She wipes the tears from her emerald eyes, more jewel toned than I’ve seen before, and I’m stuck where I’m standing, looking into them. There’s so much in them, the way they’ve brightened, the small flecks of brown and lighter green that fragments out her pupil. The way she stares back, with a smile that I don’t think she knows is there, gracing me with its presence.
I could soak in every second of this moment,with my heart in my throat and our hands holding each other. The tingles that I feel every time our sides brush against each other while we breathe settle into the fabric of my DNA, and there’s no escaping her. She’s becoming more to me. More than the crush that I thought I had under control and managed.
She’s slowly becoming… everything.
Taylor pulls back slightly, hand still in mine until it’s not and the warmth is gone. Her small smile is still there, and rosy cheeks that areobviouslyfrom the exertion of the hike and not from our hands touching.
I’m feeling hot and bothered and flustered under the collar as I discreetly shake my hands off in an attempt to forget what it felt like.
It won’t happen again, that’s for sure. She won’t let it, not unless she forgets that she hates me.
“Come on, ladies,” Brynn calls out, audibly irritated, and the little bubble we were in, the last dregs of heat and joy, popped by her. I tilt my head in her direction.
“Let’s go,” I squeak out. Taylor doesn’t look me in the eye as we make our way through the last bit of the hike. The excruciating kilometre of stairs is going to make my ass pop, but at the cost of my thighs being able to support me. Taylor looks the same, hands on her knees as she closes her eyes shut when she tries to shake out the pain of the stairs.
Brynn looks as fresh as a daisy.
“Dude, what are you?” I ask, watching the wayshe jumps as if just warming up. “Part mountain goat?”
Taylor punctuates the question with a small wheeze of a laugh.
“I just like the stairs,” Brynn says. “I like the burn.”
“I don’t believe you for a second,” I mutter, watching her. “When do we have to get down to get our promised coffee?”
“Yes, coffee,” Taylor moans. “Please, Brynn, let’s go now.”
“You two are supposed to be elite athletes,” she shakes her head, “Fine, let’s go—Wait!” she shouts as we try to get up, “I want a photo of the three of us on the mountain!”
I try very hard to keep my eyes forward, but from the corner of them I can see Taylor rolling her eyes. “Fine,” Taylor says, standing up straight, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and making a grabby hand for Brynn, “Let's get this over quick.”
No, I’m not basking in the joy of her arm over my shoulders, or the heat of it. We’re also both hot, sticky and sweaty, so I wouldn’t say that this is what I wanted her to experience the first time she’s got her arms around me.
But when the three of us smile at the top of the trail, Brynn holding her phone out like an ancient Millennial, I can’t stop myself from grinning and thinking that this must be what it is to be a team.
Or at least, part of one.
“I’m sending this to socials,” Brynn says after a few minutes of posing and photo taking. “The fans are going to love this.”
“Fallon’s going to wonder what happened to us,” Taylor mutters. “You’ll have to tell xem that we died on top of this mountain.”
“You’re ridiculous. Xe know that you guys can handle this,” Brynn responds.
“Do xe?”
“Of course! Besides, I think xe’re desperate for more stuff to post, so this is perfect.” She gives me a huge grin, and I roll my eyes. Taylor snorts at the sight before starting to head back down the steps. She reaches out, expectantly looking at me before I nod and we start to hurry down the mountain. “Hey! Where are you going?” Brynn shouts.
“Last one down is a rotten egg!” Taylor shouts back.
“Don’t twist your ankles!” Brynn sounds a bit angry this time as we hurry down.
Taylor and I don’t slow down until much later, both of us huffing and laughing. “Brynn’s going to kill us,” I say before groaning. “And my favourite band’s new album comes out next week.”
“You’re going to be fine,” she says, nudging my shoulder as we walk in tandem. My heart leaps in my throat, and every breath seems a bit shorter when I realize how long we’ve been walking without her being mean.
Or rude.
Or…Jeez. I need better taste.
