We didn’t reach the summit in time to catch the geyser go off,but we stopped in the middle of the trail on the way up, watching it through the trees.
And when we did reach the top, the sun had just kissed the tops of the hills in the distance, turning everything bright orange, making the flat area around Old Faithful look like some giant had spilled gold in the valley.
“Holy fuck!” Ella squealed as the trail plateaued. “Holy fuck, we did it!”
“You’re stronger than you think you are,” I said, my grin matching hers.
Her smile slipped just a bit, and she looked to her feet, dragging her toe through the dirt in senseless patterns as she said, “Sometimes, I don’t think so.”
I stepped closer to her, tucking my pointer finger under her chin and tilting her head up until she met my eyes once again.
“I promise, you are. The way you carried yourself after the breakup. All those times in the flower shop when someone made a backhanded comment about how they admired you taking a quaint little job instead of working for the family business. Every single holiday where Alfie quietly talked shit about your family and you put him in his place every day. Over the course of the last year, watching your sisters find their happily ever afters when your own relationship was slowly falling apart, and being happy for them despite it all. You’resofucking strong. More so than you even realize, I think. But if I have to remind you every day, I’ll do so happily.”
Ella blinked slowly, seemingly at a loss for words. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she swallowed hard and finally spoke.
“You’ve been watching me?” she whispered.
I exhaled slowly, my breath sending the tendrils of hair around her face fluttering. “For years, Wildflower.” I tipped my forehead against hers and closed my eyes. “The real question is, what’re you going to do about it?”
Without warning, she threw herself into my arms and captured my lips with hers.
I was so stunned, my entire body went rigid, my lungs burning as I held my breath. I’d asked the question that led us here, had forced her hand, but my brain had no time to catch up with reality before she was pulling away, slapping a hand over her mouth.
“Oh my god,” she breathed through her fingers. “Fuck, Wills. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what got into me. That was a mist—”
I didn’t give her the chance to finish that word, didn’t allow her to take it back. I simply wrapped her in my arms, my eyes locked on hers to make sure she was okay with this. Her breath hitched slightly, but she didn’t push me away. With one hand anchored at her hip and the other coming up to cup the back of her head, I pulled her to me and slanted my mouth over hers.
My mind was blissfully empty as we sank into the kiss, at first a slow, tentative slide of our lips that became hungrier and hungrier by the second.
Even now that I’d made the first move, I was having difficulty recognizing this as anything other than a fantasy. I’d wanted this for so long, had spent so many hours over the last four years daydreaming about this very moment, that I couldn’t believe it was finally happening.
Her body was soft and warm against all of my hard planes, herhair tickling my forearm as she angled her head a certain way, getting closer, licking her way into my mouth until our tongues tangled.
She tasted like fresh air and freedom.
A drop of moisture hit my cheek, and I jerked back, confused, eyes darting across Ella’s face, searching for any sign that she was, inexplicably, crying.
All I found there was a sated expression, her eyes still closed, mouth open slightly.
“More,” she breathed.
As though we timed it that way, right as I leaned in to give her what she wanted…the fucking sky opened up.
Ella pulled away from me and squealed, throwing her hands up to shield herself, but it was no use. We were soaked in seconds. All we could do was stand there in the downpour and stare at each other.
She tipped her head back and laughed, water sluicing down the delicate column of her neck and turning her white tank sheer so the bright purple sports bra she had on beneath it practically glowed.
I reached for her hand and shouted, “Let’s get out of here!”
We raced back down the trail toward the parking lot at its base, mindful of the mud and rivers forming beneath our feet. We slipped and slid our way, holding onto each other for dear life, both of us cackling the entire way.
Finally, we approached the parking lot and threw ourselves into the van. I immediately turned it over, kicking the heaters up into high gear to hopefully slice through some of the chill settling on our bones.
I glanced down at myself, at the puddles forming on the carpet floor mats beneath my feet, at the moisture seeping into the seat beneath our asses, and grinned at Ella.
“I’m never getting my deposit back.”
Ella, who had barely calmed from her hysterical laughter from before, once again broke into a fit of giggles, swiping at her face as she did so. I couldn’t help laughing alongside her. The last half hour had been surreal, like a fever dream I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to wake up from.
