Hey everyone. For those who are not familiar with this story, this is the follow up to Lost Girl. So if you haven’t read it yet, I strong suggest that you do, as you won’t have really understand the characters without reading the beginning of the series first.
To those are joining me once again, I hope you will enjoy the first chapter. As far as the title goes, I know It’s not all that creative, but I couldn’t think of anything else, so it’s basically just a working title.
Anyways, thanks for supporting this series and I hope you enjoy!
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It was just after nine a.m. when the freshly graduated teens set out onto Highway 2, traveling in a vintage VW bus with a faded red paint job. Unrestored and lightly rusted along the windshield, the old hippie van steadily chugged along, its chrome bumper glittering in the rays of the sun. Known as “The Highline,” the interstate they traveled along passed through three Indian reservations, and edged the border of Glacier National Park.
With camping equipment on the roof and a heap of travel bags in the luggage compartment, the four teenagers were well prepared. Beyond enthusiastic, they excitedly chatted as they drove along, discussing possible campsites where they could rest along the way. Stretching far beyond Indian Country, the two-lane blacktop seemed to go on forever, extending westward towards Seattle, which would be their final destination.
Behind the wheel, and dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a dark grey T-shirt was Ethan, who cruised down the road at a steady 40 miles per hour. Wearing a hemp necklace with a glass mushroom pendant, he exuded a carefree spirit that matched Kimi’s, who sat beside him in the passenger seat. Having positioned her body so that she was turned around in her seat, Kimi chatted nonstop with Tristan and Claudia, who sat side-by-side in the second row of bench seats.
In no particular hurry, Ethan continued to drive up Highway 2, going through Whitefish and Kalispell before arriving in a small logging town called Libby. Now three hours away from Browning, the four teenagers had reached a point where they needed to stretch their legs, and after spotting a gas station with an attached convenience store, Ethan guided the Volkswagen bus towards it.
As soon as it came to a stop, they all climbed out of the van, then made their way into the convenience shop where they casually browsed the shelves. While Kimi and Ethan made a beeline for the candy aisle, Tristan and Claudia headed for the slurpee machines, where they each procured a 12 ounce cup.
Having always been a fan of cherry, Claudia filled her cup with the sugary liquid, but Tristan opted for an Arctic Burst Slurpee that was shockingly blue in color. After filling their cups, they met up with Ethan and Kimi, who had several bags of candy, as well as a large bag of flamin’ hot cheetos.
Wanting a snack of their own, Claudia and Tristan grabbed a couple of Slim Jims and a bag of Funyuns, but before they could reach the counter to pay for their stuff, they were intercepted by Ethan, who rested his gaze on the bag of chips.
“Funyuns?” The face he pulled conveyed mild disgust. “How can you guys eat those things? They smell like cheesy feet.”
“No way, babe,” Kimi said while coming up behind her boyfriend. “They smell like sweaty armpits more than anything else.”
“Thanks,” Claudia sarcastically replied. “You two just totally ruined our appetites.”
“Not mines,” Tristan said. “I didn’t have any breakfast, so I’d pretty much eat anything right now.”
“Ditto,” Claudia added. “In fact, I’m thinking about getting one of those breakfast burritos.”
“They have breakfast burritos?” Following Claudia’s line of sight, Kimi saw that there was a hot food display where said item was located. “Oh yum, I love breakfast burritos.”
“I guess I’ll get one too,” Ethan said while following behind her, and with Claudia and Tristan trailing behind, they all headed for the hot food area.
A few minutes later, they all had a breakfast burrito in hand, and after paying for their snack food, they headed back out to the Volkswagen bus. They had barely exited the doors when a lifted Silverado swerved in their direction, and as a window rolled down, the face of a bald white man stared out at them.
“Go back to the rez, you dirty Indians!” He yelled before hawking a giant loogie, and on projecting it in their direction, it landed squarely on Tristan’s right cheek.
“You fucking hick,” Ethan bellowed, and with clenched fists, made a rush for the man’s car. Kimi, however, grabbed hold of his arm before he could reach it.
“Babe, don’t. He’s not worth it.”
“But he spit on Tristan’s face!” Ethan shouted, and with nostrils flaring, bared his teeth at the man.
“He’s a fucking loser,” Kimi said while still restraining him. “Just let it go. He’s not worth the trouble.”
Flipping his middle finger in response, the man in the Silverado gave her an evil grin, then shifted his attention to Claudia, who escort watched on in complete disgust.
“What are you staring at, nigger?” His heavily pierced face contorted in rage. “You belong in a zoo, with the rest of the chimps.”
Curling her lip in response, Claudia attempted to come back with a stinging insult, but by that time he was already pressing on the accelerator, and with a screech of his tires, peeled out of the gas station and into the street.
“That filthy fucking prick,” Ethan said while staring at the retreating pickup, and on turning his gaze in the direction of Tristan, offered a look of sympathy. “Hey man, I’m really sorry that asshole spit on you. If it wasn’t for Kimi holding me back, I would have punched his ass out.”
“He’ll get what’s coming to him,” Tristan mumbled, and after accepting a napkin from Claudia, wiped the glob of spit from his cheek.
“You okay?” Claudia asked in a soothing tone, but she could tell from the look on his face that he was anything but.
“No.” Focusing straight ahead, Tristan was staring at the racist man’s Silverado, which was now idling at the intersection. A fierce intensity had come into his gaze, and within a matter of seconds, something in his expression changed.
As if a switch had been flipped inside of them, Tristan’s eyes suddenly darkened, but it was the way he was standing there completely motionless that caused Claudia’s stomach to quiver. Seemingly lost in a trance like state, Tristan glared at the Silverado, but it took Claudia several moments to figure out just exactly what was happening.
Rather than simply stare, Tristan was funneling his energy towards the man’s pickup, and on following his gaze to the intersection, Claudia noticed the stop light turn green. First in a long line of cars, the Silverado gunned forward, pulling into the intersection with an obnoxious roar.
It was halfway across the street when it began to accelerate at breakneck speed, and with a swerve so sharp and sudden that two of its tires momentarily lifted, the Silverado careened towards the sidewalk, heading straight for a concrete pole.
The front of the Silverado made impact with a resounding boom, slamming into the pole with such force that the hood of the truck folded like an accordion. With such a brutal impact, the glass of the windshield violently imploded, discharging its slivers into the cab of the truck, but it was the sound of metal crunching against concrete that made Claudia’s stomach turn and her muscles go tense.
Even from where she stood, she could see that the body of the truck was twisted, and as smoke began to rise from the now exposed engine, the smell of burning rubber drifted into her nostrils.
Alerted by the horrifying noise, several patrons rushed out of the convenience store, and on spotting the wreck across the street, a man in a Mariner’s baseball cap commented on the situation.
“Oh shit!” He loudly proclaimed. “That truck just totally ate a pole.”
“Does anyone know what happened?” Asked a woman in a business suit. “Did he swerve to avoid someone, or just lost control of his car?”
“Seems to me he lost control,” Ethan answered. “It was kinda weird though, because he swerved straight for the light pole. Almost seemed like he was on a suicide mission or something.”
“Maybe he was suicidial,” said a portly man who was holding a cup of coffee, and with a nonchalance that was almost comical, he took a sip of his beverage.
Shocked into stillness, the onlookers just stood there staring at the smashed up vehicle, but as the driver’s door slowly opened, the intensity of their gazes heightened. Gradually, and with a slowness that indicated trauma, the driver of the car got out. Unsteady and shaken, the bald white man had turned completely pale. Blood trickled down his forehead and along the bridge of his nose, spotting the white T-shirt that he wore over his meaty torso.
Gone was the look of hatred he’d been wearing only minutes before, and with a few unstable steps, he wobbled away from his mangled car. It didn’t take long before a bystander came to assist him, and after escorting the bald man to a nearby bus bench, she pulled out her phone and placed a call for help.
Up until that moment, the four teenagers had been standing there just gaping at the scene of the wreck. But as a cop car pulled up and began to question the man who had been in an accident, they all averted their gazes and began to talk amongst one another.
“Damn, can you believe that?” Ethan asked with an unhinged jaw. “It’s that not fucking karma, then I don’t know what is.”
“No doubt,” Kimi said. “The fucker deserved it.” She then grabbed Ethan’s hand before guiding him to the car.
From somewhere in the distance came the sound of ambulance sirens blaring, but Claudia’s attention was no longer on the wreck, because her gaze had drifted to Tristan, who now stood noticeably taller.
“Wow, pretty crazy, huh?” The look she gave him was curious, if not a tad bit wary. escort bayan “How he got into an accident right after he harassed us.”
“I guess,” Tristan said, but as he glanced into her eyes, she got the feeling he was anything but shocked.
“Kinda weird how that truck just swerved right for the light pole. It was almost as if the guy couldn’t control his car, like he was intentionally set on a path of collision.”
Fully understanding what Claudia was hinting at, Tristan urged her to come out and be straightforward.
“If you want to know if I did it, just ask me,” Tristan said. “You don’t have to skate around the question.”
“Alright,” she slowly said, and with both hesitancy and eagerness, she posed the burning question. “Were you responsible for that crash?”
“Yes I was,” Tristan responded, and with a gleam of satisfaction in his eyes, he slipped his hands into his pockets.
“Okay.” Not quite certain of how to respond, Claudia shifted uneasily on her feet.
“I wasn’t trying to kill him,” Tristan stated. “I just wanted to shake him up a little. Make him shit his pants, or at least maybe piss them.”
Still feeling a bit uneasy, Claudia gave him a wide-eyed look. But as she thought about the words he’d just spoken, a faint smirk tilted the corners of her lips.
“Well I think It’s safe to say you accomplished that.”
Following her line of vision, Tristan saw that the bald white man was now speaking with a paramedic. Even from across the street, they could tell he was shaken up. But as his gaze suddenly drifted to Claudia and Tristan who watched from afar, his eyes went cold and a stiffness came into his posture.
“Let’s get out of here,” Tristan said, and with a hand extended towards Claudia, invited her to accompany him.
Resting her palm against his, Claudia followed him to the VW bus, and after seating themselves in the rear of the vehicle, the vintage camper puttered to life. A few moments later the bus rattled off, carrying the four teenagers towards their next destination.
* * * *
Four hours later, and after exiting the highway which was currently taking them through Idaho, the Volkswagon bus made its way along a narrow, winding road. On reaching a woodsy clearing, Ethan pulled into a makeshift parking lot, and after engaging the handbrake, he and Kimi unbuckled their seatbelts.
“Where are we?” Claudia asked.
“Skinny Dipper Hot Springs,” Ethan said. “You guys up for taking a dip?”
“By a dip, do you mean with or without clothes?” Tristan nervously asked. “Because I’m not so sure I’d be alright getting naked in front of you guys.”
“Not even Claudia?” A wide smile stretched across Kimi’s face. “Because I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t mind showing her a little somethin’ somethin’, if you know what I mean.”
Grinning at her remark, Ethan playfully poked her in the side, then got out of the car and headed for the luggage compartment, where their bags were kept. Way too embarrassed to form a response, Tristan shifted his gaze, then opened the sliding door before stepping out of the van. A few seconds later there came the sound of him corresponding with Ethan, who was searching through their bags in the trunk for swim gear.
“He is *so* cute,” Kimi whispered. “Did you see how red he was?”
“Can you blame him?” Claudia asked. “This Isn’t the first time you’ve made a sexual comment regarding the two of us.”
“And?” The expression on her face seemed to say, ‘so what?’ I mean, what exactly are you two waiting for? He wants you, and you want him, so what’s the holdup?”
“The time has to be right,” Claudia said in a lowered voice. “When I have sex with Tristan, I want to be totally there. Not just physically, but emotionally as well.”
“You’re *still* not over Lucas?” One of her brows lifted in judgment. “My God girl, how long is it going to take?”
“It’s not that I’m not over him,” Claudia replied. “It’s just a few residual feelings, you know? And I don’t want it to sabotage what me and Tristan are building.”
“It’s been nearly two months since you broke it off with Lucas,” Kimi rebutted. “He’s probably banged half a dozen chicks by now.”
“So?”
“So you need to move on and get with Tristan.”
“What’s the rush? We’re already sort of together, just not in a physical way. And besides, It’s a good thing that we’re taking our time.”
“You sure?” Kimi asked. “Because I’ve always gotten the feeling he’d be a little freaky in bed.”
“Sounds like you’ve got a thing for him yourself.” Claudia’s muscles tensed with jealousy. “Which I find super interesting, considering you would never give him the time of day.”
“Retract the claws, babe. I’m a happily taken woman, okay? Just something I’ve come to realize about those shy, quiet types.”
“So if you knew he’d be freaky in bed, why didn’t you ever go for it?” She asked.
“Oh, he’s always felt like a brother to me,” she said. “And besides, he’s way too sweet to just use for sex and then bayan escort throw away. Which is pretty much what I did to every guy that I dated in high school.”
“I understand,” Claudia said. “And you’re right, it would have totally broken his heart if you’d done that to him.”
“Thank God I’m past all that now, though,” Kimi said, and her gaze drifted to Ethan, who was visible through the rear window in the back of the bus. “Took me awhile to find my honey bear, but it was totally worth kissing all of those frogs.”
“Aww…” Claudia offered a soft smile. “You are so in love with him.”
“I am.” She gently nodded. “Sometimes It’s hard to believe he’s actually mine, because he’s so damn good and sweet to me.”
“You deserve it,” Claudia told her.
“Yeah…” The corners of her lips tilted upward. “We both do, Claude. We both do.” She reached out her hand to take Claudia’s in hers, and on rising to her feet, encouraged Claudia to follow along.
After stepping out of the van, they headed around to the rear of the vehicle, where Tristan and Ethan were each holding a pair of swim trunks. Both Claudia and Kimi began digging through their travel bags, and after retrieving their respective bikinis, headed back inside of the bus.
While Kimi changed into a two-piece swimsuit that was covered in skull print, Claudia donned a tie dye bikini. While tying the strings that would sit at her hips, Claudia took a moment to check out Kimi’s breasts, which were round and fully developed, in comparison with the modest bumps on Claudia’s own chest.
“Did you breasts get bigger or something?” Claudia asked while admiring her friend’s cleavage. “Because I swear they were like half that size the last time I saw you without a shirt.”
“Yeah, they totally grew these least few months,” Kimi replied, but on noting Claudia’s wishful expression, she offered some mollifying words. “Your boobs are cute, Claude. And really perky. So don’t even be envious.”
“That totally sounds like something a girl with nice breasts would say,” Claudia responded. “Next you’ll be telling me I’m lucky because they’re so heavy to carry around, and it totally annoys you to get perved on by guys.”
“Well actually, they’re not quite as heavy as they look, and I’ve always loved attention, so that doesn’t bother me, either.”
“Well what did you eat during those two months when they grew? Because I hear that butter and cheese is especially good for gaining breast tissue.”
“Didn’t eat anything special,” Kimi said. “But I did start taking birth control.”
“I’m on birth control too, but my boobs are still small.”
“You’re on birth control?” Kimi’s brows lifted in surprise.
“Yeah, my mom forced me to go on it.”
“Why? You’re still a virgin.”
A light shrug preceded Claudia’s words. “I don’t know, guess she thinks I’ll slip up and make her a young grandma.”
“You taking the pill, or do you have the shot?”
“Pill,” Claudia responded.
“What brand?”
“Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo.”
“Increase your dosage, and you’ll probably see results.”
“Really?” Claudia’s eyes lit up with hope.
“Well I can’t say for sure or anything, but It’s worth a try, right?”
“Definitely,” Claudia said.
“Anyways, I wouldn’t worry about the whole boob thing if I were you. I mean Tristan is totally into you already, so I hardly think he cares how large your tits are.”
Glancing out of the window, Claudia saw that Tristan was now wearing a pair of swimming trunks and a black tank top that covered his lean, masculine chest. Although slimly built, he had a pair of shoulders that were nice and broad, and even with his tank top obscuring the torso beneath, Claudia could tell that his abdomen was firm and toned. Allowing her gaze to dip lower, she noticed the faint outline of his penis beneath his swim shorts, and without even realizing it, her skin began to flush.
“Like what you see?”
Pulled out of her thoughts by Kimi’s voice, Claudia turned her head, and with a sheepish sort of smile, confirmed that she did.
“Seems like he’s got a pretty nice body,” she remarked. “But why does he have a shirt on?”
Claudia’s first reaction was to give a shrug of her shoulders, but on suddenly remembering why Tristan was obscuring his torso, Claudia decided to change the subject.
“Don’t know, but I’m ready to go swimming, so let’s join the guys and head out to the hot springs.”
Still gazing with focus at Tristan, Kimi followed her out of the van, and after sliding the door shut with a click, she made a beeline straight for Tristan.
“What’s with the shirt, Tristan?” She asked. “Take it off and show us that chest.”
“I’d rather not,” Tristan said. “And besides, I like swimming with a shirt on.”
“*Right.* A faint chuckle slipped from her lips. “Nobody swims with a shirt *on,* dork. So strip it off and let’s get going.”
“He doesn’t want to,” Claudia chimed in. “Can’t you see It’s making him uncomfortable?”
“But why?” Kimi questioned. I’m not asking for him to go completely naked.”
“I just don’t want to, alright?” Tristan’s features began to tighten. “I hate the way my chest looks, and I don’t want you or Ethan to see it, so lay off me already.”