Why the hell did I get myself into this mess?I questioned as I huffed and puffed my way up the rocky ass hill. I wasn’t a punk, though. I refused to complain as I forced myself to put one foot in front of the other as we ran. Besides, the view from behind Micah could be a hell of a lot worse.
Sure, beautiful greenery and forests stretched for miles around us. The backdrop of a rushing stream could be heard in the distance, also. Yet, watching his strong leg muscles clench and strain as he raced up the hill in the running shorts, while shirtless, was more than I could’ve asked for.
“He’s pretty good to look at, huh, boy?” I glanced down at Hound, who ran alongside me while I held onto his leash. He barked, and I laughed and turned ahead to see Micah glancing back over his shoulder at us.
“We’re almost there. The overlook is a sight to see,” he called.
“I’m already looking at the view I got out of bed for this morning,” I saucily yelled back. He was only a few feet ahead of me, but between my heavy breathing and the pace we were moving, I needed to increase my voice’s volume.
His eyes narrowed, causing more than sweat to develop between my legs.
We ran for another ten minutes before coming to an opening at the top of a hill.
“This … is what … we got up early for,” he said, coming to a stop at the overlook.
I paused to catch my breath and looked around. My eyes widened at the sight before me. He was right. This view was worth getting up before the sun.
“Wow.” I placed my hands on my hips and continued to stare at the beautiful array of purples, oranges, and pinks that lined the sky as the sun began peeking over the hills in the distance.
“This is the Texas Hill Country, baby.”
“Eep,” I yelped when he smacked me on the ass.
“I’m taking up the rear on the way back. I want the chance to get a different view.”
I laughed as he wiggled his eyebrows at his corny ass joke. “You move too fast to run behind me.”
“I’ll slow down.”
I frowned, knowing that he’d likely slowed down his pace on the way up just not to lose me. I was pretty sure Hound could’ve gone faster as well. They both kept a slower pace for me.
“How many miles was that?”
He checked the fitness watch on his wrist. “Little over three miles.”
“That’s it? Gosh, that felt like at least six,” I blurted out before dramatically collapsing to the ground, laying with my limbs splayed on the ground. My eyes were closed, but I felt a shadow and presence move over me. Grinning, I opened my eyes to see Micah standing directly over me, with his legs on either side of my body.
“You’re dripping sweat on me.” I tried to act disgusted.
“I’ve dripped a hell of a lot more of my bodily fluids on you.”
If I were a shy woman, my cheeks would’ve flamed with embarrassment at his comment. His statement was true. I’d been acquainted with a variety of Micah’s bodily fluids, and he mine.
“Give me your hand,” he said, extending his hand out to me.
I took it and found myself back on my feet in what felt like an instant.
“What do you see?” he asked as he stood behind me.
I looked over my shoulder with a wrinkled forehead. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, what’s around you? You’ve taken self-defense classes, right? You know how to observe your surroundings. Tell me what you see.”
I stared at him for a moment longer, trying to discern what the purpose of this was. There was a severe expression on his face as if this meant something to him. For once, I decided to stuff my questions and looked around to answer his question.
“I see the sunrise. Beautiful colors in the sky. Um, hills—”
“Closer.”
