“You texted me first.”
“That I did.” Brent took a deep breath. “I thought we could start over.”
Evan stuck out his hand. “I’m Ev. I help people make wine.”
“Brent. Firefighter.”
“Tough job.”
“It can be.” Brent shrugged. “I get a fair amount of down time, though.”
“So you get days off for hiking.”
“I do.”
Evan nodded. “Good.” He turned to his car and popped the trunk, grabbing a small backpack from it, before gesturing to the trail. “After you.”
A jolt of awareness zapped through Brent. There was something in the way—
Evan grinned. “So I can stare at your ass.”
Brent blushed. “We’ll have to take turns, then. Because…”
Evan stepped right up to him. “Say it.”
Brent lifted his head. Their mouths were millimetres apart. “Because I might want to stare you, too.”
“Good.” For a second, Brent was sure Evan was going to kiss him, but then the other man stepped back. “It’s about an hour and a half to the top of the ridge. Think we can do it in an hour?”
“You’re competitive.” Something inside Brent jolted to the fore.
“In the worst way.”
“Bring it on.” Brent pivoted and headed straight to the trailhead, checking his watch. “An hour, you say?”
“Anything under an hour and fifteen is a good time.”
It was a steeper climb than Brent had expected, but he powered forward. The spring run off had left the ground soft, which made the hike more challenging in spots, but at least it wasn’t scorching hot like at the height of summer.
“Good weather for this,” he said between pants when they hit a part of the trail that was two-man wide.
“Great weather.” Evan glanced at his wrist. “You’re just behind the pace for an hour, by the way. This meadow up ahead is the halfway point.”
“Then get going,” Brent said, thumping him on the shoulder.
Evan wiggled his eyebrows above those aviators and took off jogging.
Oh, it was like that, was it?
Brent settled in at the same pace behind him, and yes, he enjoyed the view in front of him. Evan was big and broad across the shoulders, with long legs covered in dark, fuzzy hair. And in between bobbed his ass.
Brent wanted to grind against him. Reach around and hold the other man’s cock, jerk him off, and—
He tripped over a root gutting over the ground. With a yell, he pinwheeled forward, his hands catching the dirt briefly before he righted himself.
His shoes were now fully caked in mid, God damn it.
“You okay?” Evan asked, turning around.
