"I don't care," she whispered back. "I need you to do this, and I know you need to." She paused, and in that moment of vulnerability, she laid her emo...ions bare. She knew she was so fragile that if he rejected her, she'd break into a million pieces. "Please." Her eyes began to glisten. "Please, Jack."She lifted her head and placed a gentle kiss on his lips before lowering back down to the beanbag again. She could see the change come over him. He'd jumped off the edge, stepped over the line, and. “Go without the clothes?” She asked.“Yeah.”“And then some…” she said, with a sly smile.“And then some?” I said as I looked at her incredulously. “What does that mean?”“Well,” she said, “it’s a really free feeling when you lose some of those small-town hang-ups and let go a little bit.”I thought about that a little and said, “I didn’t think I had a lot of small-town hang-ups.”“Really?”“Well, I haven’t exactly been stuck in a convent this last year,” I said. “You might be surprised at some of the. They are searching for their loved one, and I let them, knowing exactly what they are feeling. Thoughts of Skuld grab me and threaten to hinder my retreat. It would be so easy doing nothing. ----- She didn’t speak a word until we got back to our cave. “This isn’t all bad, you know.” “What do you mean, not all bad? I’m nothing like what I’m supposed to be! I was going to become a strong, handsome troll for you, and now I’m just a small, inconspicuous nymph. This is all bad!” She froze, gave. Ma said Willard teached her tew fuck and Ah worried she’d be loose lahk Ma were last naht. Ah hadn’t got off all day sew Ah would have fucked a knothole bah then.We ate some stewed possum Ah’d shot and Willard had some shine he shared with us younguns. Mary Bell were real quiet and kept a’peekin over at me while we ate.After the wimmin did the kitchen and us men shot the shit on the porch, Ma came ter the door and sayed, “Time fer the fun Ah bin waitin fer all day. Git yer ass in here.