I grin, leaning in to press a kiss to her cheek. “I’ll show you kinky.”
“So what does a teenage Jack come to think about, anyway?”
“You mean besides my dead parents?”
She smacks me on the arm. “I will literally bury you out here.”
“Fine, fine,” I say with a smile. “You know, most women find it endearing.”
“Most women don’t know better,” she mumbles.
I hum thoughtfully. “Maybe that’s why I like you so much.”
“Stop flattering me and answer the question.”
“I don’t know,” I tell her. “Girls, school…hockey.”
Her lips curl in a smile. “I would have liked to see teenage Jack play.”
“You still don’t even know what a toe drag is.”
“I bet you were full of yourself,” she notes.
I push a branch out of the way, allowing her to duck under it.“Maybe a little less. It takes time to cultivate a personality like mine.”
“A sparkling one,” she deadpans.
I squeeze her hand. “Exactly.”
I notice the large rock that tells me we’re close to where we’re going, and I feel a flutter of excitement in my chest. I haven’t been here in years—haven’t really had the time—but something about seeing it again with Abby has me feeling lighter than I have in a long while. Or maybe it’s because it’s her.
“It’s right up here,” I tell her. “Be careful not to slip again.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “It was twice.”
“I’m just partial to your pretty legs,” I assure her. “Don’t want you to go and break them.”
“I swear, I don’t know why I don’t just kick your—oh wow.”
I push back a branch to reveal the small glade near the edge of the cliff, uncovering blue skies and miles of trees that bleed into the Hub’s skyline on the horizon. From here the city looks idyllic, almost picturesque, and when I turn to take in Abby’s reaction, I notice her lips parted in surprise and her eyes rounded with wonder as she takes a step closer.
“It’s gorgeous,” she murmurs.
I grin. “I would never say ‘I told you so,’ but…”
“Okay, okay,” she says, raising her hands in defeat. “So the torture hike was worth it.”
“And that’s just the start,” I tell her, unclipping my backpack and setting it on the ground to open it up. “I’ve got the works in here. Blanket, wine, shark coochie board—”
“I’m sorry,what?”
I peek up at her. “You know. Little cheeses and grapes and shit.”
“Acharcuterieboard?”
I shrug. “Same thing.”
“That’shighlydebatable.”
