“A go at me?”
Cobb nodded. “I don’t get a go at anyone but whores,” he stated, just a little angry. “And they won’t let me have a go at Emm. Emm’s not for me. That’s what they say.”
Sam shivered, mostly because the wind on her wet clothes was making her cold, but also from the idea of letting Cobb have a go at her. She even pulled Bull’s head around to leave, but did not spur him on. She glanced back at the food, then again at the bow.
Cobb’s face brightened. “You want to have a go with me?” Cobb asked.
She shook her head. “No,” she answered and he looked crestfallen. “Could I have your bow? I’ll trade you a blanket for it,” she said hopefully.
Cobb frowned. “My bow…. for a blanket. No… no trade. You think Cobb is stupid. Cobb has lots of blankets, not worth a bow any day,” he added, clearly put off.
“I don’t think you’re stupid,” Sam answered hastily, her eyes moving back to the food as if they had a will of their own. She’d not eaten for two days now and had been on the move almost constantly. Hunger was quite literally eating at her brain, making it hard to think of anything else.
“A blanket for some food?” She put forth, though now without much hope. She knew she should leave, but still she sat there, and most shocking to her was the fact that in her hunger, she was actually considering ‘having a go with him.’
“No…no,” Cobb said clearly relishing his part as trader, and though at first she believed others may have taken advantage of Cobb because of his simple nature, now she was not so sure.
“Food…and the bow, for a go,” Cobb finally said, sweetening the deal. “You look nicer than Emm,” he added as if this might help woo her.
Sam thought for a moment…debating, then the reality of the situation thrust itself into the forefront of her thoughts. Was she actually considering letting this man…a stranger no less, be intimate with her? She could not believe it was true, but then her stomach clenched painfully again, obviously casting its vote. She was just as shocked when all at once; she slid from the saddle of her horse.
“Just one go,” she said even now not truly believing what she was doing, but going two days without food, and the prospect of going a third had a way of changing your mindset. She suddenly wished she’d eaten more in the briar but at the time she’d been too sick with worry. Thinking back she realized she’d only eaten two decent meals in the past week. She was not accustomed to going without and she was quickly losing weight and strength.
Cobb nodded vigorously. “One go,” he agreed and put out his hand to shake. She didn’t take it at first.
“And arrows,” she added making sure she was not going to get taken. Cobb frowned again.
“Cobb is no cheat,” he said indignantly. “What good is a bow without arrows?”
“Arrows then…and only one go,” she said and to her complete disbelief she saw herself reach out and shake Cobb’s hand, and it was then that a possible way out of this came to her. She allowed Cobb to pull her closer.
“May I see the bow first,” she began with a sweet smile. “It looks so big I may not be strong enough to pull it back.”
Cobb thought about it for a moment and then smiled back at her. “Yes…yes, Cobb is strong, but you look strong too,” he said and slapped her hard on the back before leading her around the fire and food, to the bow. Her thoughts were momentarily distracted by the sweet smell of bacon until he held out the bow for her to try. Sam forced herself to ignore the food, which was so very close, and collected the bow, then with an easy motion bent and picked up an arrow. She notched it and pulled it back as far as she could. Her arms were shaking, she was much weaker than she had suspected, but she managed to bring the point of the arrow around so that it lined up with Cobb’s midsection. He was smiling at her.
“See…see,” he said. “You are strong for such a little girl.” She continued to hold the arrow pointed at him, and finally his smile began to falter.
“I need your food,” Sam said, and began to back away from him toward the fire, but she made absolutely sure that her aim was still on him. She didn’t want to, but she would kill him if it came to that. But then his face fell, not into fear or anger, but into deep, deep sadness.
“Cobb, I can’t have a go with you,” she said trying to explain. “But I need your food and the bow. Won’t you help me?”
Cobb shook his head. “I need a go…please. You promised. We shook on it,” he answered still sad, and a little indignant.
“Cobb…” she began and then had to release the tension on the arrow. She could not hold it any longer and was afraid that it would be accidentally pulled from her grip. The smell of the food was really getting to her. Her stomach was now painfully clenching almost continuously, and she was beginning to feel faint.
“Please,” Cobb said before she could continue. “Cobb won’t hurt you. Cobb never hurts girls.”
Samantha studied him for a moment longer, then made up her mind and put down the bow. “I have to eat first,” she said, and Cobb beamed at her. His happiness seemed to permeate the entire camp, and she couldn’t help but smile back, though she was far from looking forward to their promised encounter. ‘What does in matter?’ She thought to herself. ‘My virginity is already gone.’ These thoughts left her as Cobb moved past and began to scoop out a helping of beans onto a tin plate. He held it out with a smile.
“Eat,” he said and she didn’t need a second invitation. She took the plate and squatted as close to the fire as she could. The first bite was so hot that she had to spit it back onto the plate when it began to burn her mouth. Cobb laughed, but turned around from where he was sitting and grabbed a canteen full of water. He handed it to her and she took it without a word. She followed the next bite up with a sip of water to cool it, and was sure she had never tasted anything so wonderful, not even the blackberries.
She ate the plate of beans just as quickly as she could, and felt immensely better. She was still far from satisfied, and as the beans cooled and her stomach began to fill she realized that they tasted, in fact, very good.
“These are excellent beans, Cobb,” She held the plate out for more, and Cobb grinned at her, nodding and filled her plate again, but when he was done, she placed the plate on a flat part on the rocky ground and walked to Bull.
Cobb immediately stood up behind her. She glanced back. “No tricking,” she said without a smile. She pulled off the saddle, then the blanket beneath. She patted Bull on the neck then turned back to the fire.
“Cobb, do you have a rope to hobble Bull?” She asked.
“Ummm,” Cobb said with a nod of his head and then he moved off down the path to his boat, still beached along the riverbank. She used the time while he was gone to strip out of her wet clothing. She flattened them out as close to the fire as she could without singeing them, so that they lay next to Cobb’s. She was just wrapping the blanket around her naked body when Cobb returned. She squatted down once more and took up her plate, completely unaware that her right leg was plainly visible up past her knee. Cobb however, was very aware of her soft white flesh and eyed it hungrily as she ate another plateful of delicious beans.