As August dwindled to a close marking their first full month in this new home, the average daily temperature dropped from the upper seventies to the mid-seventies, while the nights almost always were about ten degrees cooler. Though the temperature change wasn’t all that drastic yet, it couldn’t help making them all wonder what the later months might actually bring. On that thought, the four came to the conclusion that while the weather was still pleasant, they would have to seriously consider more sturdy shelter than just the simple tents.

As they were indeed surrounded by numerous trees, the four decided they would try to take advantage of that resource. It was a fairly easy decision once Kyle reminded them of the emergency repair tools that were still back at the pod, including a hammer, nails, and even an axe. Upon hearing of these additional resources, Ian agreed to do most of the physical labor. Kyle would of course offer his advice on what would be the most structurally sound build. This left Jared to locate and obtain the materials that would come in most handy for the building of this new shelter. Lili herself would just be required to help with anything that required more than one pair of hands. Upon forming their plan, they then went about beginning this very lengthy endeavor.

At the end of the first of many days of gathering materials, Lili moved down to the riverbank where Kyle was finishing a late night snack of a piece of fruit that had also been among the items gathered that day. Jared and Ian had already headed into their own tents for the night while Lili was plagued with her usual insomnia.

“You really do have a lot of trouble sleeping, don’t you?” Kyle smiled over at her sympathetically as he took his last bite while she moved to sit next to him as the hour neared one.

“I seem to recall you quite enjoying that fact over several nights of these last couple weeks,” she smirked as she laid her head against his shoulder.

“Hey it wasn’t a complaint,” he smiled down at her as she only allowed a slight smile. “That mean you want me to uh, help you sleep again tonight?” he teased with a bit of deviousness.

“Not like the other two seem interested,” she mumbled.

“Jared sounded pretty interested when you guys were in the tent together last night,” Kyle couldn’t help taunting her.

“Shut up,” she chuckled with the slightest blush.

“Oh, so we’re referring to the other supposedly uninterested party. I see,” he stated knowingly.

“I just don’t get it. I seriously don’t,” she returned with a slight sigh.

“It does seem to be making you a little…”

“What?” she asked with a bit of defensiveness as she looked back up at him.

“Sorry, but he drove you nuts when he kept trying to get you into bed and now that he’s not trying to, he’s, uh, driving you nuts.”

Lili just scoffed as she looked down again. “I would’ve settled for some gray area in between,” she admitted.

“Grayer than constantly shoving his tongue down your throat every time you guys are within three feet of each other?” Kyle couldn’t help calling her on that.

“Yeah, and then saying goodnight and going to sleep, or else wandering off to do anything else,” she scoffed again, which only caused another slight chuckle from Kyle. “Glad you’re amused.”

Kyle just shook his head before taking a deep breath. “Maybe I should take this opportunity to apologize.”

“For?” she asked as she looked up at him warily.

“That day before you guys started with the uh, constant tonsil hockey…” he began, “I kinda said something to him that I think he really took and ran with.”

“Ok...like…what?” she asked slowly as she narrowed her eyes up at him.

“I kinda implied that he needed to make sure you knew he wanted to do more than just…that he needed to make sure you knew that he actually cared and didn’t just want another lay,” he added more quietly.

She sighed heavily as she looked down again, “Well, it’s not like that is honestly bad advice,” she admitted. “But it’s been nearly a month and he knows I sleep with you guys, and I’m pretty sure he knows I’m willing to be with him like that, too….but still…” she just shook her head.

“Mmm hmm,” he stated with another knowing half-smile.

“Mmm hmm, what?” she asked as she looked back up at him again.

“He’s good. He’s really good,” Kyle smirked.

“And you are referring to what, exactly?” she asked warily.

“Like you said, he knows you’re with either me or Jared on this night or that. Yet there’s still a lot more nights like this one.”

“What do you mean?” she continued in the same slow, confused tone.

“Nights where you’re with one of us and we’re here just thinking about how much we can’t wait to be inside you again, and you’re staring up at that tent wondering why Ian isn’t down here with you. Like I said, he’s good,” he told her with a smile before making his way back to his own tent once again. Only a brief moment then passed before, with an exasperated sigh, Lili entered the tent behind him. Inside, he had already removed his t-shirt in preparation for bed. “Yes?” he asked upon her arrival.

“Oh no you don’t,” was her perturbed greeting as she moved to push him onto his back and straddle his hips as she began freeing him of his jeans while he just looked up at her with more than a bit of amusement.

Without allowing him time to think of much in the way of a response, she tossed his jeans away and proceeded to pull her own clothing from her body with more than a touch of deliberateness. She quickly finished ridding them each of the last bits of their clothing and easily took advantage of his nearly immediate arousal, sliding him deep inside her once again, where she then began to grind against him atop his hips, which easily met hers with almost as much purposefulness as she now displayed, almost.

It didn’t take long for her to push herself to her own climax above him, which never ceased to just about immediately trigger his as well. For many breathless minutes following those orgasms, she leaned over him while both their hearts raced to recover from the encounter. “Ok, need drink now,” was the only response she managed after a few more long moments of their post-coital embrace. Lili then shakily lifted her body up off of his and reached for a nearby cup from their pre-packaged meals that now held water from the river instead.

“Wow, I need to piss you off more often,” he couldn’t help teasing once she finally lay back beside him, pulling the cover up over them both.

“Shut up,” she told him, biting back her own grin.

“So that’s angry sex, huh? Yet another first you’ve provided me with,” he couldn’t help his continued teasing as he rolled to his side to look down at where she still lay on her back while trying to recover her own breath.

“See previous statement,” she told him pointedly as she wrinkled her nose over at where he continued to grin down at her.

Kyle allowed his own little chuckle as he moved to gently kiss her forehead and cheek. “Ok, but you gotta admit something here.”

“I do, huh?” she returned with a raised brow.

“And that’s that Ian’s not the only one who knows how to get to you,” he whispered wryly.

“Oh fuck off,” she laughed loudly.

“Ok, I hereby apologize for so adeptly using reverse psychology to assure us each a really great orgasm tonight. I’m deeply ashamed, truly,” he added, nearly having to force back a laugh through his own words.

Lili just shook her head through her own continued smile. “Yeah, you’ve definitely spent too much time with Ian.”

“Does that mean I don’t get cuddles now?” he asked innocently.

She shook her head in disbelief. “Who taught you this puppy dog routine so well, huh?”

“Well I am a genius, remember? Plus you always were my favorite teacher. If only I knew then just how good the lessons were really gonna get,” he teased.

She scoffed again. “And you have the nerve to ask for cuddles.”

“Oh you know I’m adorable,” he chuckled as he pulled her closer and covered her mouth with his own, which easily caused her to wrap her arms around him, giving in, and providing him with those wanted cuddles after all.

By the end of that first only slightly cooler week of September, Lili’s body once again informed her that she hadn’t yet conceived this mystery child during her number of encounters with either Kyle or Jared. And of course, that still was not even a remote possibility with Ian, as he still had not taken full advantage of any of her advances yet himself.

Considering the halt in any kind of sexual activity for the duration of that particular week of the month, Lili had much more time to ponder Ian’s behavior as she watched them go about beginning to build some kind of more substantial shelter than the tents would ever be if the weather did suddenly take a turn for the worse.

That late September afternoon, Kyle and Jared were gathering the next bit of building materials as Ian was working away at the actual building of the frame of the shack, or cabin, or whatever it was indeed going to turn out to be in the end. Lili approached their selected location, which was about fifty feet off the water’s edge, and sighed heavily as she leaned upon the nearest tree.

“Good afternoon to you too,” Ian teased in response to her sighed greeting and her less than joyous body language, though he simply continued with his own task regardless of her approach.

“I just don’t get it,” she stated with a bit of defeat.

“It being?” he asked as he only glanced briefly at her out of the side of those eyes while continuing to go about his work.

“You,” she stated simply.

“Should I even try to guess what that’s in relation to?” he offered with a raised eyebrow as well as a smirk while still keeping himself busy throughout the conversation.

“Do you really have to?” she returned with a slight scowl.

“If I’m supposed to be answering questions, maybe they should be a bit more specific,” he chuckled, his mood still seeming light despite hers obviously not being quite as much so.

“We’ve been here a month. Over a month, really,” she stated with a touch of complaint to her tone.

“Yes we have,” he agreed with a slight nod as he went about moving the next section of wood into place.

Lili just scoffed as she shook her head. “So seriously, how long are you gonna keep this up?”

“And what am I keeping up?” he couldn’t help the smirk at his own words.

“Interesting choice of words,” Lili returned, narrowing her eyes further at where he didn’t even make much eye contact with her as he continued his work despite her obvious unease over whatever it was that she was trying to say without really saying it at all. “I just…I don’t get it!” she repeated.

“Is ‘it’ me again this time?” he chided.

“I mean, every time we kiss or lie together, or touch, I can tell that you’re enjoying it, so to speak. So…?” she finally managed to force an attempt at some sort of explanation out, though it sounded more like an accusation than a statement of fact.

“Is there more to that question or are we just stating the basics of, what do they call it, a psychosexual reaction?” he then grinned slightly. “With words like that I must be hanging with the geniuses too much, eh?”

“For crying out loud Ian, I know you get turned on any time I get close to you!”

“Isn’t that uh, the proper reaction?” he allowed another wry smile back at her.

Lili just sighed in frustration as she then took a seat on the pile of logs near the building site, running her hands through her hair as she did so. “So, what is it?” she finally asked after another moment.

“What is….what?” he asked with a further raise of his eyebrow.

“The problem, apparently!” she exclaimed again. “You obviously want to!” she added.

Ian let out another chuckle at her obvious annoyance. “Don’t most guys ‘want to?’” he couldn’t help.

Another annoyed sigh on her part before Lili had another thought. “Is that it?” she looked back up at him. “Is it because of Kyle and Jared, and me being with them?” she added more quietly as she continued to desperately attempt to catch his gaze.

Ian just shook his head though continued wearing his smile. “I’ve known about Jared since before we got here and I’ve known about Kyle since the first night you were with him. So I’m not sure what the question is supposed to be there,” he offered as he moved another section of the frame into place.

Lili just let out another exasperated sigh as she stood once more while centering another annoyed scowl on Ian. “You are easily the most impossible man, anywhere…even before you were one of the last three on the whole planet!” she complained as she stormed away, leaving him to just shake his head after her, though somehow he still wore an amused look as he did so.