“I wouldn’t mind that at all. Not one bit,” she laughed. I kissed her hand as we reviewed the trails. “We’re going for the easy trail, right?” She glanced at me.
“Yep. I’m not trying to kill you. I just thought this might be nice, and not boring.”
She inhaled a deep breath. “It’s definitely not boring, that’s for sure.”
We picked the trail we wanted to walk and I handed her a bottle of water.
“I don’t want you falling out on me,” I told her.
“I won’t. Promise.” California blue skies all the way around. A familiar bird call rang out. One I knew. I looked up to a circling eagle above the pine trees. “Wow. This is the best. Thank you for bringing me.” Misty looked up at the sky right along with me.
“You’re welcome.” I squeezed her hand. The gravel from the trail crunched underneath our feet as we admired wildflowers and cute squirrels along the way. “So you said you’ve been here for ten years. Where were you before that?” I enquired.
“I lived with my family in Mexico City.”
“That’s different. Did you like it there?”
“I mean, it was okay. I like it better here.” She picked at a flower along the way and put it in her hair. A little Puerto Rican wild child.
“How about you, where are you from?” she asked. I decided to opt out about speaking on Outlaw Souls. I wanted the connection to be pure between us. We could get to the finer details later on.
“La Playa for eight years. Long time there.” I glanced at her. She looked so free out here. “So, this morning you had me pick you up from McDonald’s. Is that a precautionary measure? Have you got a man at home?” Direct bullet, shot straight. Misty swung her head to look at me.
“Nope. No man at home. I live with my brother right now and he can get a little funny.” Was she telling me the truth? I’d been down this road before. Plus, she was a med student and ten years younger than me. I didn’t want another Crystal situation on my hands.
The Cali heat started kicking in. When I’d looked at the weather beforehand it said mild-low sixties but the weather channel lied. My brow had beads of unnecessary sweat on it.
“So what’s your brother do? Looking out for you, huh?” Turns out Misty was pretty fit. She was a few steps ahead of me. Fine by me; I got to watch her ass and to torture myself with lusty desire.
“Something like that. My brother works with computers and stuff. Likes bikes,” she mumbled. “Catch up. Come on!” Her lithe body moved effortlessly as we walked farther on the trail. I didn’t want to take her too far. Just enough so we could walk and talk. Get to know one another.
“He likes bikes? I like him already.” Might be a chance to get him in the chapter. Although if I had no long-term interest in Misty, it could potentially blow up in my face.
“What about you? What are you going to do in Merced?” She puffed a little.
“I have a few things in mind. One of them I’m already doing.” She eyed me suspiciously. Brought out a devious smile from me.
“What would that one thing be?”
My face feigned innocence.
“Oh. Only that I found a place. Accommodation. Let’s stop here. Chill. I’m not trying to get fit or anything. I just wanted to do something different with you.” I caught up with her and grabbed her from behind in a bear hug. If I wanted to crush her, I could. She was so lightweight. But that was not what I wanted. I just wanted to be near her. She had this tantalizing quality about her that I couldn’t stay away from.
“I like that you did this. Even though you're ducking my questions,” she said. Okay. We were playing a game.
“You’re ducking too. You wouldn’t let me pick you up from your house.” She lifted her hair from the back of her neck. The heat and the walk made us both sticky. I handed her a water bottle.
“I told you why.” She stepped back a little and surveyed me. “Don’t you trust me?” she teased.
“Should I? I mean we just met. Takes time.”
She guzzled down her water and looked around the park. We stopped in an open area and I sat on top of the park bench. Misty stood, stretching out her legs. I watched her closely. I hadn’t realized how athletic she was.
“That’s true. My brother can be overprotective so I want to just chill on it. He might start asking too many questions.” Her cat eyes danced in the sunlight. I noticed the brown specks in them. So far, it sounded legit. I would let it drop for now. “What did you say you do again?” she asked. I set my jaw. You can’t talk, then I won’t either.
“I didn’t. I’m just chilling right now. Nothing going.” She raised her brows and cast her eyes to the mountain.
“Just chilling? What does that even mean? Are you retired or something? Are you doing something illegal?” Irritation laced her voice. I was getting under her skin. A little spice never hurt anyone. I wanted to bring it out a little.
