Page Ch. 03

There is movement beside me again and I realize she's turned the light off to snuggle up behind me. Sleep drags me away as I dream of our first encounter in a blur of visions that combine with our activities over the past few days.

Around midnight Page's phone chirps. I hear it and feel her move away from me as she reaches for it on the bedside table.

"I think we've got signal again, although it's only 1X not 3 or 4G. And we might have something too."

"Oh, yeah? What is it?" I say rousing myself and sitting up to look.

"Regard our adversary," she proclaims, as we both gaze upon the phone waiting for the picture to be slowly rendered. When it finally finishes, page exclaims, "I'm pretty sure I know her - well, her hacker handle, bpodq!"

"Wow, she's hot for a hacker."

"I guess, if you go for straight up evil blond Russian hacker babes..." Page says and pinches me under the covers.

"Ouch. Of course, you're hotter."

"Yeah, nice try."

"You're my first hacker babe," I continue to try and cover my slip.

"Better be your last," she said with another pinch, that was harder than the last.

As we continue to lie there together, I suddenly feel awake like I haven't been in months. The playful banter is making me all hard again, but her last statement has me dwelling on the nature of our relationship. So, I finally decide to press her a little about the question that's been bouncing around in the back of my mind for the last couple of days.

"Page?"

"Yes?"

"What are we doing? Is this just sex?"

She puts her phone back on the bedside table and turns toward me. Softly, she places her hands on either side of my face. "Ryan, I want you to listen to me."

"Okay, you have my undivided attention."

"I'm in love with you."

"But why? Don't get me wrong; I'm not complaining. I'm just concerned and I'd never want to hurt you. What's brought all of this?"

"Well, it's a lot of things really. I missed you terribly after Mom and Dad split up."

"Yeah, but you were like nine..."

"Yes, but you were actually the only one that ever interacted with me then. Mom and Dad were always busy, I didn't have any friends and you were there. You didn't just babysit me, you took an interest in what I was doing. When Dad moved us out to Cali, it was like I'd lost my best friend."

"Okay, but that doesn't turn into this..."

"No, that happened last year, mostly. When that tramp, Natalie, got all fired up about my bra being mixed in her laundry, I almost lost it on that cold bitch. That's when I realized I was jealous."

"Jealous? Jeez, I never noticed..."

"No, and that made me sad, so I tried to ignore those feelings. After I went home, I started dating Carl to try and get over you."

"I didn't even know you were seeing anyone until you told me."

"He's older than you."

"How'd you end up dating someone like that?"

"Well, I wasn't really dating him like I'd thought. He works for Dad and evidently, I was just his beard."

"What?"

"He's Dad's top. I don't want to go into all the details, but you were actually my first."

I'm lying there, flabbergasted... "Dad's gay?" It feels like a heavy weight has been set upon my chest and I can't really take in everything... "Wait, what? You were a virgin that night you arrived and we -"

"Well, sort of a virgin. I'd given blow jobs and I had dildos..."

"I'm such an idiot, I had no idea you were a virgin. I'm so sorry. Did I initiate things that first night?"

"Oh, um well, hmm, yes and no..." she says, thinking about it. "I crawled into bed with you because I couldn't sleep; I guess I was still on Pacific Time. But you snuggled up to me so nicely. You were all nude and warm pressed against me. I could feel how hard it was and you kept moaning my name over and over..."

"Just fuck. I'm very sorry; those sleeping aids had me really messed up but I shouldn't have -"

"No, no, no, Ry! I don't want you to apologize to me."

"It's all mixed up in my head, I think I was having a naughty dream about you at some point, but then it was like you were there."

"Look it's really okay. I'd initially come to your bed for comfort, but once we were snuggled together; all those lusty feelings I'd had last summer came rushing back. After a few minutes lying there, I was so hot and wet that I couldn't stop myself. I couldn't get stripped fast enough and when I climbed on top of you - well - it just slipped right inside me."

"I swear, Page, I didn't even know if it had really occurred until it happened again last night."

"Are you regretting that it happened?" she asks, as her hands now clasp my face and she stares directly into my eyes, anxiously studying my response.

Suddenly realizing her words have not even the slightest hint of regret, I reply as forcefully as I can, "Never, Page. I don't quite understand how it's all happened, but I'm in love with you, too."

Abruptly, Page is kissing me and my lips melt into hers. I don't know if I realized that I was in love with her until I just said it aloud. The love I feel toward her is inexplicable but right this moment I can't imagine myself with any other person in the world. Honestly, I don't understand what events have happened to bring me such happiness, but I don't care as long as I have her. My hands are in her hair and hers are in mine as we just kiss one another softly.

She breaks the kiss and breathily asks, "Ryan?"

"Yes?"

"You really are; aren't you?"

"In love with you? Yes. Madly."

"Good, could you make love to me again, please?"

No games this time, just a soft loving embrace between two adoring souls. Hidden away in a cabin during a snowstorm, we begin making love softly beneath the warmth of the covers. Page guides me into her as we lie next to one another, our legs scissoring together.

I find myself wondering how Page could be so perfect a lover when she'd been a virgin just days ago. Her body mirrors my actions in perfect synchronization as we compel one another into bliss. Soft kisses and caresses continue throughout our love making. Our climaxes are less tumultuous but they are sweet and comforting.

"I love you, Page."

"I love you, Ryan."

What seems like a short time later, there is a buzzing vibration beneath our bed that awakens us with a start. I open my eyes to see a dim text projection on the ceiling:

Alert: Intruder on the porch

Another low level light becomes visible and I notice that the bed base has actually moved several feet to expose a hatch that is opening. Looking toward the bathroom, I notice the light is coming from the open hole. It is providing just enough to see by when it is fully open.

"Look," Page whispers, as she grabs my arm and draws my attention back to a timer that appears where the intruder warning had been projected on the ceiling.

00:30

Then it starts counting down. 00:29, 00:28, ...

"Shit Page, grab the gun cases; I think it's going to close," I say as I grab the duffel bags.

"You get them, I've got to get the laptops," she says as she hops off the bottom of the bed and rushes to stuff her laptop back into the bag with mine, which I haven't even opened yet.

00:25

I toss my duffel bag and hers into the hole.

00:20

I grab the two gun cases by the door and drop them in gently trying to aim for the bags that lay at the bottom.

00:12

Page is finally finished and hoists the backpack on her back. She grabs her phone from the night table and climbs into the hole and down the #10 rebar steps.

A soft pinging tone startles me and I look at the timer on the ceiling which is blinking 00:09 as I begin my silent descent following page. As I reach the cushioned bottom, I hear the hatch closing and some vibration I expect is the bed returning to its spot. In the room we find ourselves in what appears to be an old cargo container, but the hole through which we had entered was concrete. A loud locking mechanism echoes down the hole and a touch panel on the wall by the ladder comes on with the word 'Secure'. There are a three monitors that click to life and display the front porch, the back stoop outside the kitchen door, and a wide angle of the main room. Beneath the central screen is a panel lit by low level light which shows a diagram of the house, each window and door indicated by a green LED.

"Tin-foil-hat or not, Gary has some fucking serious counter measures," I say, as the lights dim and only the monitors and panel provide any real light.

In the dark, Page quietly asks, "Do you think he'd sell us this place?"

"I don't know," I say, in as much awe as she seems to be.

The picture on the wide angle view monitor flicks to the master bed room and every few seconds, it changes to a new room. The view of the two exterior doors remains the same. As I look at the outer two monitors, I don't see anyone on the infrared. I presume neither of the doors has been opened or any of the windows, since all of the LEDs stay green.

A phone on the wall blinks red LEDs and I move to pick it up.

"Hello?"

"Who's speaking?"

"You first."

"Give me your code."

"How do I know you won't use it to get in?"

"Is that you, Ryan?"

"Yeah, Gary, we seem to be in your bunker," I say, realizing I've just told him I'm not alone.

"I'm not seeing anything on the monitors, it might be a false alarm. Are you okay?"

"I'm okay, but I don't know if I'm safe," I try to cover my previous mistake.

"Tell me you brought your gun down."

"Yes, I have them."

"Good! Feel free to make the outdoor cameras switch, the monitors are touchscreen," he says, as the one that had shown the back door changes to a view of my A6 covered with snow and then to a panel of nine outdoor views.

"Okay."

"Take out your gun and shoot if someone somehow makes it through that hatch. I need to check into some more things."

"Alright."

"Hold fast, I'll call back in less than five minutes."

I hear the line click dead and I hang up. Then I look around on the floor and open one of the hard cases. I pick up the Glock and slide a clip into the hand grip until it clicks.

"What did he say?" Page asks.

"He said he'd call back," I say, gazing at her excited nude body in the dim light.