Tales of the Black Fox

Let's Go For Broke!

With renewed confidence, Sonia and I vacated the small clearing and ascended the ridge, passing that tall pine tree she'd climbed earlier and eventually arriving at the overgrown tractor route at the back end of the woodlot. I stopped, removed my backpack and set it down in the growth in the small turn-around.

"What are you doing?" she questioned.

"I'm leaving it here."

"Why?"

"It'll be too cumbersome for stealth."

"That's logical." she agreed, and dropped her backpack beside mine.

"Just bring the binoculars."

"Yah!" she half whispered, showing me in an exaggerated fashion that they were still hanging around her neck from earlier.

Looking at her in admiration and feeling more determined than ever to do anything to protect her, I declared, "Let's go for broke!"

She returned a puzzled look and asked, "What's go for broke mean?"

"It's an expression... " and explained, "it means let's go for all or nothing at all."

"You mean like in making an 'all in' bet?"

"Hah!" and teased, "You're a gambler."

"You have no idea." she muttered cryptically like she was talking to herself.

"Maybe you've got that right... now that you trust me" deliberately twisting her favourite expression in a lighthearted way.

She laughed and then countered, "What makes you think I do?"

"You're still here."

"Must be effects of the red moon."

"You mean the full moon?"

"Whatever." giving me a strange look.

Spontaneously she grabbed me into another promising tight hug, and responding naturally, I slipped my arms around her and pulled her snugly against me.

As we continued in our warm embrace she whispered in my ear, "I really can feel your heart."

Pretending I was struggling to breathe, with a raspy don Corleone voice I teased, "You're holding me so tight I'm almost behind you."

"Yah! Be serious!" she admonished but didn't shove me away.

"I am being serious." I insisted, and slowly slid my hands down her sides to rest on her hips.

Abruptly she released me, placed her hands over mine and drew the line, "Okay Mr. Serious, that's far enough for now."

Surprised, I looked at her, wondering why she'd added, "... for now."

"What do you feel?" she probed as she slowly removed my hands from her hips.

"Your hands on mine." I replied facetiously.

"Yah!" she whispered loudly and playfully pushed my hands away.

"I still don't know what answer you're looking for." I admitted truthfully.

Instead of coldly shoving me away as she'd done earlier in the afternoon, she gently touched my upper chest area just beneath the left side of my neck. She kept carefully prodding with her fingers like she was feeling for something.

Enjoying the new sensations of her gentle touching but feeling a bit nervous by the strangeness of it all, out of curiosity I finally inquired, "What are you doing?"