3. Arlo

Chapter 3

Arlo

With the morning sun high in the sky, Arlo couldn't help but smile from ear to ear as he walked down Eagle Ridge's main strip. The array of brightly decorated shopfronts and perfectly maintained sidewalks was like something out of a perfectly sweet movie or illustrated book.

‘Cute. Very cute,' Arlo said, his eyes widening as he saw the candy store that also seemed to double as a bookstore. ‘I think I need to hit that place up sooner rather than later…'

Arlo loved to read, and he had a sweet tooth too. The very thought of indulging the two things at the same time was enough to make Arlo nearly explode with excitement.

Having grown up in a large industrial town, Arlo wasn't used to being in such a picturesque and cozy place. Arlo loved the rough edges and hustle and bustle of his hometown, but Eagle Ridge was hitting spots that made Arlo's Little side come more to the fore .

Just as Arlo was about to cross the street and make his way inside the candy-bookstore, his eyes were drawn to two people walking ahead of him. The two young guys looked like they were in their early twenties, and while Arlo couldn't be sure, they both very much had Little vibes.

Cute backpacks. Check.

Denim dungarees. Check.

And… stuffies!

Arlo felt a desire to call out for the two possible Littles right there and then. The very thought of stumbling upon fellow Littles filled Arlo with glee.

‘I could go and say hi,' Arlo muttered. ‘But what if…'

Maybe it was his military training, or the fact that he sometimes felt a bit shy introducing himself to new people, but Arlo decided that instead of making himself known to the two possible Littles, he would instead follow them for a minute and keep his distance.

They might not even actually be Littles.

They could think I was weird. Or crazy.

I'll just see where they're headed first…

As Arlo followed the two boys from a safe distance, he couldn't help but wonder whether part of his shyness came down to the treatment he received in the military when his fellow soldiers discovered his Little side. In one particularly upsetting moment, a couple of bullies stole Arlo's diary and Sass too and proceeded to very loudly mock Arlo in front of everyone. Arlo was physically tough, and mentally too. But after braving the bullies' taunts, Arlo took himself away and silently cried in the bathroom for what felt like an eternity.

It was experiences like this that contributed to Arlo's reticence around new people. And even though Arlo knew this was the reason, he struggled to do anything to change it.

As far as Arlo was concerned, he was always going to be wary around strangers and new people from here on out. The one good thing to come out of Arlo's run ins with the bullies was that it was going to help with his ongoing unfair dismissal and bullying case – and Arlo knew that if he could win the case, then at least it might prevent something similar happening to another recruit in the future.

Well, that was Arlo's dream at least. The reality of the situation was very different. Arlo knew that the odds were stacked against him, especially seeing as senior members of the forces would often side with current soldiers.

Still, Arlo wasn't going to let any of this get in the way of his cheery morning in Eagle Ridge…

‘Wait, they're headed for the diner,' Arlo said, following the boys across the street and taking a moment to appreciate the polished, colorful signage. ‘The Hot Plate. Cool. And I'm guessing they do great milkshakes too!'

The Hot Plate was every bit as awesome as Arlo thought it would be. The very fact that he was able to grab a triple-pack of chunky cookies to go with his strawberry milkshake was the icing on the cake.

Everything from the décor to the general friendly vibe in the diner was exactly what Arlo loved and he couldn't have been in a cooler diner if he had designed it himself.

However what Arlo loved more than anything was being outdoors.

And with that in mind, Arlo didn't spent too long in the diner and was now back in nature. Having set up his tent once more, Arlo had decided to take a hike to what promised to be something a little bit special.

‘So… Eagle Falls,' Arlo said, taking his backpack off and placing it on the soft ground underfoot. ‘I have to admit, you're even better looking in real life!'

Arlo had picked up a free local attractions pamphlet in the diner and immediately had been drawn to the prospect of Eagle Falls' crystal clear natural pool and plush, colorful surroundings.

‘These flowers are beautiful,' Arlo said, his voice full of awe as he squatted down and leant in to smell the assorted flowers in all their multi-colored glory. ‘But that water is calling me too.'

Arlo didn't waste a single second as he stripped out of his shorts and t-shirt and changed into his very skimpy swimming trunks. Cut high on his thighs and with a thong back, the trunks had a cute citrus fruit print that was as colorful and vibrant as the real life fruits it depicted.

‘Let's gooooo!' Arlo giggled as he took a run up to the pool at the foot of the waterfall and jumped right in .

As soon as he hit the water, Arlo felt an immediate rush of adrenalin. The water was cold, but refreshingly so. And rather than allow his body temperature to drop too quickly, Arlo immediately dived underneath the surface once more and swam from one side of the pool to the other.

‘Wowzers!' Arlo laughed, coming up for air on the other side and feeling the full benefit of outdoor swimming reach each and every corner of his body. ‘And back again!'

Arlo dived under water once more and propelled himself through the crystal clear water until he nudged up against the bank of firm ground on the other side.

There wasn't much that Arlo enjoyed more than wild swimming, and he waved enthusiastically at Sass as his stuffie watched patiently from the side.

‘I wish you could come in!' Arlo giggled, bobbing up and down in the water and plotting his next move. ‘I guess I could always send you to stuffie swimming class?'

The sky above Arlo was blue, but in the distance he spied some dark grey clouds. That wasn't great news. Far from it, in fact. But while the sun was shining, Arlo was more than happy to put any thought of bad weather to the back of his mind and continue romping around in the water.

Arlo dived back down underneath the surface and did his best to go all the way down to the bottom. Unsure precisely how deep the pool was, Arlo decided that it was better to play it on the safe side and came up for some air after realizing that the pool might just be too deep to make it all the way .

But as Arlo's head popped back above the water level, he couldn't believe his eyes. Taking a big gulp of air, Arlo's cheeks flushed bright red and he momentarily lost the ability to tread water…

OMG. How long has he been there?

Who the hell is he?

And why is he so freakin' hot?

Standing over on the opposite side of the pool was a tall, broad man with just about the most perfectly chiseled body that Arlo had ever seen. And not only that, but the man was wearing a pair of old school red Speedo trunks that left very little to the imagination.

It wasn't just the man's upper body that was on point. The slender nature of the Speedos made the man's strong thighs and mountainous quads look even more pronounced. Put simply, this was the kind of man that Arlo spent many a lonely night dreaming of…

Don't look.

Dive back down.

Don't let him see you…

As flustered as Arlo was, he couldn't actually do anything to avoid the man not only spotting him but rather awkwardly waving to say hello.

‘Hey,' the man said, his voice a little on the gruff side, almost like he didn't actually want to say hi but was doing it out of politeness .

‘Yo. I mean hey-yo. I mean… hey ,' Arlo said, swallowing a mouthful of water as he struggled to regain his composure.

‘Enjoy your swim,' the man answered, evidently not interested in talking as he eased himself into the water and swam in the opposite direction to Arlo.

Fortunately, the pool was big enough so as Arlo and the handsome but grumpy stranger didn't have to interact or even be in close proximity to one another. But even this wasn't enough as far as Arlo was concerned.

It's time to go.

He might be handsome, but he's a stranger.

Swim time is over.

Arlo swam over toward his stuff and quickly clambered out of the water. Conscious that his butt cheeks were on display, Arlo very quickly grabbed his towel and dried himself as quickly as was humanely possible.

Unable to stop himself, Arlo kept glancing back toward the man as he swam in the water, hoping to catch a glimpse of more than his head and powerful, boulder-like shoulders.

‘ Urgh . Stop it, Arlo,' Arlo muttered. ‘He might see. I don't want him thinking I'm interested in him or anything. And for all I know he's a crazy woodland psycho-killer…'

And after putting his clothes back on, Arlo gathered his things and started on the route back toward his camp without even a backward glance.

It was time to get a fire on and then relax with his chunky cookies and trusty Kindle…

As Arlo made the short trip back to his camp, his mind was whirling with images of the mystery man in the Eagle Falls water pool.

Who was he?

Where was he from?

Was he… no, he couldn't be. Could he?

‘Sass, what do you think?' Arlo asked, arching his head and looking at his stuffie as he took pride of place in the side compartment of the backpack. ‘Was Mr. Sexy Swimmer a Daddy? Or I'm I just wishing he was.'

Arlo allowed himself a little giggle.

Sure, he had been rather keen to get out of the water as quickly as he could at the time, but that didn't change the fact that the man was all kinds of hot. And the way he was so grumpy just did something to Arlo that he couldn't ignore.

As he walked, Arlo felt his mind race at the idea that the man might have swum over toward him and taken him in his powerful embrace. And as Arlo recalled the way his Speedos emphasized his powerful legs, Arlo felt himself go all tingly down below too. He might have been all dry and out of the water, but suddenly Arlo was feeling all exposed and fully-aware that there was a prominent tent forming at front of his shorts.

‘Come on, head in the game,' Arlo chuckled, locating the oak tree that he had marked with a red ribbon just in case he got lost on his way back. ‘Yup, we're nearly there. '

However as he passed the tree and walked into the small clearing, Arlo let out a loud scream…

‘OMG, no, no, no, no,' Arlo said, his heart thumping and a look of sheer panic in his eyes. ‘This can't be right.'

Arlo looked on at the sight of his tent, torn to shreds and his stuff scattered across the patch of rough ground nearby. This didn't make any sense. Who, or what would have done this? Was it some local kids playing a prank on him? Or maybe it was a dangerous loner in the woods looking to scare an innocent young boy.

Suddenly, Arlo regretted his scream very much.

Because while it might have been a scary loner, it might also have been… a bear.

‘Okay, t-t-t-t-think,' Arlo whispered, doing his utmost to collect himself and return his heartrate to something approaching normal. ‘Don't panic. Focus. Think of a plan and execute it.'

Arlo could sense his military training coming back to guide him through this moment. His camp might have been trashed and his tent was clearly in tatters, but Arlo was determined to work something out. He might have been flustered by a gruff, handsome stranger a few moments ago, but what he was facing now was a genuine problem – and one that he knew he had to resolve ASAP.

‘Okay, let's pack what I can and-'

But before Arlo could even get started on salvaging what remained of his stuff, he heard a rustling coming from behind him. It could have been whoever did this coming back to taunt him, or even worse… it could be a big, hungry bear lo oking for the human snack he missed out on during his first visit.

Whatever it was, Arlo knew that he had to act and act fast.

Arlo scampered to his left and began climbing up a nearby tree as the rustling got closer and closer…