The second they stepped onto the trail, the soft pine needles crunching beneath their feet, the teasing began. First, she’d left her camera in the car and they had to go back. Then he realized he’d forgotten to grab the water bottles and they returned a second time. The time after that, she’d complained loudly that she was starving to death, and they stopped about half a mile up to rip open a packet of crackers.
“See?” She crunched happily on a mouthful of salt. “This is better, isn’t it?”
He shook his head slowly, watching her with a grin. “How are you so fucking cute? Even when you’re infuriating, you still manage to look adorable.”
“Infuriating?” She repeated the word with a teasing frown. “No, that doesn’t sound at all like me. Charming, maybe. Stunning, with a searing wit. But infuriating? Not a chance.”
He wisely chose not to contest this, and together, the two of them polished off an entire box of crackers with cheese. By the end, a small congregation of squirrels had gathered right inside the tree line, and were watching Lacy with wide, begging eyes. She’d sworn that she wasn’t feeding them, but the second his back was turned, she’d toss over another cracker.
“There!” he exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger. “That time I actually saw it! You’ve been doing it this entire time—don’t lie to me!”
“Dylan, let’s be frank.” She folded her arms teasingly across her chest. “Between the two of us, you’re the liar here. Not me.”
His playful grin vanished in a second, as he froze dead still—staring at her. “Why would you say that?” Unless she was imagining it, there was a note of true anxiety in his voice. “Why would you say that I’m a liar?”
She froze as well, the teasing smile sliding slowly off her face. “Um, I don’t know, how about because of how we met? Because of all those little quirks that made me camera-stalk you before your unfortunate canine blackout? Because of...you, Dylan?”
She said the words lightly, but there was an unavoidable air of accusation to the entire thing. He held her gaze for a moment, standing with a measured stare, before a sudden smile flickered across his face and he gestured to the trail ahead.
“But that’s all in the past, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know,” she laughed. “You tell me.”
It was an abrupt way to end an abruptly awkward conversation, but the two of them were so eager to get past it, neither one of them seemed to mind. Instead, they put the whole thing behind them, replaced their backpacks, bid farewell to the squirrels, and continued to climb.
And climb, and climb, and climb.
It would have been a lot easier if they’d camped the night before and started out early in the morning. By the time they hit the steepest grade, the summer sun was already high in the sky—beating down unforgivably on their heads.
Lacy kept pace with him. Determined not to be one of those girls that started whining the second they were out in the open air. Determined to match him step for step.
But by hour four, all of that went right out the window.
“This is bullshit.” She sat down abruptly in her tracks. “I need coffee. And crackers!” She gestured to his pack with sudden inspiration. “Can you get out the crackers?”
He turned around slowly, staring down at her with a patient smile. “We didn’t bring any coffee, and you fed all of the crackers to the squirrels, remember?”
“Am I still denying that?” she asked, stifling a yawn. “Or have I confessed already?”
He laughed, running his hands back through his blonde hair. While he might not have been aware of it himself, the man looked like a spokesmodel for the great outdoors. Some sort of walking billboard for hiking gear. The other tourists who passed them by stifled actual gasps of shock. Lacy was enjoying it all immensely. He, of course, remained absolutely oblivious.
“We’re only about a mile away from the peak. Think you can make it?”
She shook her head solemnly, a look of cartoonish misery clouding across her face. “This is the end for me. You go on ahead. Remember me fondly to others.”
He looked at her appraisingly for a moment, judging how angry she might be. Then, without a word of warning, he tossed her over his shoulder and proceeded to jog the rest of the way up the mountain with an exhilarated grin.
People laughed as they ran past on the trail. (One laughing, as the other pounded feebly at his back.) Women looked imploringly at their husbands. Husbands shot Dylan a dirty look—as if he was betraying the brotherhood by
making it seem like carrying was an option. It got to the point where they’d become something of a mountain sensation by the time they reached the top.
“There.” He set her down with a breathless gasp, peering over the magnificent vista at the sparkling water below. “You made it to the top after all.”
She stared in awe at the breathless drop from the cliff beside her. Then turned with similar wonder to the man who’d carried her to the top.
“How the hell are you in such good shape?” she asked incredulously. “I mean, I’m in good shape, and I’m tired. Is it just all the sex, or what?”
Even philandering had to have a few perks...