"Sof?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you for sharing your parent's story with me."
His words pierced my heart, making it beat just a little bit faster.
"Thank you for listening."
Chapter 16
Simon
Isighedinreliefas I squirted water on my face. We had been hiking for two hours, and the sun was high above us, burning us with its rays.
"If we keep this pace up, we should reach the top within the next thirty minutes," Barron huffed as he checked his watch.
"Great." I poured more water into my mouth before stuffing the bottle back into my backpack. I was hot and tired, but I was also having an awesome time with Barron.
The others decided to do a less intense hike, under an hour, and marked 'Easy' in the hiking guide.
They were probably back at the cabin by now, sipping cold beers. The thought had my mouth watering and gave me even more motivation to finish the trail and return to the cabin. With a cold beer. Preferably sitting next to Sofia.
"C'mon, slowpoke," I punched my cousin playfully. "It's the home stretch."
Barron grinned at me before heading further up the trail, and I smiled as I followed behind him.
It was great spending time with Barron outside of family functions. Even though we got along well enough, our conversations were always stilted and short.
Any worries I had about recapturing our previous brotherly bond were forgotten. Once we got over the initial awkward small talk, we fell naturally into catching up with each other's lives. Barron talked at length about his joy at finally marrying Eden and his worries about keeping up with her and being enough for her.
Instead of making a smart-ass comment about Barron being a pussy for talking about his feelings so openly, I just listened.
I heard the fear in Barron's voice; my cousin was fucking scared of not measuring up to his world-famous supermodel fiancé.
The old me would've made some off-color joke about having cold feet and getting out while he could.
"Listen, cous, Eden loves you. Anyone can see how much that girl adores you. She picked you." I wasn't lying about that. Anyone within a mile radius of the two of them could see their devotion to each other. It was something that I previously scoffed at. But now, I could see the appeal.
Barron had slid me a grateful smile before slapping me on the back. "You're right. I get in my head sometimes when it comes to her. Mainly cos I know she could do way better than her old childhood boyfriend."
"Yeah, especially when she had a legit rockstar to choose from," I joked, referring to Eden's ex-boyfriend.
Barron stared at me open-mouthed before he tipped his head back and roared with laughter. It was a risky gag to make, but we had been shit-talking with each other for most of the morning. I was immensely relieved that he read the jest behind my comment. And also, it was a fucking compliment.
We continued further on before coming across a narrow path that only allowed one person at a time. I fell back a few steps behind my cousin, watching my footing around the tricky terrain. I heard Barron murmur something to a passing hiker, but I couldn't see who he was speaking with since he was already around the bend where the path had become more expansive.
As I rounded the corner, I spotted two young females wearing crop tops and tiny spandex shorts. Their heads were turned as they gazed at Barron's retreating back. When they heard me coming up behind, their eyes widened in surprise before twin sultry smiles covered their faces.
"Hi," one of them called out to me. Annoyingly they stayed standing in the middle of the path.
I gave them a brief smile and a polite nod.
"Heya," I greeted before continuing past them. I had to shift my body to the side to squeeze by. "'Scuse me, ladies."
"Nice day out," one of them purred.
"It's a beauty, alright." My eyes stayed on Barron's back as I kept strolling, leaving the girls standing on the path.
