She groaned. “That’s part of my job, honey. Can I please have my phone back?” She gave me the saddest little puppy dog face that almost had me caving.
“No. Work will always be there, and your phone will be here when we get back. I bet you can’t even last one day without your phone, princesa.”
I smirked when she scowled at me.Gotcha!
“You bet? Okay, I’ll bite. You really think I can’t go a whole day without my phone? You’re about to regret this. What are the perimeters of this bet, then? What are we going to do and what do I get when I win?”
I laughed. I probably was going to regret it, but to see the competitive side of her come out again was so hot. I saw it when we played pickleball with her friends and I had to force my hands to myself in the showers. She never failed to take my breath away or turn me into a horny teenager.
“If you win, then I’ll let you pick my outfit for a day. But If I win, you have to dress like me for a day.”
Her eyes widened and sparkled with challenge. “A whole day? What if I want you to wear a dress or leggings?”
I crinkled my nose. “Then I guess I’ll be wearing a dress or leggings. But that’s only if you win. Don’t get cocky. I haven’tseen you without your phone since I met you, besides the wedding, but that doesn’t count. It’s easy to be off your phone when you are doing something. But what I’m planning, it’ll be harder.”
“You sound very confident. Fine. You have yourself a deal, Ms. Rojas. What are we doing then?”
“Have you ever been hiking?” I asked, already guessing the answer before her head started shaking and her brows creased together.
“No, I can’t say that I have…”
“Well, after today, you can. Go get dressed. We leave in an hour.” I kissed her forehead and headed to the kitchen. Laughing when I heard her footsteps behind me.
“Hiking?! I’m sorry, is that supposed to be a joke? The outdoors and I are not good friends, baby. Can we do literally anything else?”
I smiled, walking up to her and placing a kiss on her lips. My heart fluttered at hearing her call me baby, and I wanted to pick her up and take her to my room.
“It’ll be good for you. I’ll be there to protect you, and we’ll get some fresh air. But if you want to forfeit the bet now, then that’s okay, too.” I grinned, knowing she wouldn’t cave just yet.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Fine. I’ll go hiking, but when I win this bet, because I will, you not only have to dress however I choose for you, but you also have to cook me dinner and dessert!”
I pulled her to me and leaned closer to whisper, “Deal, princesa. I’ll cook you whatever you want, and for dessert? I’ll lick you like gelato."
“Mmm, I like the sound of that.” She smiled and closed the distance between us, shutting down any more conversation.
“How are you doing up there?” I asked. We’d been walking the trail for about thirty minutes, and so far I hadn’t seen her pull out her phone.
I’d let her bring it to make the bet more difficult. And also in case of an emergency. So far, she was doing better than I expected. I didn’t really care about the bet. I’d wear a dress for a week if it meant she relaxed and enjoyed herself.
“I’m breathing… I think. Why is this more difficult than a treadmill?"
I laughed. “Because, baby. There is terrain outside in the real world. I’m proud of you, though. You’re doing better than I expected.”
“Because I can survive without my phone, thank you very much. But this was actually a good idea. I’m always so busy with work that I forget to stop and smell the roses sometimes.”
She walked back toward me and gripped my shirt, smiling as she leaned up to place a kiss on my lips. I brought her closer to me and deepened the kiss, not ready to give her up just yet.
When we parted, I licked my lips, still tasting her lip gloss. “What was that for, princesa?”
She smiled. “To thank you for making me take a break. I hadn’t realized how much I needed one until we got out here. I’d rather be walking inside a mall or bookstore, but it’s actually not so bad out here.”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself and staying away from work. The sun will be setting soon, but we should be coming out onto the beach at the perfect time to see it before we need to start heading back. So you still have a ways to go. We’ll see how long you can last.”
The look she gave me was pure mischief. “I think you know how long I can last, Vera” She winked and good God I wish we were closer to the house.
We continued our walk, pointing out different plants and birds we saw along the way. Our hands stayed connected for the rest of the walk, and my smile was unmistakable when I felt the faintest caress on my thumb. I didn’t look at her, though. I didn’t know if she knew she was doing it or not, but I didn’t want it to end.
“You were right, we made it just in time to see the sunset. Did you plan that?”
