24 hour YouTube Challenge Pt. 01

Four AM to Five AM

"It's so early here, we're all pretty wiped. Elli's feelin' the weather, you guys can't tell but there's like a freakin' snow storm here. I tell you, I aint never seen so much snow." Ray was giving the update; Elli could hear him talking. Her shivering had masked the vibrating alarm on her smart watch, she'd genuinely lost track of time. Deke was still hunched up against her back, his arm holding the sleeping bag about her. Truth was that Elli had warmed up pretty much completely now, but the cold had sapped her energy, the heater and Deke had her warm, the alcohol was giving her a nice buzz... she just felt too lazy to move from where she was.

"Yeah, that's the latest from here, we'll see you guys again in an hour, if we manage to stary awake that is..." Ray signed off, Elli only half listening to his banter.

The buzzing of her phone snapped Elli out of her stupor. Alert and embarrassed by her over long embrace with Deke, she sat forward, pawing about her for her top.

"Here you go," Deke said holding out her t-shirt, "feeling better?"

"Yes, thank you," Elli replied, pulling on her top before turning around. She rolled her sleeping bag into an untidy bundle, tossing it to one side and pulling her phone out. It was Ahti calling.

"Where's my coat?" Elli asked Deke, not seeing it on the camper van floor.

"Shit, I think I left it outside, I'll grab it now," he slid the side door open, the blast of cold making Elli wince. Deke reappeared a moment later, her coat in his hands, covered in snow that he beat loose before shutting the door once more. Elli looked at her coat, damp from its time outside. She dropped it in front of the heater before retreating to a corner of the van to call Ahti back, her phone having stopped ringing a moment before.

"Hi baby," Elli said in Finnish, pitching her voice low even though she knew Deke and Jay couldn't understand her.

"Elli, is everything okay? I was watching the live stream. The American said you were struggling with weather and cold. Do you need me to come get you?"

"No, it's fine. Forget what Jay said. It's barely snowing, he just doesn't understand a cold climate, exaggerating as well for the video," Elli explained, looking to calm his nerves.

"You are sure? Where were you?"

"I was warming up by the heater, I just felt like taking a break," Elli said, a half lie but one more palatable than the truth. "Again, Jay was making theatre is all, looking to keep the live stream interesting."

"Okay, that's a relief, I worry."

"I know you do," Elli said in her whispering voice, "I love that you worry about me, I care for you the same way."

"Be safe Elli, I can't wait to see you" Ahti said. Elli blew him a kiss down the phone and ended the call.

Looking up from her phone she saw that Jay had rejoined them, his laptop once again in his hands, fingers blurring on the keyboard and touch pad. Deke was sitting on a bean bag chair, head resting against the side of the van, his sleeping bag opened and draped over him like a blanket.

"Want to see what I've got so far?" Jay asked, eyes flickering up at Elli as he spoke.

"Sure, yes of course," she replied, moving to where she could see his screen. He pressed play, Jay had already laid the track for the song over the video, the slow wipers on the windshield chasing away the fat snowflakes that perched on it, revealing Elli standing in the snow, dancing in her coat.

Swoosh the wipers moved across the screen and Elli was still dancing.

Swoosh and now she was moving, same rhythm, same body movements but without her coat on. Her pale white skin seemed almost luminous in the glare of the headlights as she danced.

Swoosh, the magic of the wipers and video editing, Elli still dancing, her coat back on.

"Wow, that's so good!" Elli said, not needing to fake being impressed by the video, Jay had genuinely done a great job.

"Nice one, I'll send it on to you, you can upload it whenever you want then," he replied. Jay glanced over at Deke, sat behind Elli, before closing up his laptop.

"Think I'm gonna close my eyes for a bit, feelin' tired," he announced. He grabbed his own sleeping bag, climbing with it into the front on the van, settling it around himself. Elli peered over and saw Jay lying down, eyes closed already. She looked over at Deke, hoping that he might be asleep as well, they could all do with some shut eye. He wasn't asleep though, holding the bottle of Jaloviina in his hand, taking a swig as she looked on.

"Drink?" He waggled the bottle towards her as he made the offer. Elli wasn't looking to drink anymore but maybe if she took control of the bottle, it might stop Deke drinking. She didn't need him getting drunk and passing out for the next twenty hours, that wasn't going to help her with content for her channel.

"Sure, okay," Elli sat down beside him, the second bean bag chair already in place. She took a drink from the proffered bottle, Deke lifting and dropping the edge of his sleeping bag so it covered her from her waist down. The Jaloviina wasn't all that bad, once she got over the taste, took it in small sips, Elli could handle the taste. The strength of it though, that was another matter. She put the top back on the bottle, already feeling the dulling of her intellect, fearing Deke was going the same way.

"Reminds me of camping when I was a kid," Deke spoke, his voice low as if not to disturb Jay.

"Even with the snow?"

"Okay, no, not the snow or the booze or the cameras or the van. But aside from all that, yeah it does," he laughed.

"I guess it reminds me of it as well," Elli confessed, smiling as she did so. She was only eighteen and she was talking about her childhood like it had been a half century before.

"We used to make smores... marshmallows and chocolate... over a campfire," Deke said, "Loved doin' that."

"We played games, made shadow puppets on the tent walls," Elli said, smiling at the memory.

"Hell,we should play a game then," Deke said.

"No, no more challenges, not right now," Elli protested.

"Nah, nah, a game, like when we were kids. Hey... you ever play marry, kiss, kill?"

"I think... where you say which you will do to a person... that game?" Elli remembered playing it in school as well as camping. "Sure okay."

Deke pulled out his cell phone, he tapped in a search request into Google and then turned the screen towards Elli, a stranger's face, bearded and cross eyed looked at her.

"Kill," she said with a grin.

Another picture, a man who looked like a pirate with an eye patch and terrible teeth.

"Kill," she responded again.

Deke kept swiping, some actors, some singers, mostly strangers. Elli killing most, kissing a few, marrying none.

"Hey," she protested after about thirty pictures, "My go now." Deke lowered his phone, Elli pulling out her own, searching for some random pictures of women online. It occurred to her that she had moved close enough to lean against Deke during the game, the black youth holding his phone in such a way that she'd had to shift to see the screen clearly.

They were quite literally snuggled against one another now, a blanket, courtesy of an unzipped sleeping bag, covering them both. If it wasn't for the fact that she had a boyfriend and that the relationship between herself and Deke was 'professional' in nature, Elli would have accused herself of casually flirting with the handsome black YouTuber.

"Kiss," Deke said regarding a picture of a celebrity that popped up on Elli's phone. He retrieved the bottle, taking a pull on it and passing it to Elli. She didn't even think about it, raising the bottle to her lips and drinking deeply, moving onto the next image.

"Kiss," Deke replied again. A third image, this time a buck toothed grandmother leering at the camera.

"Kiss," he said automatically.

"Are you serious?" Elli said with a laugh. "Kiss? Honestly?"

"What can I say? I'm a lover," Deke grinned at her.

Ten more pictures, Deke responding to each with a 'kiss'.

"If you aren't going to play properly..." Elli huffed, Deke laughing at her pout.

"Shit, now dat does remind me of bein' a kid. 'If you don't play my game'... 'it's my ball, my rules'... damn dat's funny though," Deke chortled, offering the bottle back to Elli. She drank again, the warmth of the alcohol making her forget her own resolution to stay sharp and sober.

"Fine, well your turn then," Elli said, sticking her tongue out at him as she pulled a face.

Deke tapped away on his phone, turning it to Elli after a minute's searching. A handsome black guy, shirtless was the first photo.

"Kiss," Elli said.

Next picture, another black man, another fitness pose, all muscles and toned flesh.

"Kiss," Elli said again.

A third picture, again a black guy, good looking, shirtless.

"Kiss," Elli said, seeing the pattern now. She felt slightly uncomfortable and also a little paranoid. If she made a comment about the choice of images, would Deke call her racist? She didn't think so but she was drunk enough to worry, drunk enough to fear making a stupid error. 'Stick to kiss as an answer' she told herself.

Four, five and six were all in the same vein, all black men showing off amazing upper bodies. To each Elli responded with 'kiss'.

Deke turned the phone back, tapping in another search and Elli felt herself unclench. Thank God he was moving onto something else. The sight of Deke and Jay, shirtless and ripped was still fresh in her mind as was the micro glimpse of porn on Jay's laptop. Even fresher in her mind was the sensation of Deke's hands on her own skin... yes, thank God he was moving to a different image type.

He held the phone up and Elli blurted out 'kiss' as an auto response, the words leaving her mouth even as she saw the picture of a fit black guy, this time totally naked. Deke swiped to the next picture, another naked black guy, his penis fully erect. The memory of Jay's erection distending the front of his pants leapt to her mind.

"Kiss," she said.

Another nude black guy, no face in the picture, just a body shot. A big black cock, veined, savage looking. The man's body, hard and muscled in correlation to the appendage jutting out from it.

"Kiss," Elli response lower now. Confusion, embarrassment and something else making her feel hot beneath the blanket like layer of the sleeping bag.

A picture, this one completely taking her by surprise. The same picture as before only this time with the face included. Deke's face.

"Kiss," a whisper this time.

Elli trembled as Deke's hand, phone discarded, came around to cup her face. His thumb drew slowly, softly across her bottom lip, tracing the curve of it.

"We should stop now," Elli whispered.

"It's just a game, we're just playing a kids game is all," Deke whispered back.

'What about Ahti!' Elli's mind screamed.

"What about Jay?" She said instead.

"He's asleep, 'sides he wasn't playin' the game," Deke murmured, his hand, so big, cupping her face, fingers soft on her cheek, her throat. Elli had a flashback to watch 'The Jungle Book' as a child, the giant snake Kaa, hypnotising the hero, "trust in me..." the snake had sung. Somehow, she felt that she was playing the part of Mowgli, Deke the predator using hypnosis on his prey.

"But...," Elli couldn't think of anything else to say, she was worn out from the long day, the alcohol ran thick through her blood and brain and the shared warmth with Deke under the blanket had turned her lazy and slow-witted. She closed her eyes, an absurd thought that it might break the spell she felt she was under.

In the darkness of her shuttered eyes, the touch of Deke's soft lips against her own came as a sweet surprise, Elli unresponsive as his lips brushed and then settled softly but firmly against her own. She could smell the pungent aroma of the Jaloviina on his lips and breath, his top lip dragged on her bottom one in an erotic tugging of tender flesh.

Elli's lips moved to speak, to declare the game over. Ahti more important to her than being friends with these Americans, more important than piggy-backing on their success to raise her own profile. Her lips moved but soundlessly as instead she kissed Deke back, gently drawing her mouth open and closed as it lay pressed upon his.

If she had said that Ahti meant more to her than her ambitions as a social influencer, things would have stopped there and then. Elli knew that for a fact. But if she had said it, it would have been a lie. They had been dating six months but she had given over five years of her life to building an online following.

Ahti was more than just her first serious boyfriend, he was also the only man she had ever been with sexually, losing her virginity to him three months after they had begun dating, having sex with him eight times since that first night. That had been special, so very special. She had felt things for him that she had never felt for anyone else, her sullen, solemn soldier. Elli didn't know if she loved him, she was eighteen, what she knew of love she got from Taylor Swift lyrics, but she knew that he loved her. That made this betrayal hard, she had always seen herself as a good person, a stranger to dishonesty, hatred and vice. No longer. Kissing Deke was wrong, the greater good was that by keeping him onside, her social influencer ambition, her YouTube subscriber ambitions, were a step closer. As Elli made a soft sound of pleasure, Deke's tongue wetting the crevice between her pursed lips, she resolved to make it up to Ahti somehow. He would never know about this but she would make amends regardless. She'd buy him something nice when her increased ad revenue began to come in.

Elli's lips parted as the shared kiss with Deke grew in intensity. The hand that had been cupping her face dropped slowly, now cupping one of her breasts through her t-shirt. Deke's tongue pressed into her mouth, the passion of his kisses catching Elli off guard, her own passion growing as her body responded to the impropriety of the situation. Making out with a stranger, a dark skinned handsome American, in the middle of nowhere while his friend slept just feet away... in her wildest fantasies Elli never imagined herself capable of such an illicit, immoral act, but there she was, her own hand now touching Deke's muscled body through his top while her pink tongue wrestled heroically against his.

"Mmmph, mmmph," she moaned against his mouth as he squeezed her breast in a manner that suggested proprietary rights. Elli might consider herself as Ahti's girl, Deke seemed to be firmly of the opinion that she was his, at least right now. Her nipples that had swollen erect in a painful manner earlier, hardening against the bite of an artic wind, now puffed out into tender protrusions as Elli's slender body became suffused with endorphins.

Her hand found the base of his t-shirt, surfacing beneath it so that she could trace his abs with inquisitive fingertips. The fact that she had gone under his clothing before he had tried with her, taking the make out session a step further, wasn't lost on Elli. It wasn't lost on Deke either, his own hand copying her actions, burrowing under the hem of her shirt, passing over the soft flat flesh of her belly, instead groping at her breast again, now only her bra between his hand and her soft tit.

"Ummp mmmph," Elli groaned, half turning so her leg draped over his, her crotch pressing into his hip as they feasted hungrily on each other's lips. Elli could feel her body abandoning all illusions of judicious responsibility, a wantonness manifesting in a damp heat in her crotch as she fondled and kissed Deke, groped and tongued in return. The arm she had draped around his neck now gently hummed at the wrist as her watch warned her of the approaching live stream. Elli ignored it, kissing Deke deeply, pushing her tongue into his mouth as she wallowed in the guilty pleasure of making out with him.

"Stop... we need to stop," Deke said, using both of his hands to take Elli by the shoulders and ease her away from him.

Her dark blue eyes showed the surge of disappointment she felt at his actions. Elli didn't know it but Deke read the signs as if it was spelt out in ten feet high neon lights. Elli had no poker face.

"You got to do the live stream, you missed the last one," Deke explained, Elli's pout showing that she wasn't mollified despite the sensibleness of his words.

"Fine," Elli said, spinning away from him. She peeked over the edge of the seats, Jay still lying on his back across the driver and passenger seats, apparently still firmly in the land of nod. Not wanting to wake him, Elli crossed her arms as she leaned on the back of the seat, her eyes watching for the first flash of the red LED light to show the wed camera was live.

Five AM to Six AM

"Hey everyone," Elli said in a stage whisper to the camera. She pointed down at the sleeping Jay, knowing he would be visible on camera.

"As you can see, we are five hours into the challenge and it's been tough so far. Mostly the long drive here tired us out and we were doing some challenges as well to pass the time. Jay's asleep and Deke... uhh, Deke's asleep as well." Behind her, Elli could feel Deke's hands settling on her waist as she knelt on the camper van's floor.

"I'm going to try get a few hours' sleep as well. It's five AM here, sun won't come up till after nine AM this time of year, so I want to make use of the darkness... uh the darkness while I, while I have it." She tried to be professional but Deke's fingers were at the front of her jeans, the buttons at the waist and the fly popping apart as he tugged on them.

"Sorry guys, I am tired as well, so it's hard keeping my thoughts straight with all that's happening... I mean with all that's happened." Deke was dragging her jeans down over her hips, down past her neat little ass, the denim gathering midway down her thighs.

"Yes, yes... ummm, yes, so I will see you all in an hour, or probably Jay will see you. Deke and I will be... will be... uh, sleeping. Okay... got to go. Uh, bye." She had barely kept it together as she felt his finger on the front of her panties, knowing he'd feel the damp heat beneath them.

"What are you doing?" Elli hissed over her shoulder at Deke. "Jay, he is right here."

"Don't wake him then." Deke suggested. He was on his knees as well, no longer seeking to hide so that the camera wouldn't see him. He inched forward, his knees either side of hers, his powerful body in tight behind her leaving Elli with no option but to remain where she was.

Deke's arms enfolded her lower body, one hand returning to her crotch, a finger rubbing gently against her panties, the material seeming to moisten more and more as he pushed his finger against it to tease her clit and the soft lips of her labia.

"Oh God!" Elli said in Finnish, an unspoken prayer for guidance and fortitude running through her mind. The kissing had been harmless, barely even registering as 'cheating'. What was happening now though was firmly in the infidelity camp, there was nothing she could tell herself that might offer her some semblance of self-delusion that her actions were in some way excusable.

She needed a sign, something to tell her that this was okay, that she could let this happen and everything would be okay, would return to normal. 'Ahti, if Ahti calls then I will stop' she thought, feeling the phone in her skinny jeans pressing against her leg. Deke's finger skimmed at the edge of her panties, teasing a potential entry beneath then but then returning to rubbing her through the material itself.

"Ohhhh, oh God" she moaned. God didn't appear to be listening and Ahti must have been asleep because there was no phone call as a looked-for sign to stop. Elli needed to do it herself.