Page 30 of Take a Hike

Raven stared at his broad back for many seconds, and no muscle twitched. She tilted her head to the side to look at his face; his eyes were shut.

“Raven,” he said, his voice low. “The longer you wait, the harder it gets to neutralize the scent.”

“Fuck me,” she said as she began undoing and removing her clothing. “Your neighbors are going to get a real show today.”

“I promise they can’t see you,” he said.

Her eyes scanned his yard, and she found his statement supported. A tall fence and dense trees concealed the interior of his backyard.

When she’d taken off all her clothes, she said, “Done.”

“Underwear, too,” he replied.

And she ruefully laughed as she removed the remaining articles and felt the air touch places it had only touched once while skinny-dipping in the dead of night years ago.

“Okay, I’m completely naked,” she said. “What’s next?”

“You’re going to step into my living room through the door behind you, go down the hallway on the right, and walk till you reach the bathroom on your left without a door. Let me know when you’re there.”

“Wait, why doesn’t your bathroom have a door?” she asked.

“I’m in the middle of some renovations.”

Great, she thought. Now she was concerned she’d step on a rusty nail. She entered his home, her arms covering her body as she quickly tiptoed through the unfamiliar house.

“I’m in!” she shouted once submerged in the tub.

Moments later, Silas said, from somewhere in the hallway, “You need to be in there for at least twenty minutes.”

A long silence followed, and it wasn’t clear if Silas was still in the hallway until he said, “We should probably squash this tension between us. It’s not good for the work environment.”

“Yeah, okay,” she said, unable to dismiss the little respect she gained for him for thinking of the others. Besides, any annoyance Raven wanted to harbor could not be maintained in her current condition.

“Moving forward, we are cordial and friendly,” he said.

“Cordial and friendly,” she agreed.

There was a sigh and some rustling as he took a seat on the carpeted hallway floor. Raven craned her neck to see past the doorless hole in the wall but could only make out the toes of his socks.

“So, how’s your day been?” he asked.

“Go to hell,” she said, a laugh finding its way out of her. It was the first laugh they’d shared, and it should have felt weirder than it did. It was a nice release, especially after the last half hour.

“The temperature good?”

“Manageable. What did you put in here?” she asked, slicing her hand through the cloudy water.

“Baking soda.”

“That’s it? And this will work?” she asked.

“Yeah, my old man is a retired vet, and this is what he’d do for his animal patients and once when my brother got skunked.”

“You’ve lived here your entire life, then,” she said.

“Born and raised, but I did leave for a few years.”

“Where did you go?” she asked.