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“I haven’t sketched in years.” I jump over a small hole in the ground.
“Good thing I packed some supplies, then.”
I slip on a root covered with moss, but Oliver grabs my arm and steadies me. “I can’t always be here to catch you, Char. At some point, you’re gonna have to learn how to walk.”
“Well, maybe stop being so damn surprising and throwing me off guard all the time,” I retort with the strength of a kitten, because all I want to do is rub myself against him and purr.
He lets go of my arm and slips his hand in mine, resuming our hike. He’s been weirdly quiet today, and I don’t know if it’s because he usually gets like this when he’s in nature or if it’s because of something else. Something that’s apparently been bothering him since we left home, given the tension steadily radiating from his body.
I push the thought aside and tilt my head upward, admiring the conifer-lined sky. It’s probably nothing serious.
“Do you know this species?”
“Cypress pine,” he says. “You recognize them because of their scalelike needles.” At my impressed scowl, he smiles. “I’ve spent way too many hours running around here. This forest holds no secrets from me.”
His gaze slides to me, the weight of it like a gentle caress. “See those purple flowers over there?” He points to my right, where little bells cluster around dense green vegetation. “Do you know what they’re called?”
“How would I know that?”
He chuckles. “Fair enough. They’re called bleeding hearts. They’re believed to have medicinal properties and are often applied for pain relief.”
I take in the delicate flower. “Could have come in handy when I tore my ankle. What about this one?” I take a small red berry between my fingers. “It looks delicious.”
Oliver looks at the fruit closer. “Don’t eat those. They’re toxic. Though their name is very sweet.”
“What is it?”
He smiles, tossing the berry away. “Orange honeysuckle.”
I turn and wrap my arms around his neck. How can a simple gesture heal so many little wounds wrought over time? “Were you always the one raising your hand first in class?”
His palms rake along my sides possessively. “I was. Proudly.”
“Nothing about this statement surprises me.” I bring him down to me and place a kiss on his soft lips. He groans against my mouth, and I open for him, letting him take what’s his.
“We have a hike to finish, Charlee,” he says against my mouth. “And lots of other things to do, according to your perfect date itinerary.” His hand drags down my back and cups my ass. “We’ll get to that tonight. I promise. I want to fuck you under the stars.”
I swallow a whimper and struggle against the molten lava tumbling down to my core. I wouldn’t mind pausing the hike if it meant having him take me against that tree over there.
Oliver grinds me against his crotch. “Hike first. Come on.”
We spend the day trudging through the forest and climbing the steep mountainside under the blazing sun. At some point in the afternoon, we encounter a family of flying squirrels, and Oliver insists that I draw them. It takes me much longer than it would have a few years ago, and although I balked a little when he handed me the notebook he’d carefully packed, once I held the pencil in my hand, it was like riding a bike. And witnessing the awestruck expression on his face made me feel a kind of pride I’d never experienced before.
Despite the weariness slowly creeping into my bones, every second spent exploring this place he knows so well is magic. I’ll never forget it, no matter what happens after tonight.
“We’re almost there,” Oliver says. He takes my hand and leads me down a smaller path that twists between the trees and disappears into the thick vegetation. The tension in his shoulders loosened as the afternoon wore on, but he now looks jittery as we make our way down the narrow trail. I want to ask him what’s on his mind, but I’m not sure he wants me to know. So I push it away. Again.
After what seems like an eternity of being whipped by branches of all shapes and sizes, the path clears and yields to a lake with water of such emerald hues, I wonder if the bottom isn’t covered with the exact gemstones.
I sling my backpack off my shoulders and drop it to the ground. “I can’t believe my eyes.” With the last rays of the sun filtering through the tall pines surrounding the lake, the water glitters, reflecting the countless colors of the rainbow. “I didn’t know water could be so pure.”
Oliver slips his arm around my waist and tucks me against him. “When I was a kid, my grandpa and I came here to camp all the time. We would build a fire over there,” he nods toward a strip of sand running along the lake, “and then camp next to it. Sometimes, we stayed here for days and never saw a soul. It was perfect.”
I lean my head against his shoulder. “Thank you for bringing me here.”
His fingers slip under my chin and tilt my face until he peers into my eyes. “I want to show you everything.”
I lift myself on my tiptoes and kiss the corner of his mouth, losing myself in his comforting scent.
