The Curse - On top of the cliff

CHAPTER 

I hadn’t been that angry for a long time, and I needed a long walk and lots of fresh air to cool down. I grabbed a small backpack, checked the batteries of my walkie, dropped by the kitchen to take a bottle of water and headed for the hills. I knew the path like the back of my hand. If Al-Waead was my favorite place in the world, the observation point at the top of a nearby hill was my favorite place in Al-Waead.

Ned appeared in front of me out of nowhere. He pointed at my bag.

“Going somewhere ?”

“Yes, actually. I need a walk.”

“Care for some company?”

I had mixed feelings about his presence. My first thought was to be on my own, to take time to breathe and reconnect with myself. But his company was making my heart jump in a happy way. I realized in an instant that I would always have time to be alone, but his presence would only be temporary.

“Sure, I’d love some company.”

I noticed at that moment that he also carried a small bag and sturdy trail shoes. I had no idea how he had guessed my goal, but he was good and ready to go.

We left the city in silence, and it took us no time to walk in accord. The path went up the hill very quickly and soon became narrow and steep. I took the lead and I could hear him walk steadily behind me. I was thankful for his silence, the walk along the slope was hard enough you wanted to keep your breath.

It took us a good half hour to reach my spot at the top of the hill. Over the years, I had done some digging here, searching for a construction of some kind. But I only found holes in the ground meant for a small sentry’s shelter. From that vantage point, you could see the whole city and the start of the desert. This time, you could also see the camps that had been erected for everyone working on the film.

I sat down on the makeshift bench I had put up years ago and I could see the crew in the city no bigger than tiny ants. It made me think of all the sentries that had stood watch here over the centuries, keeping their people safe.

Ned was still silent, taking pictures. He sat down beside me and we admired the view.

“What a beautiful sight.”

“When the sun rises, you can see all the shadows of the night giving way to the light. It’s magical.”

“The sun is going to set soon.”

“Yeah. we can stay about fifteen minutes before we have to leave. After that it’s too dark to navigate the path safely.”

We fell silent again and I felt my anger had disappeared without a trace. I knew I was going to have to deal with Mikki again, but for the moment, everything was perfect.

Ned broke the silence again. “Can I ask you a personal question ?”

I was intrigued. “Sure.”

“What do you like in bed ?”

The question startled me. “What do you mean ?” I was really flustered. As much as I had talked about sex with my friends, no man had ever asked me so openly about my preferences.

Ned was smiling patiently at me, obviously enjoying my embarrassment. So I smiled back and decided to take him on his word and answer truthfully.

“I prefer face-to-face.”

I didn’t want to be crude so I chose my next words carefully. “No… backdoor access.”

“Noted. Anything else ?”

“Apart from that, I’m open to suggestions. What about you ?”

He turned slightly to face me and took a sip from his bottle without looking away from me. “Anything goes.”

And suddenly his gaze was intense, focused, his smile faded. I didn’t feel like smiling anymore either. I had a flash of his mouth on mine, his hands on my body and my breath caught in my throat. He looked hungry and it woke my own hunger. He bent his head and when our lips met the craving flared. 

His hands were on my skin like I wanted, and mine in his hair, pulling him closer to me. The taste of his mouth was like a drug, filling my head and clouding my thoughts, making me want more. Soon he was tugging on my leg to make me sit on his lap.

And my walkie crackled.

I heard Amalie’s voice say something I couldn’t understand. We broke the kiss and looked at each other breathlessly. I managed to take the device and press the right button.

“What is it, Mal ?”

“It’s Ned, nobody knows where he is. Have you seen him ?”

Ned smiled, took the hand that was holding the walkie and pressed my thumb on the knob. “I’m here, Amalie.”

“Oh good. Everybody’s looking for you !”

My hand still in his, I talked in turn. “We’ll be heading back in a few minutes, ETA is forty-five minutes at most.”

“Oh, thank you !” I could hear the relief in her voice. “Mal out.”

“Ellie over and out.”

I looked at Ned and I knew next time I would come up here, I would see the city and the site I loved but I would also remember him and that amazing kiss.

To regain my composure, I delicately took my hand out of his, put my talkie back on my belt and foraged in my bag to take my bottle. From the corner of my eye, I could see Ned’s wild and confident smile. Obviously we had the hots for each other and he was absolutely aware of that. I had a feeling our next kiss wouldn’t stop there.

The trail back down was just as silent as the trail going up. But I had a lot more on my mind than Mikki’s childish behaviour.

When we arrived at the city, Dan shot up from his cart and dropped in front of us.

“You’re okay ?”

“Of course I’m okay, Dan.”

“Ned, this is not your first rodeo, you know you have to tell someone where you go and who you’re with. Otherwise we worry, and worrying is no good for anyone.”

“I’m sorry, I forgot.”

“Okay, no harm no foul. John wanted to see you about tomorrow’s filming schedule, and that’s what started everything.”

“I’ll go see him right away. I’ll notify someone next time.”

“You do that.”

He hopped back in his cart and drove away at top speed.

Ned turned to me. “Another thing. Do you mind people knowing, or you want to keep this between us ?”

“I don’t know. Maybe Mikki will get off my back if we make it public. And people will stop looking for you when you’re nowhere to be found.”

He smiled, put his hand on my nape and we exchanged a deep kiss. He was showing off and I didn’t mind at all.