The wind gusts again, but no more rain falls down. Logan loosens his grip. “Gotta love those little cloud bursts.” He lets his arms fall to the side.
“Hey, I’ll take it.” I step back and smooth out my shirt, trying and failing to suck in air. What the hell just happened? And I don’t mean with the weather. Logan and I were so close—literally—and everything felt so right.
But just like the rain, the moment came and passed.
“For real,” I start, hardly able to look at Logan without blood rushing through me. “Are we lost?”
“I’m sure we can find the path again.”
“So we’re lost.”
“I’ll admit we’re lost when you admit you eat spiders in your sleep.”
“Fine. We’re not lost. We’re just…not where we thought we’d be.”
“That’s an interesting way to look at things.”
“It is,” I agree as the words actually hit me. I’ve felt lost for so long because I wasn’t where I thought I’d be in life. I’m edging thirty, with a business degree from Yale, a few years of grad school under my belt, and yet I’m waiting tables and tending the bar in a small town and living with my grandpa.
But I like Eastwood, and I like working at Getaway. I enjoy eating dinner with Grandpa. It makes my heart full knowing he’s happy to have family back in the house. I’m so grateful I met Logan and Owen and the rest of their crazy family. I reconnected with Rebecca and her children.
It seems crazy to say I’m happy and didn’t realize it, but that’s exactly what I am. I’ve been so consumed with “getting back on track” and making my next big move, I lost sight of what was going on around me.
And I thought I didn’t have tunnel vision.
Logan leads the way, breaking any spiderwebs that I might walk through, and we hike through the forest in silence for a few minutes. It’s anything but awkward, though. I haven’t felt this kind of mental peace in years.
“Do you hear that?” Logan asks, turning around. We both come to a stop.
“Voices.”
Logan holds out his hand for me to take. I don’t hesitate. I reach forward and slip my fingers through his. We trek a few yards through the thick bamboo trees and emerge onto the path, startling the tourists walking ahead of us.
We’re back on the main path, and I don’t let go of Logan’s hand.* * *
I stand at the edge of a rocky stream, staring up at a waterfall. Logan is at my side, and we finally caved and took a few selfies. I even uploaded one to my Instagram stories. The group of hikers who were ahead of us have already crossed the stream, and for the time being, Logan and I are alone in front of the first waterfall.
“It’s so beautiful.”
“Yeah,” Logan agrees. “It is. And it’s louder than I expected.”
Smiling, I look away from the fall to look at his handsome face. “It is quite intense. Ready to cross now?”
He holds out his hand for me to take again. “Hell yeah.”
We carefully make our way over the slippery rocks, and I somehow manage to not fall in. Though I’m already covered in mud. What’s a little water going to hurt?
We continue along the path until we reach the second falls. This time, we’re not alone, and the group that was ahead of us is perching on rocks and wading into the cool water for pictures. I snap a few pictures, and make Logan pose for just one selfie with me. He puts his arm around me, and we both smile at the camera.
You wouldn’t know we weren’t a real couple by the looks of it. And by the feel of it…I don’t want to think about it and complicate things.
“We have to climb up that.” Logan points to a rather steep and slick hillside. The trail is small and narrow and easy to miss.
“Looks easy,” I say apprehensively, but there’s no way I’m giving up. I might not be the most athletic person or have the best balance or coordination, but I’m certain I can get myself up that path.
“Go first,” Logan tells me. “If you slip, I’ll catch you.”
“You just want to check out my butt.”
“I’ve been checking out your butt this whole time.”
“You’ve been in front of me,” I retort.
“That just goes to show how good I am.”
Shaking my head, I grab onto a stalk of bamboo and use it to steady myself as I start up the rocky hill. There are little divots in the stone, and I try to keep my feet in them as I move up. My feet slip a few times, and I’m even more glad I wore sensible shoes over sandals. I recover, moving slower yet feeling reassured that Logan is behind me.
We come down through the forest and emerge into a small clearing of grey rocks that surround another waterfall.