Day 21:
Mt. Baden-Powell
2,272 Miles To Go
Belle
I wake up the next morning with a warm body pressed against me and a strong arm holding me tight. An appreciative hum leaves me as fingers trace across my skin, finding my breasts and circling my nipples. I take a moment to consider if that’s the best use of his fingers right now. “Lower,” I moan. As his fingers descend, I shift to drape a leg over his, opening myself to him in invitation. By the time his fingers reach their new destination and start stroking me, I’m already hot, slick, and aching. I’d blame the lingering endorphin high of last night, but if this is how Nova wants to wake me up, I’m not complaining.
Between the tender kisses on my neck and the firm fingers sliding in and out of me. My orgasm is fast approaching, when his damn phone goes off. “Ignore it,” he whispers in my ear.
No shit.
“Thank god.” I moan when it stops ringing, but it picks right back up again.
“Fuck.” Nova groans.
“Can’t you put it on ‘Do Not Disturb’?”
“It’s Grinder’s tone,” he tells me. “He won’t stop until I answer. Or worse, he’ll come and pound on the door.”
“Well, if you pull out now, I’ll have to go to the bathroom,” I tell him, grinding into his hand to let him know I really don’t want him to pull his fingers out of me. “I’ll probably have to finish myself off while I’m in there. Decisions, decisions, Nova.”
He groans in frustration as the ringer stops, then picks up again. “Stay put,” he demands. He repositions us so he’s closer to the nightstand. I end up on my back, breasts heaving, nipples tantalizingly close to his mouth. He licks his lips, mischief in his eyes, as he reaches for his phone, fumbling with it for a moment before lifting it to his ear. All the while, his fingers stay inside of me, coaxing me higher.
“Yeah?” Nova answers. “Coming? No, not yet.”
I suppress a giggle, then gasp as he presses my clit with his thumb. Grinder’s saying something on the other end, but I’m too focused on what Nova’s doing to me to pay attention to the words.
“You know I take a while to get up,” Nova continues. I bite my lip as I reach into his boxers. taking his half-erect cock in my hands. His dick stiffens in my grasp and his breath catches as I begin to stroke him. “But we’re getting there,” Nova says with a strain in his voice. “Give us a few minutes?”
Placing a hand to his chest, I encourage him to roll over. I scoot down the bed, peppering kisses across the hard planes of his abdomen as I get further down his body. My mouth is dangerously close to his dick when I lick my lips.
“Make it twenty,” Nova says. He hangs up before Grinder can argue, tossing his phone onto the other bed.
“Twenty, huh? Then I better be quick,” I say, before taking him into my mouth.
***
Thirty satisfying minutes later, I stroll into the breakfast lounge. Grinder looks up from his phone, spotting me at the same time as I spot him alone at a table. He gives me a sort of half smile, like he isn’t sure if he wants to smile or not. It makes me want to try to coax it out.
I return his smile, weaving through the scattering of tables and chairs. We’re alone again, and I want to make the most of this opportunity to talk, to figure out the puzzle that is Grinder. Something has changed, but I don’t know what or why. I’m missing pieces. I hope he’s willing to show them to me. “Just you?” I ask, coming to a stop on the opposite side of the table.
“Bats was getting out of the shower,” Grinder answers. “He should be down in a minute. Nova isn’t with you?”
“Wanted a change of clothes first.” My phone dings, and I reach into my pocket. “That’s probably him.” I unlock it without registering the alert, instantly regretting it. My morning high disappears in an instant.
“What is it?” Grinder asks, noting the change in my mood.
“Nothing.” I growl, thrusting the phone back into my pocket.
Grinder leans back in his chair, crossing his arms. “It was clearly something? Nova? It wouldn’t be Bats.”
“It’s not Nova,” I huff.
Grinder’s half smile disappears as he looks at me, trying to decide whether I’m trying to piss him off on purpose. For once, I’m not. I just don’t want to talk about the shit that flashed across my screen. “If it’s Instagram, I can wait until Bats gets down here,” he says, taking a bite of his eggs.
My gaze snaps to meet his own. Crap. That smirk says he knows he’s nailed it.
“How would Bats know?” I demand.
“He follows you,” Grinder reminds me. “In fact, I think most of our families do now.”
“Why would they be following me?”
Grinder looks at me like it should be obvious. “You aren’t the only one in those photos. Once we found out about your account, Bats shot out a message to all of our family so they could track our progress through your feed.” He pauses as I sigh, shaking my head. Great. His whole family will know about the shit I’m having to deal with. “So, Instagram?”
Reluctantly, I nod. “Yeah. Instagram. Or rather, the asshat on Instagram.”
“I thought you blocked him. Or Rachel did.”
“He must have gotten himself a new handle,” I guess. “And apparently, he’s noticed the three of you,” I say, passing Grinder the phone. It doesn’t take long for his attitude toward my ex to match my own.
BGriff1166: @Hiking_Belle must be screwing all three. It’s the only way being around her is tolerable. If I had known she was such a slut, I would have had the guys over for some fun.
Grinder’s grip tightens on my phone, and I wonder if I’m going to need to take it back from him before it shatters. Slowly, his grip relaxes and he puts it down on the table in front of me. “What’s this asshole’s deal, Belle?” he asks after a few deep breaths. “Cheaters don’t act like this.”
“I don’t know,” I admit, unable to come up with a plausible excuse for Bryce’s actions. “Though he’s mentioned stealing his permit a few times.”
“Did you?”
I shoot Grinder a glare hot enough to reheat the coffee in his mug. “Fuck, no. He gave me the permit for Christmas. He’s pissed I refused to give it back so he could take his new fuck buddy instead.”
Grinder’s lips curl into a gotcha sort of grin. “Well, then. Now we’re getting somewhere. We know some guys who like fucking with internet trolls. Let us . . .”
“No,” I snap, cutting him off. “This isn’t your fight, Grinder. I don’t need you getting involved. Any of you. Understand?”
Grinder and I stare at each for a long moment. A wordless battle of wills neither of us is willing to lose. As Grinder opens his mouth to say something, I let out a loud “Eek” as strong arms wrap around my waist, pulling me against a hard, lean body. I inhale out of reflex, breathing in the scent of a coconut and vanilla.
“Hey, beautiful,” Nova murmurs in my ear. “Did he give it to you yet?”
I try to tilt my face toward Nova, but the way he’s leaning his chin on my shoulder makes it impossible. I notice how close his lips are to my neck, as his slight stubble brushes my skin, giving me goosebumps as my body remembers all the places his lips had been on me last night.
“Not yet,” Grinder replies. “Belle and I were in the middle of something.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s up?” Nova asks.
“It’s nothing,” I reply, begging Grinder with my eyes to drop it. “Just something online. Nothing to worry about.”
Grinder gives me a hard look, disagreeing with my dismissive answer. But he relents. Which again makes me interested in getting him alone to talk. He’s acting way more protective and caring than I would have given him credit for. At least toward me. I want to know what’s changed between us. But not with Nova here. Or Bats, who sits down with a plate full of eggs, bacon, and fresh fruit. Somehow, I’d missed the big guy walking in. Yeah, okay. Maybe I was a little distracted by Nova nuzzling my neck. Still, Bats is hard to miss all the same.
Grinder reaches into a pocket, pulling out a slip of paper and holding it out for me to take. Unfolding it, I find a list of names. Town names. These are their stops, I realize. Grinder watches me, wondering what I’ll do or say next. With sincere appreciation, I tell him, “Thank you.” A single eyebrow hitches. He must have been expecting some sassy remark, but he’s not getting one. Not this time. I fold the list back up and put it in my pocket. “I’ll look at it closer in a minute.”
Heading over to the breakfast bar, I grab a plate and fill it up with a similar selection as Bats. All the good stuff we don’t get on the trail unless it’s dehydrated. I grab a cup of coffee before heading back to the table.