Cabin of Temptation Part 1: Chapter 1 – Driving with Alexis

The road seemed to stretch on endlessly before us, but Alexis assured me that our journey was near an end. We’d turn before long into thick woods and travel through narrow, winding roads until we reached her family’s cabin. I had no choice but to trust her as GPS had given out nearly 20 minutes ago.

“There’s good wifi and okay reception at the cabin,” she’d told me, “but you can’t get there unless you know the way.”

So here I was, driving alone in the middle of god knows where with a girl who was my student just a couple of weeks ago. Her and her four best friends had been together from first grade all the way through high school and now they had graduated with very different futures ahead of them. They had decided to kick off “the best summer ever” with a week long stay at Alexis’s family cabin. Alexis and I were heading up before everyone else, the four other girls and four guys.

All of their parents had had concerns, of course. None of them could take the time to chaperone such a trip and many feared what teenagers would get up to out there, even though they were all, legally, adults now. The plan seemed to be dead before it began until Emma brought up the idea of me accompanying them all.

I’d taught the girls US History their sophomore year and Government their senior year. The girls took to me easily and I came to enjoy their company. We got to know each other over the years, but I always remained a detached authority figure. They liked and respected me, and their parents trusted me, which is why all of them agreed as soon as my name was attached. Of course I wasn’t told I would be doing this until after the parent’s agreed. I was hesitant to do it, but I acquiesced in the end.

Being out here now, I was glad I had agreed. The sky looked bluer than in the city, the world more open. A couple of wispy clouds floated lackadaisical over the rolling hills to our left, passing over the empty road to the tree covered mountains to our right. We had the windows halfway down and the air filling my lungs felt like it was renewing me from the inside out.

“Having a cabin out in a place like this must be amazing,” I said. “I’m sure it was nice getting to come out here all the time growing up.”

Alexis chuckled as she gazed out the window, “This isn’t the original cabin. That one is just a little out of town and is like one of those cabins you see in a horror movie. Still nice, just a bit run down ya know?”

“Right,” I nodded.

She went on, “This one is pretty much brand new. My dad got the land from a client like five years ago for some legal work he did and he built

this place and gave the old family cabin to my uncle.”

“Oh,” I said, “is it nice?”

Now she laughed, “Mr. Holloway, it’s a mansion.”

“I told you to call me Sam.”

“Old habits,” she shrugged, “it’s hard to not think of you as Mr. Holloway.”

I moved on and asked, “When is everyone else arriving?”

“McKayla is driving the rest of the girls and they’re an hour or so behind us,” she told me.

“What about Todd and Mike?” I asked, looking across the car at her while she looked out the window. “And McKayla’s not riding up with Evan and his brother?”

“McKayla and Evan broke up,” she stated. “Didn’t really make sense for him and his brother to be there.”

“Suuuuuure,” I drew the syllable out. “And Todd and Mike?”

Her gaze never left the window as she went on, “Well, once we decided about Evan, we felt like we didn’t need two other boys.”

“So it’s just me and you five girls?” I felt my heart beginning to race.

Alexis finally looked towards me, a smirk on her heart shaped face, “Yep.”

My eyes narrowed and I shot her a glance. I didn’t like that they had yet again pulled a fast one on me. Her smile only broadened. I couldn’t see her emerald eyes behind her large round sunglasses, but I could feel the mischief burning there behind the tinted glass.

“Aren’t I a boy?” I objected.

She giggled, “Mr. Holloway, you’re a man, not a boy.”

I skipped the name thing and asked, “And do you parents know about this?”

She shook her head and tucked a loose strand of dark red hair behind her ear. “Of course not.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because you wouldn’t have agreed to come,” she said very matter-of-fact.

I sighed. She was right about that.

“No more tricks, okay?” I said. “I know you’re all not my students anymore, but it would still be very frowned upon if anyone knew.”

She turned her body towards me now, the smile on her lips changing. It became a devious thing, as if she had been waiting for this moment. That wily look on her face also crept into her voice.

“You’re right Mr. Holloway,” she corrected herself, “Sam, we aren’t your students anymore. And as of three weeks ago, we’re all eighteen now.”

A shiver ran down my spine. My mouth went dry. I foolishly asked myself why she would say that, but something deep down knew why. Alexis was a notorious flirt and I’d seen many boys, and a number of my colleagues, become flustered by her with just a few words. Maybe it’s because I’ve been doing this for over a decade, but I had seemingly been immune to her charms. I’d always been able to rebuff her advances or laugh them off, but being alone with her in the car changed the dynamic.

To my chagrin, Alexis went on, “You’re going to be alone with five beautiful women all week, and all of them have massive crushes on you.