t my looks. I was just never in the right situation to make a move.

My internship always came first, because I wanted to land a job so badly. But now I had a job—so maybe when I got back to the city I would get some guts and ask him out.

“I am so over guys,” Callie whined. She seriously was such a downer. “Like, I don’t want to be around any this weekend without a ten-foot pole.”

“God, you are seriously depressing, Callie. I’m totally planning on getting laid this weekend,” Willow said.

“No surprise there,” Callie shot back.

Willow was the most experienced of the three of us, which was no surprise with her willowy legs, jet-black hair, and sharp features. She looked like a model.

“Oh, screw you, Callie,” Willow said. “This is supposed to be a fun getaway, not a break-up bitch fest.” Her voice lowered, and her eyes narrowed in. “Oh, and you guys … that’s the guy.”

Willow was right: he
was
hotter-than-Kyle hot, though they had the same look about them. Confidence flooded the lobby as he walked through with a group of three guy friends. They looked like they could have been cover models for an outdoor magazine, and I couldn’t help but wonder what was under their flannel shirts.

“They’re all so hot,” I said under my breath.

“We should go talk to them,” Willow dared.

“Yeah, right,” Callie snorted. “I’m not interested, and Courtney would never make a move.”

“Fine,” Willow said as the guys walked out of the lobby. The one with the shoulder-length hair turned before he stepped outside. For a second I could have sworn he was looking at me, but then I saw Willow flashing a dazzling smile and realized it was probably her he was looking at. “Anyone ready to get to our cabin?”

“Yes, please!” I answered with a little too much force, stepping between them. My head turned as I watched the guys walked away. I’d had enough of my friends for one day and was in the mood for something totally different.

A
few hours later
, after we made dinner in the tiny kitchen, I retreated to my corner of the open-room cabin and began rooting through my bags for my swimsuit. We had shared two bottles of merlot while we ate our Caesar salads, and the wine had taken the edge off Callie and Willow.

Those two still had some drama to work out between themselves, and honestly, I didn’t have the energy for it. Maybe coming as a threesome was a bad idea? After all, it had been me who introduced those two. I’d had a few classes with Willow freshman year and we’d hit it off—opposites attract and all. When the three of us got together for my birthday that year, we clicked.

Even though we had all been friends for a few years, Callie had never been a girls’ girl. She’d always had Blaine, so this was new for her, this not having the safety net of a boyfriend.

“What are you doing?” Callie asked, as she popped open a third bottle.

“I wanted to check out the sauna,” I said, hoping they wouldn’t ask to join me.

“I want to stay here and get shit-faced,” Willow said. “Do you mind if I stay back?”

“No, no, not at all. I actually wouldn’t mind some down time,” I said, holding up a black bikini in one hand and a neon pink one-piece in the other. “Which one do you think?”

“Umm, the sauna and tubs are clothing optional,” Willow said, cracking a smile.

“Well, yeah, I read that online, but I’m wearing a suit.”

“Okay,” she answered slowly.

“What, is that weird or something?” I pursed my lips. No way was I going suit-less.

“No, I just don’t think anyone wears them. If you insist, I’d go with the two piece. Stop hiding your curves.”

“Definitely the two piece,” Callie chimed in. “You’re in the best shape of your life.”

I was thinner than I had ever been, but it wasn’t because I was in good shape. It was because when I got stressed I forgot to eat, and the weeks leading up to graduation had been Stressful with a capital S.

“Okay, I’ll just change then,” I told them, waving my hands toward their wine glasses. “Carry on.”

I stepped into the bathroom and stripped off my leggings, sweater, and tank top. What was left was a pretty black bra-and-panty set I had treated myself to. My friends thought I was a prude, or inexperienced—or both. But I wasn’t.

At least, not like they thought. I liked to look sexy when I took off my clothes. It allowed me to indulge in my fantasy of Kyle grabbing my ass and pulling me into the staff bathroom and pressing me against a wall.

In that fantasy, I wanted to be wearing a matching bra-and-panty set, so I always made sure I had them on. Obviously I couldn’t tell even my best friends this; it was a little ridiculous. People didn’t have sex with strangers—at least, girls like me didn’t.

I took off my black lacy bra and panties, and in the mirror I saw my nipples peaked and hard. I was more than a little turned on thinking about Kyle. He had broad shoulders and dark, tanned skin. His hair fell to his chin, and he tucked it behind his ears. He was only a few years older than me, but different women were always coming by the office to meet him for lunch or after-work drinks. He’d smile effortlessly at them, and I could imagine him pressing his soft lips against mine.

I grew hot thinking about him, my pussy wet as I imagined him pressing his strong hands around my back and pushing himself against me.

I closed my eyes and dipped a finger between the folds of myself, remembering at the last second to lock the door. I was so horny all of a sudden, and I realized it had been a long time since I’d gotten off.

I rubbed my clit in a circle with my fingers, fast, wishing I had brought my vibe in here so I could prop my leg against the closed toilet lid and open myself wider toward a climax.

That wasn’t going to happen now. I could never get myself to orgasm with my fingers alone. But I could imagine Kyle would be able to. He wouldn’t need any sort of battery-operated device to get my legs dripping wet.

Turning on the faucet, I washed my hands, looking at myself in the mirror as I did. My face had a sweetheart shape and I always appeared younger than I was, but I didn’t feel young right now; I felt hot and turned on. Licking my lips, I splashed cool water on my face. I slipped into my two-piece suit quickly, wanting to get the hell out of the cabin and feel the cold night air against my skin. My body needed to cool down, and a hot cabin wasn’t going to do that.

Leaving the bathroom—and any lingering thoughts of Kyle—behind, I pulled a bathrobe over my shoulders and cinched the belt tight before slipping my Uggs back on. When I reached the door, Callie and Willow reminded me to grab a flashlight.

“Thanks, girls, and be nice to one another,” I called out as I left, my voice full of innocence, without any hint of the hard nipples under my bikini top or my still-pulsing clit that hadn’t been satisfied.

The spa was a short walk away, but it was pitch dark out and I was grateful for the flashlight as I crossed the pebbled path. I pushed open the gate and crossed a small serenity garden filled with Adirondack chairs and large shrubs.

It was a low-key place, not some ritzy resort, and here anything seemed to go. A sign on the gate read “CLOTHING OPTIONAL AREA,” and the group of guys from the lobby were smoking a joint to the right of me. I looked around, my eyes wide, wondering why they weren’t scared of being caught. But then I relaxed, remembering that I wasn’t some teenager, and no one was here to tattle on anyone. And we were in Washington; pot was legal here. Damn, I needed to loosen up.

The guys, bare-chested, had wet hair and towels around their necks. I smiled as my earlier desire to know what was under their thermal shirts was realized. They were chiseled and smooth—six packs on all four of them. They’d probably just left the spa.

I didn’t usually smoke, but somehow out here in the wilderness, without my friends as chaperones, I felt liberated in a way I hadn’t in a long time. If I’d been braver, I’d have walk over and asked for a hit. The last time I had done something truly out of my comfort zone was my junior year in college, when I had sex in the shower with a guy. That was over a year ago, and I bit my lip feeling like it had been way too long since someone had touched me.

Way too long since I had let myself go.

“Hey, you look lost,” said the guy who had stopped to smile earlier. He had long hair like Kyle, but there were a few piercings in this guy’s ears, and his bare chest revealed more skin than I had ever seen of Kyle’s. The rugged, unshaved look worked for me, and I found my eyes grazing to the tanned, bare-skinned space above his shorts.

“No, I’m not lost, just headed to the sauna. The map said it was this way,” I said, pointing down the path.

“Want me to walk you there?” he asked. “You look like you could use a helping hand.” I flashed my light in his eyes, wondering if he was serious. I had no interest in cheese-balls. His eyes were red, and he was clearly stoned.

“Um, thanks, but I’m fine.” I smiled tightly and kept walking. Sure, I was horny, but not for a guy who was more inebriated than me. I looked back as I walked away and saw that his eyes lingered on me as well. For a split second, I imagined them lingering on all of me, but then I kept walking.

I paused at the entrance to the soaking tubs, wanting to get my bearings. There were about a dozen people relaxing in them. I noticed, with my cheeks blushing, that the water gave a clear view of the people in the tubs.

Willow was right: everyone took advantage of the
clothing optional
status of this spa.

Women and men of all shapes and sizes were enjoying themselves under the full moon, and I noticed a few couples resting closely together. I couldn’t imagine myself doing that here; my body would betray me.

If I was close up next to a naked guy right then, I wouldn’t have been able to contain myself. I’d need to jump out of the tub and find a bathroom stall to rub myself down. My body responded so easily, and I thought it was because it had been so long since I had really been satisfied.

Walking past the tubs, I opened a wooden door and let myself into a dressing area outside of the sauna. I slipped off my robe and boots and grabbed a towel from the stack. Adjusting the triangle cups of my top, I took a deep breath.

I’d been worried I wouldn’t be able to get my mind off work, but that clearly wasn’t a problem for me. And my friends didn’t seem to matter, either. Even though they were the whole reason we were on this trip, suddenly all I could think about was how badly I needed a man to touch me.