“We’re here,” she said cheerfully.
She really was a happy person, I thought. Like sunshine. Where I was serious most the time – or cold and aloof as most described me -- Hailey seemed to take life at face value and enjoy whatever came her way. It was another important lesson I could learn from her.
We started up the trail, stepping over rock and roots. Huge trees surrounded us, giving us the illusion that we were totally alone out here.
“The trail gets a little smoother after about a quarter of a mile,” Hailey assured me. “But it does the job of keeping casual hikers on other trails.”
It was a beautiful day, chilly but sunny, and I inhaled deeply, enjoying the sensation of fresh, smog-free air, something I never got in Los Angeles. Hailey was a shorter than me, but clearly had a good base of fitness, because she wasn’t even breathing heavily by the time we reached the first scenic overlook a mile up thetrail. One minute we were surrounded by trees, then we went around a bend and suddenly we could see for miles. I gasped.
“This is beautiful,” I said reverently, looking out the mountains in the distance.
“I love it up here,” she said, taking a drink from the water bottle she carried in a pack.
She handed it to me, and I gratefully took a sip, enjoying the intimacy of drinking from the same container. On impulse, I moved behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist and resting my chin on her shoulder as we looked out in the distance. After holding herself still for a few seconds, Hailey relaxed against me, and I pulled her closer, feeling like I’d just won a People’s Choice award or something.
After a few minutes of staring at the incredible view, we started hiking again, still heading uphill through the trees.
“There’s another scenic overlook in about a mile and a half,” she said. “If we go there and turn around, we’ll get five miles in. Is that okay for you?”
“Sure.”
She nodded approvingly. “I wasn’t sure if you were used to hiking.”
“I’m not, but I run three miles on the treadmill most days and take dance classes and pilates.”
I resisted saying that I did it to keep fit, wanting my body to look good on camera. I was trying to rewire my brain one conversation at a time. Maybe I could just be fit to feel good, I decided. I liked the idea of focusing on making my body strong instead of thin. I liked that idea a lot.
“I can’t believe you live some place where it’s warm outside year round and you don’t go hiking,” she said.
“I lay out by the pool, but it’s smoggy and I have a hard time ditching the paparazzi if I go anywhere in L.A. Plus hiking surrounded by bodyguards isn’t fun.”
“How are you here without them?” she asked curiously.
“I’ve learned how to ditch them over the years,” I explained. “I wanted to be alone. Besides, traveling with bodyguards just draws more attention to me I’m sure my security chief Rick is apoplectic by now though.”
“I question the quality of your security team if you can give them the slip so easily.”
Hmm. She had a good point there.
We hiked along, chatting easily, and by the time we got to the second overlook, we were both sweating and breathing a littlebit heavier after climbing uphill most of the way. It was a challenging hike for sure, but completely worth it just for the views. We’d only passed a single hiker and a couple of trail runners the entire time we were hiking, and none of them had given me a second look.
The view up here was even more spectacular than the first place we stopped. We could see for miles – all lush greenery and snow-capped mountains. This part of the woods really felt like it was the middle of nowhere.
Hailey and I sat on a boulder, looking over the valley below us and sharing some water. When she handed me a Kind bar from her pack I practically snatched it out of her hand, sorry that I hadn’t eaten before we left like she’d suggested. After what had turned out to be a pretty strenuous hike, I was ravenous. We sat in a companionable silence, eating our Kind bars and lost in thought.
“I’m really enjoying this,” I told her.
I liked the peace out on the trail and as we’d walked, I’d felt my mind calming in a way that rarely happened.
Hailey turned to look at me. “Oh good. I wondered if you’d be bored walking in nature.”
“I could never be bored with you,” I said, my voice vehement enough that she noticed my tone.
Her eyes snagged mine, and we just stared at each other for several long, charged, moments. Then I scooted closer, putting one hand on her shoulder.
“I want to kiss you again, is that okay?”
She nodded. “I have to be honest, I’ve thought of little else since yesterday.”
