Barrel

10

“Whoa, whoa,” Barrel said, holding his hand out to her.

Eva felt embarrassed, then abruptly stopped drinking. She wiped her mouth and smiled at him, which pained her. Warmth rivered through her veins as he smiled back at her. She imagined them in a bar, running into each other and starting to flirt, as opposed to walking through the dark in some strange land.

“Sorry,” she said. “I haven’t been that dehydrated in probably ever.”

Barrel was still smirking when she handed him the bottle back. “I don’t blame you,” he replied. “We shouldn’t be out here too long, but we should still ration it.”

Eva nodded, feeling like a schoolgirl with a crush. His smile was gorgeous, highlighting every wonderful curve of his jaw and the pink of his lips. She felt a pulse between her legs that she thought had long faded.

“You’re right,” she said.

Barrel stared for a long moment, then looked away to find a place to sit. They found a place beneath a tall tree away from the pathway, with Barrel staying on the lookout.

Eva sat and crossed her legs, feeling their weight as she settled. She breathed out hard, her thoughts finally beginning to slow down.

“Get some good rest in,” Barrel said, sitting next to her.

As he sat, Eva was hit with a whiff of his musk. It was a mixture of sweat and something like sandalwood. Whatever it was, it gave her chills in ways a man hadn’t in a long, long time.

“So you’re a teacher?” Barrel asked.

Eva was startled by his husky voice in the dark. Their shoulders were touching lightly, which started to make her tremble from her toes up to the top of her head.

“Um,” she said, her nails digging into her palms. “Yeah, I, um, teach English. Essays on Shakespeare and such.”

Barrel nodded, taking a sip of the water. Eva caught a glimpse of his thick, wiry veins shooting around his neck. Eva tried her best not to bite her lower lip as naughty thoughts blasted through her mind.

“I haven’t had the pleasure of reading Bill,” Barrel said. “Which one would you recommend?”

Eva had a vision of the two of them sitting outside a fancy cafe, perhaps in a place like Paris or Switzerland. They would be talking about light things like whether Hamlet or Macbeth was Shakespeare's magnum opus. But she was sweating and probably smelled, and he was asking her for literature recommendations.

“Hmm,” she said, gazing off into the blackness. “You seem like a Midsummer Night’s Dream type.”

Barrel raised an eyebrow, that handsome smile curling lips again. “I wouldn’t know whether that was a compliment or insult,” he said softly.

She saw them in a bed in the dark of evening, his body on top of hers and whispering sweet nothings. She felt her body break out in chills, making her want to roll and slither like a snake.

“It’s a compliment, trust me,” she said.

They sat for a few minutes chatting about things beyond their current lives. He seemed interested in her life, far beyond what the mission necessitated. She didn’t want to make any assumptions, but she was a woman, and a woman could sense when a man was interested in her.

But maybe it was Eva’s attraction talking.

Barrel stood then held out his hand. She took it, loving the strength she felt behind his pull. She stood and couldn’t conceal her beaming grin.

“We’ll head out for a bit now,” he said, his eyes bright. “Let me know when you need a break, okay?”

Eva was hypnotized, so she simply nodded. She was still beyond tired, but she would die before she ever admitted to him that she needed more help.

He shrugged the backpack on and began walking, returning to the trail. They moved for a few hours, occasionally chatting, until Barrel suddenly froze on the spot.

Eva instinctively followed suit, freezing along with him.

Slowly and with wide eyes, he brought his finger to his lips. Eva could feel her heartbeat in her ears and her blood rushing through her veins.

Eva then heard what Barrel was referring to. The slow progression of tires against gravel, approaching them, coming their way at a rapid speed. Barrel held out his hand to her as headlights flowed behind them. She took it, and they moved into the shadows, ducking into the shade.

Eva looked on and held onto Barrel’s hand. He made her feel safe, squeezing her hand tightly.

A car zipped forward, parked just in front of them, and then cut the engine. She and Barrel remained still as two men climbed out of the car and called out to them.

Eva felt another panic attack coming on. But for whatever reason, holding onto Barrel’s hand helped her to ground herself. She held it tight, just as hard as he was.

She tried to imagine a calm place where they could talk and get to know each other. She tried to let the image paint covering over her thoughts of the men screaming for them, looking like they were holding guns or some kind of weapon in their hands.

Eva prayed that she wasn’t walking into their fate.