rated * sexual references

The Wrong One

by Writer X

Jim Frayne looked around for a familiar face.

"Over here!"

He turned his head and smiled at the young woman coming towards him. She was prettier than he remembered.

"Well, hey there, Jim Frayne!" the woman greeted him, brushing her dark hair away from her face. "How was your flight?"

"It was tolerable," Jim said. "It’s good to see you again, Hallie. Where’s Cap?"

"He’s circling the airport in his car. Have you any luggage besides that carry-on?"

"Nope, this is it," Jim said.

"I like your style," she said. "Always travel light."

"Dan says hello," Jim said.

Hallie smirked. "Oh, does he? Like he can’t e-mail me or something? Spare me!"

Jim didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t sure what had happened between his friend Dan Mangan and Hallie Belden. Dan didn’t usually discuss his personal life.

"You look good, Hallie," Jim said honestly, admiring her tall slender figure. "It’s been so long since I’ve seen you. We were still kids really."

"Yeah, but look at us now!" Hallie laughed, eyeing Jim appreciatively. "Come on, Frayne, that brother of mine is probably getting dizzy."

On the ride to the hotel, Cap and Jim chatted easily about the their shared interest in the outdoors. Jim inquired about Cap’s job with the Forest Service.

"It seems like we’re making progress in keeping progress from destroying the natural habitat," Cap said. "We’ve managed to reclaim a lot of habitat for native species, but the Ponderosa pine is threatened. We’re hoping that managed low-intensity fires can help restore balance to the forests."

"I wish you luck," Jim said. "Idaho’s wilderness is so magnificent, I hate to see it waste away."

"If the Ponderosa Pine dies out in Idaho, there will be a huge change in the character of our forests," Hallie interjected. "People don’t seem to realize how dependent an ecosystem can be on a single species. Or that a single species can be an ecosytem."

"They just take the wilderness for granted," agreed Jim. "As if it will always be there when they want it."

"Tell us more about your plans for the school, Jim," Cap said.

Jim sighed. "Well, I’ve been dreaming about this for years, of course. And now I’m ready to start making it a reality. A school for kids who have no other place and which will teach them self-reliance and outdoor skills and I hope give them some self-esteem. I think I can make a difference in their lives. I hope so, anyhow."

"I think Idaho would be an ideal spot for a school that focuses on the outdoors," Hallie said.

"That’s what I’m here to find out," Jim said.

Cap pulled into the hotel parking lot.

"You know, Jim, you’re more than welcome to stay with me," Cap told him.

"Ha!" Hallie laughed. "And sleep on a dirty old cot? Now, you could stay with me, Frayne. I have a spare room."

"I don’t want to impose on anyone," Jim replied, smiling. "Thank you for offering, but I do have a reservation here."

"Okay," said Hallie with a shrug. "But you will have dinner with me, won’t you? And I am taking you on the river!"

"Give him a break, Hallie," Cap said amusedly. "He’s in town for business, not for your pleasure."

Jim held up a hand. "It’s okay, Cap. I’d love to get on the river. I have an appointment to see some land tomorrow morning, but I am free later. Would that be good?"

"Excellent." Hallie beamed at him. "I’ll call you."

True to her word, Hallie Belden phoned Jim just before he left for his appointment.

"Hey, Frayne," she greeted him. "I'm going to come by and pick you up at noon. Is that a good time for you?"

"I should be back by then," Jim said.

"Now, don't eat lunch. I'm packing a picnic for us to take on the river."

"Ah, well, lucky I ate a large breakfast," chuckled Jim.

"Don't worry, I'll bring some snacks you can munch on before our late lunch," she said. "See you later."

Jim dropped the phone back into place. He smiled to himself. Hallie Belden was quite a character. He looked forward to their outing.

*      *      *

Hallie picked Jim up as promised in her red sports utility vehicle. Also as promised, she had a tightly packed picnic basket in the back as well as some blankets.

"Ready for some fun, Frayne?" she asked, a note of challenge in her voice.

"Be gentle," Jim chuckled.

"I make no promises," she said seriously, hitting the accelerator.

They were on their way.

"How did your meeting go?" Hallie asked him as she navigated traffic.

"Fine, I guess," he replied. "I don't know. The property isn't exactly what I'd hoped. I want to have some land set aside for agriculture."

"Oh, right, Mart's supposed to be in charge of that, isn't he?"

"Well, we planned for that when we were kids. Now, though, Mart is pretty settled in his job. I don't know if he still wants to be on board. Of course, the school won't be operational for at least two or three years if I find a site to build on this year."

"I wish you luck," she said sincerely.

"Thanks. Tell me about your job, Hallie."

"Well, I'm a river guide, you know. I love working in the outdoors. Of course, my parents would have preferred if I found something a little more stable, I guess. I did flirt with the idea of becoming a veterinarian. Hey, I'm young--I could still do that. But right now, I am just having a blast."

"I can see that," Jim said admiringly.

Hallie turned onto the road that lead into the park.

"The canoe is waiting for us," she told Jim. "We'll have to hike up to it, though, so that when we come down the river we end up back where we parked. There are some great spots where we can go ashore, too. We'll eat lunch at one of them."

She parked in a small deserted lot.

"I'll carry the basket," Jim offered as Hallie began to unload.

"You big strong man," Hallie said with a grin.

She handed him the basket and put on a knapsack. She picked up the blankets and slammed the door.

"Let's go!"

They hiked up a well-defined trail through the forest. Jim shifted the basket in his hands now and then.

"How long do we have to go?" he asked.

"Well, it's about twenty minutes more," she said, glancing back at him. "Want me to take the basket?"

"No, I'm fine," he said, trying to look it.

They went on in silence and at last they reached the spot where Hallie had secured the canoe.

"I'll row," Hallie said. "I'm used to it."

Hallie guided the canoe down the river and Jim just relaxed and enjoyed the ride.

"We'll stop soon for lunch," said Hallie. "I know just the perfect place."

"Good," Jim said. "I'm more than ready to eat!"

Hallie maneuvered the canoe towards the shore.

The lunch basket was overflowing with goodies, Jim discovered. Hallie had included two kinds of sandwiches, baked chicken, salad, potato chips, brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and cheese and crackers. In addition to bottles of water, she'd packed some cans of soda.

"Wonderful!" Jim sighed, munching on a ham sandwich.

"Isn't the river everything I said it would be?" Hallie asked eagerly. She scarfed down her salad.

"It sure is. I can see why you love working on it. It's kind of liberating, isn't it?"

"Yes, but you always have to remember that the river is really the boss." Hallie started in on a chicken breast."So, Frayne, how are things in Sleepyside?"

"Fine," he mumbled through a mouthful of chips. "Everyone's doing well."

"Dan, too?" Hallie asked, her voice wistful.

"Yes, Dan is fine." Jim hesitated. "Hallie, what happened between you two? You seemed to be getting on so well."

Hallie shrugged. "Oh, it's simple enough, I guess. He wanted me to go to school in New York State and I wouldn't. And he refused to come here. With so much distance between us--well, what else could happen?"

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well, he makes me so mad!" Hallie bit down hard on a cookie. "He just couldn't leave dumb old Sleepyside. I mean, he could have easily come here for college! But no, he had to attend Westchester Community College--no place else would do."

"Dan felt obligated to stay close to home," Jim explained. "He actually wanted to attend NYU, but he thinks he owes Mr. Maypenny."

"I know! He so honorable," Hallie said with a sigh. "But what makes me really mad is that I was the last one to call--I phoned him on his birthday and after that I never heard from him. He just cut me out of his life without a word."

Jim frowned. "That doesn't sound like Dan."

"Let's not talk about Dan anymore," said Hallie. "Tell me about you and Trixie."

"Uh, well, we're doing okay."

"Okay? That's not what Trixie says."

Jim was startled. "What? Trixie talked to you about her and me?"

Hallie tucked some dark strands of hair behind her ear. "We e-mail each other now and then. She said you guys were having some troubles--that you were going to date other people."

"Again!" Jim added somewhat bitterly. "No, it's not really quite like it sounds, Hallie. We just don't know what to do. We are at that point where we have to take a giant step forward or else--"

"Say goodbye?"

Jim nodded. "Trixie has her career plans. She and Honey are close to starting their own agency. Let's say I decided to build my school in Idaho. Trixie wouldn't want to move here."

"Why not? She couldn't have an agency here?"

"With Honey? It just isn't going to happen, Hallie. Of course, Trixie wants me to build the school closer to where she'll be. We've been arguing about it for awhile."

"So, are you going to take a break from each other and date other people?" Hallie asked him.

"I can't. I mean, I'm not ready. She and I already went through this once before and let me tell you, Hallie, no other woman could compare to her."

"Well, you never know, Frayne. There might just be someone else for you."

"Maybe." But Jim sounded doubtful.

"We should pack up," said Hallie. "I want to take you on a short hike to a scenic point and then we can canoe down the rest of the river."

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly. Jim was amazed at how much he liked being with Hallie. He'd never spent so much time with her alone. In fact, he was sure he'd never spent anytime with her alone until now.

Hallie was funny and smart and she had an adventurous spirit that reminded Jim of another Belden woman.

They reached the end of their canoe trip as dusk was falling.

"Let's build a fire and munch on the leftovers from lunch," Hallie suggested.

"Is it all right to have a fire?" Jim asked.

"It's allowed," she assured him. "In fact, I stored some wood over here just for that purpose."

Soon they had a little fire going and as night fell they sat near its warmth while finishing up what was left of lunch.

"Well, that should sate my appetite for a bit," Hallie announced. She stood up and stretched. "Now, what shall we do for fun?"

"Aren't we going to head back to town?" Jim asked her, putting the trash into the picnic basket.

"Not yet!" protested Hallie. Her face lit up with a mischievous smile. "You know what I could really go for? A swim!"

Jim frowned. "I didn't bring a bathing suit on this trip."

"Who needs a bathing suit? Not me!"

Jim's jaw dropped slightly. "What are you saying, Hallie?"

"What's wrong, Frayne?" she teased. "Haven't you ever been skinny dipping?"

She slipped out of her khakis and tossed them onto the ground. She grinned at Jim.

"Hallie..." he warned half-heartedly.

She ignored him and peeled off her shirt. She stood there unabashedly, her olive skin a stunning contrast against the white cotton of her bra and panties.

"The water must be like ice!" Jim finally said.

"Refreshing!" countered Hallie. Her hands went to the back of her bra.

Jim turned away quickly. He heard her laughing.

"Such a gentleman!" she shouted.

The next thing he heard was splashing. He turned slowly around. Sure enough, Hallie was bobbing in the river and waving at him. At his feet lay her underclothes.

"Hallie Belden!" he yelled. "Have you lost your mind?"

"Don't be such a fuddy-duddy! The water feels marvelous!" She dove under and popped up farther away.

"Is the current strong?" Jim asked with concern, trying not to think about that fact that he'd just been mooned by her.

"I'm not going to float away! Come on already, Frayne! I promise to close my eyes!"

Jim hesitated a moment. There was a part of him that wanted to feel the river washing over him. But there was the more rational part that warned him it would be a mistake--that doing so could lead to something dangerous and that something wasn't drowning in the river.

He started unbuttoning his shirt.

"Whoo-hoo!" Hallie cried.

"You said you wouldn't look," Jim called back to her.

She obediently turned herself around.

Jim stripped off his clothes until he stood in his flannel boxer shorts. He slipped his fingers under the waistband and paused.

"All the way, baby!"

Jim reddened, letting go of the waistband. "You aren't supposed to be looking!"

"Bashful, eh?"

He started running towards the river. He waded in, shivering at the cold water.

"No fair!" Hallie pouted. "You didn't take off the pants!"

"Sorry, Hallie, but no way will I do that."

"Coward!" she accused, splashing at him.

"You bet!" He splashed back at her and she tipped backwards slightly, exposing her pert breasts for a tantalizing second.

Uh-oh, Jim thought, This was a mistake.

"What's the matter, Frayne?" Hallie asked, but not convincingly. She knew what he'd seen and she didn't mind a bit.

She began swimming around him. Jim tried to keep her in his sights, but she'd dive under and then pop up unexpectedly.

I should get out of here.

Suddenly, Hallie shot up behind him and threw her arms around his neck. "Gotcha now!"

"Hallie, this isn't funny," Jim said, tensing as he felt Hallie's slippery body gently rubbing against him

"You are a fuddy-duddy!" she declared, letting go.

Hallie swam towards the shore. She began wading out of the river, rising like Aphrodite. The water dropped away, and her sinewy figure was silhouetted by the fire that still burned on the shore.

She strolled comfortably to where her shed garments lay and scooped them up. She boldy faced Jim who still treaded water in the river.

He let out a slow breath. She's so beautiful. He forced himself to look up at the sky.

At last Hallie called out to him. "All right, Frayne! It's safe to look now. My goodness, you are a prude."

He brought his gaze back down and saw she was telling the truth. She was fully clothed once more.

It was only a few seconds swim to where his feet could touch the bottom. He waded out, feeling a chill as the night air hit him.

Hallie was shaking her head as he came over to the fire shivering. "You are dripping wet, Frayne. You'd better lose those shorts."

Jim's green eyes widened.

"Oh, not everything is about sex," she said with mock exasperation. She tossed him one of the blankets. "Here. Wrap yourself in that."

Jim covered himself with the blanket and then carefully removed his boxer shorts very aware that Hallie's amused eyes were watching him intently.

"Hand them over," she demanded, as he produced his underpants.

Hallie wrung out his shorts and then placed them on the picnic basket next to the fire. "They should dry at least some."

She plopped down on the ground and indicated the spot next to her. "Come on, I don't bite. Besides, you look like an icicle."

"Aren't you cold?" Jim asked, sitting beside her while making sure the blanket was safely tucked around him.

"Nope!" She grinned at him. "Actually, sitting by this fire next to you makes me kind of hot."

Suddenly she leaned forward and her lips were pressing against his. To his amazement, Jim felt himself responding and for a few wonderful seconds there was nothing except Hallie and this kiss. Then he pulled away and turned his head from her briefly.

"You're the wrong Belden," Jim said quietly, turning back to her.

"Are you sure about that, Jim?" Hallie asked, her dark eyes intense.

Jim was silent. He looked up at the glittering night sky. He thought back to last summer at the lake with Trixie. They had become closer than ever before that night as they snuggled under a blanket together and tried to make out the constellations and failed miserably.

"I hope we'll always be together," he'd said to her.

"We will, Jim," was her response. And then she'd kissed him.

Jim looked at Hallie. She was a beautiful wood nymph, he thought. Like something from a dream. That was how he felt--as if he was asleep and all of this was not real.

"I'm sure, Hallie," he said at last. "It's not over with Trixie."

"Fair enough, I suppose," she said. "We'd have been good together, though, Frayne."

"I know," Jim said, surprised by it. "But that doesn't mean it would have been forever."

"Forever? You are a romantic." Hallie shook her head. "I was thinking more like breakfast in bed."

Jim laughed, admiring this Belden's forthrightness.

"Still no dice, eh?" she asked.

"You don't make it easy on a guy, Hallie," Jim told her truthfully. "But I just can't."

"Lucky girl, that cousin of mine," Hallie sighed. "Hope she knows it."

"I know I'm lucky," said Jim.

They sat quietly and watched as the last flickering of firelight faded away.

"What time does your plane leave tomorrow?" Hallie asked at last.

"Noon," he replied.

"Okay, how about breakfast sans bed? I make a mean waffle."

Jim didn't reply. He considered her a moment.

"Relax, Frayne," she drawled. "I'll invite Cap over--you'll be perfectly safe. In fact, he can pick you up and bring you over to my place and then he can take you to the airport."

This was for the best, Jim knew. "All right," Jim agreed. "Breakfast. But first, why not dinner? I'm starved."

They had a comfortable dinner back in town at a pizza parlor. They ate and chatted, but never mentioned what had happened and what might have happened. It already seemed like ages ago.

The next morning, Capelton Belden picked Jim up and drove to Hallie's for the promised breakfast.

"How was the canoe trip?" Cap asked on the way.

Jim looked out the window at the passing scenery. "Oh, it was great. Hallie really knows her stuff."

"She sure does," Cap agreed, the pride evident in his voice.

Hallie had prepared a spectacular breakfast. Cap was clearly stunned.

"Since when did you become so domestic?" he asked, eyeing the feast of waffles, bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast. "I was sure we were going to get some Eggos and a bowl of cereal."

"Being able to cook has nothing to do with domesticity," Hallie argued. "It's a useful and necessary skill."

"Sorry, little sister," Cap said, holding his hands up. "I stand corrected. May I eat now?"

"Duh," she said, pushing him into a chair. "That's why I invited you, isn't it?"

Jim laughed. "This makes me think of Trixie and Mart."

The food disappeared quickly thanks to the equal efforts of the three of them.

"Cap, you help with the dishes," Hallie ordered as she started to clear the table.

"I knew there had to be a catch," Cap groaned.

"I can help," Jim said.

"No way, Frayne, you are the guest of honor at this farewell breakfast. You sit and read the paper or something."

Jim complied reluctantly.

Hallie and Cap joked and chattered as he washed and she dried.

"What time is it?" Cap asked as he handed the last dish to Hallie

"Buy a watch already!" Hallie said.

"I have a watch. I just keep forgetting to wear it."

"It's a quarter to ten," Jim informed him after consulting his own watch.

The phone rang just then. Hallie dropped the dishtowel and picked up the receiver.

"Hello?" she answered. "Dan!"

Jim turned and studied her face. She was clearly shocked, but delighted at the caller's identity.

"It has been too long!" she was saying in agreement. "Jim's going back to Sleepyside today, you know......Yes, he's here right now--so is Cap."

She quickly added that last part, Jim noticed.

"We should probably get going, Jim," Cap said. "You have to check in before noon."

Jim caught Hallie's eye. He held up a hand and mouthed the word goodbye.

Their eyes locked for a moment and then she smiled. Covering up the mouthpiece, she spoke. "Goodbye, Frayne. It's been interesting."

He nodded.

When Jim and Cap walked out the door, Hallie had already dropped back into an easy and animated conversation with Dan Mangan.

Soon I'll be back home, Jim thought, Back home with Trixie Belden.

He smiled. He couldn't wait.

The End

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