Thirteen
Eloise
There’s a cool breeze at the base of the mountain that is making my stomach twist in regret. I should have listened to Taylor when she said that this was an awful idea, but no, I’m a glutton for punishment and I like the idea of torturing both of us when we’re trying to be friends.
Winnie laughed at me when I mentioned it in passing. I guess this isn’t a regular thing that the Vortex do—they’re not sadists—but something the men’s team, the Rooks, do to their rookies.
I wave to Brynn when I catch sight of her. She’s wearing team garb, looking comfortable and ready to work. Taylor looks miserable beside her, hair up in a messy bun but also in team garb. She’s got dark circles under her eyes that make her look sickly, and her green eyes pop. I smile at her, trying and failing to stop my eyes from wandering down her body. Her thighs look phenomenal in the leggings and—fuck, no.
Bad Eloise.
You’re not supposed to be looking at her; you’regetting over her. If Winnie were here, she’d have a fucking field day watching me scramble to look anywhere but at Taylor.
“Good morning!” Brynn says, smiling. Taylor winces, and something about her being slightly miserable makes me happy.
Not that I enjoy people being miserable, but it makes her seem more human than whatever idiot she was earlier this week.
“Morning.” I turn to Taylor and give a small wave, which she catches and wiggles her fingers in response. Maybe she’s just not a morning person. “Look, are we sure we need to do this?” I ask.
Brynn snorts, “Let's just go back in our cars, eh? Jeez, you and Taylor are on the same wavelength this morning.” Her smile is malicious. “But we can do this! I love doing this trail every year!”
“Because you’re a sadist,” Taylor mutters.
“I must be if I want to be your friend.” Her retort is fast and catches both of us off guard. I smother a giggle as Taylor blushes a tantalizingly dark pink. The tips of her ears are a deep red, and wouldn’t you know it, I find it alluring.
I’m such a useless lesbian.
“Kidding,” Brynn says, sickly sweet, “but come on. I’ll buy coffee when we’re back in the city.”
The wind blows through, a frigid breeze that makes me shudder. How foreboding.
Taylor and I are wheezing when we make it about halfway up the mountain. I think I’m about to die or at least my legs are going to fall off. This is going to kill me, I swear it.
And we also have to make our way down.
Shit.
I don’t know what’s going to be worse, the rest of the uphill climb on this practically vertical staircase or the full length down. Brynn looks like she’s having the time of her life, and I wonder what demon she made a deal with being able to do this without looking like she’s breaking a sweat.
“She’s going to kill us,” I whisper to Taylor. She’s stayed back with me while Brynn has foraged ahead a few metres. I wonder if it’s a part of her “Let’s all be friends” plan, but I think that would also mean she wants us to survive this experience.
Nature’s going to kill us if she doesn’t.
“She’s such a sadist,” Taylor huffs out. It’s a little louder than I expected, and I have to stop myself from laughing. “Why are we even friends with her?”
“I can hear you two,” Brynn snaps, whipping her head around with narrowed eyes. A snort escapes me this time around, and I catch Taylor biting her lip to keep from laughing too.
“Then you know we’re dying and you’re still making us do this!” I cry out.
She snorts. “Just keep moving. We’re nearly there, you big crybabies.”
Taylor bursts out laughing, and I think that she’s going to break a rib with the way she’s clutching her sides. The laughter isn’t what I expected from her. It’s not a gruff laugh but something enchanting, that makes me look at her with my heart in my throat. It makes her eyes close tightly with tears in the corners and joy radiating off of her.
I think it’s the first time I’ve enjoyed being around her without hockey and without me beating her.
I swallow tightly as she reaches for my hand and grabs it without hesitation. They’re smooth, even her callouses, or I guess, her lack of callouses. She nearly stumbles as she does and then pulls me tightly to her. Our sides brush, and something in my body is alight.
I can’t… There’s something that I can’t shake about her.
