Tangled Ropes

When one assumes…

Too focused on safely making it to the finish line, Bret listened closely to the work Lacey was doing. She was far more skilled a driver than he had given her credit for. Given her SUV was not trail rated, her progress was impressive. The V8 was screaming furiously as it labored to make progress up the last of the ascents before the home stretch.

Bret was cresting the last climb and quickly glanced over towards Lacey. She was near the top. The plum of dust told the tale of rubber angrily searching for traction. The odds of Lacey making it was slim. However, that was the point.

With a rueful smile, Bret pushed on down the very rapid descent to the finish line. He had to set up his surprises. Plus he had to assume that Lacey was going to make it over and meet him unprepared. With great risk and haste he arrived at the beautiful spot and smiled. It was really romantic. The setup process went smoothly. Most of the hard work had been done already. However, the risk of discovery meant the best had to be set up last… couldn’t have a random person uncover the surprise.

The sound of the struggle Lacey was facing raced Bret’s heart. Part of him felt the deep manly desire to rush and rescue Lacey. However, composure demanded that he freshen up from his efforts and made sure the ropes, rigging, and other pleasure tools were all ready to go first.

Lacey was fighting to hold her composure. The view was limited. The steepness of the climb had her seeing the sky more than anything else. Despite her best efforts, the SUV had slid sideways a bit off the path. Backing down was no longer an option as a big mass of rock was behind her. There was not enough traction to gain momentum to get free.

Worse, Lacey had dug in deeply enough into the trail that getting out the driver side would be difficult. Her poor Suburban was now trapped. The race she should have won easily was slipping away.

Whipping the steering wheel from left to right looking for traction only resulted in the truck dancing on it’s rear suspension and rocking back and forth in it’s prison.

With patience running thin, Lacey started to worry that she would need rescuing. This far away from civilization and this far up a rugged trail, the cost would be painful to bear for most. Giving up made rational sense, but admitting defeat to Bret felt unbearable. Adjusting herself once more in her seat, Lacey resumed her struggles to get free. She had to assume that the only person who would rescue her, was herself.

When Knights Smile

The sudden appearance of Bret’s head at the bottom of her forward view startled Lacey. There was a degree of smugness etched on his cheeks that Lacey would have rather rubbed off with sarcasm. The man looked like he had won some silly prize.

Lacey felt defeated. For a rare time in her adult life, she needed the help of a man. She actually needed Bret to help her. The one man she didn’t want to have assume she was weak and unable.

Bret watched the various micro facial expressions Lacey gave. She was not happy to be in her situation and worse, was not happy to be discovered in such a precarious location. The ambitious efforts Lacey had unleashed had dug the SUV a little. However, the polished rock surface no longer had the necessary edge to give her traction to get free. Lacey would need a tow.

Good thing for extra rope, Bret thought to himself. He had enough spare rigging to create a human powered winch to pull Lacey out. Or at least assist the vehicle out of it’s bind. Had Lacey not slid into the tight spot, she could have backed down and got a running start to freedom. But, the fierce determination to win had gotten the best of Lacey.

It was not lost on Bret that Lacey had adopted a stubborn posture and was not winding down the window to chat with him. Her sensibilities were being tested.

An alpha female not accustomed to losing or being helped Bret mused.

A self-righteous sanctimonious pompous arrogant elitist of a chauvinist behind a velvet smile fumed Lacey.