The Search Party

Concern for Jackson’s whereabouts were quickly confirmed when it was late afternoon and there was still no sign of the sophomore. The group all around camp figured they had to do something.

The sun was coming down quickly this Sunday Evening, they were losing light as they all gathered around Jackson’s car, grabbing items from the back. Of those most concerned, it was a surprise to Mark to see Miranda being the one that was coming up with a plan.

“Here,” Miranda said, passing out flashlights to everyone.

“Why the fuck did we bring so many flashlights in the first place?” Jess asked confused.

“I packed them,” Mark said, raising his hand, “Thought we might go on a midnight hike or something, guess we kind of will be now.”

Macca still wasn’t convinced that he was missing in the woods or potentially hurt out there. He fiddled with his flashlight, twirling it around in his hands, “So what, half an hour max? Still reckon he’s fucking with us.”

Miranda shook her head in response, “He’s not, I know he wouldn’t.”

The Aussie shook his head, taking out a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it just away from the circle. Meanwhile, Ali pulled out a map of the area and laid it out on the bonnet of one of the cars. Shining a light on it, they all worked out which areas they would check and who would go with who.

***

To his delight, Mark was paired up with Tiffany, searching the north-east direction of the woods next to the lake.

“He wouldn’t have drowned or anything would he?” Tiffany then asked, thinking of the worse case scenario.

Mark shook his head, “There’s no way… I mean… god I hope not.”

“I guess it’s not like the ocean with a strong current or anything, sure he’s just lost out here somewhere,” she replied to him.

She may have had some fairly baggy clothing on but it didn’t stop Mark from shining his flash light ‘accidentally’ at her ass every chance he got. He certainly didn’t mind accidentally bumping into her, making body contact when he could.

A few hours of walking and covering one area of the place, Mark and Tiffany were beginning to realise that he wasn’t anywhere near them.

“What are we meant to do?” Tiffany asked him, “We’re just walking in circles now.”

Mark took a seat, shining a light on a big rock. He lifted himself up on there, trying to figure out what to do, “I’ve got no idea Tiff… fuck, I really fucked up last night.”

“Fucked up? With what?” Tiffany said, edging forward until she was standing in front of him.

Without going into all the details, Mark explained to her what happened the night before and how he was boarder-line aggressive to his cousin. He did feel that he may have been the reason that Jackson would leave them all if he had done so on purpose.

Tiffany consoled him, making sure he knew that he had no reason to feel at fault.

“I’m the only one here who should be feeling guilty about anything,” she then said, “You’ve organised this great weekend away and I’ve been such an anti-social loser the entire time.”

“Your senior year Tiff, it’s about to all come to an end, of course you need to work hard, don’t be silly.”

“It is… but I think I’m losing myself with this, what am I really getting from all this extra over the top study” she said.

The first time she had ever backtracked from her intense studying routine, it caught Mark off guard hearing her say that. In the dark, he couldn’t picture the concern on her face that she was currently showing.

“I think it’s the thought of failure that’s killing me right now,” she then said.

Mark made a scoffing noise, jumping back off the rock, grabbing her hands, “You’re not going to fail Tiff, you’d have to be the smartest person I know, I understand that you’re worried but you don’t need to be, you’re going to succeed in whatever you do in life, you’re a gem.”

The brunette leaned forward, pressing her head into his chest giving Mark a chance to wrap his arms around her, bringing her in tight. In a wake embrace, he tightly squeezed her, rubbing her back as he did. Her string perfume scent filled his nostrils, luring him back in. Tiffany’s hair smelt just as good, up against the side of his head.

Thinking back to Ali’s question earlier that day, Mark pondered it as he held Tiffany in an embrace. He said it well, how could he pick one of these girls over the other at this point of time. Mark could easily let himself fall in love with multiple of them, especially this brunette in his arms, a girl he had already had the honour of calling his girlfriend.

His mind then raced to the future, Tiffany wasn’t going to be around campus for the next two years. He felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, something he had always known but never prepared for.

Mark blocked it out as he lowered his hands down her back. They edged closer to her butt, as did his mouth to the warmth of her neck. He nestled his way in, pushing aside her hair so he could make contact to her skin with his lips.

Breathing on her skin, she made a very faint noise, gripping onto Mark a little more.

She stopped him by asking a question, “It’s not too late to redeem myself this weekend is it?”

Without answering for a moment, Mark stood there in the silence of the woods, a great big smirk on his face. She had his answer when he moved his hands downwards, squeezing that round booty.

“Not at all,” he told her.

They began to kiss, just like he had done with Ali hours earlier. This time it was more sexual than romantic, tongues went wild quickly, exploring each other’s mouths. Hands travelled over each other’s bodies, grabbing certain body parts, it had all beaten up.

Tiffany was making up for lost time and Mark was all here for it.