Day 19:
Cajon Pass
2,308 Miles To Go
Belle
The next morning, I’m awoken by the sound of Bats and Grinder arguing. I struggle to catch what they’re saying, though. Unzipping my sleeping bag, I drag myself upright as a long yawn escapes me.
“I told you already,” Bats says. “Get your own shit.”
“It’s not for me,” Grinder insists. “It’s for Belle.”
“Then hell no. Win your own damn bet.”
Grinder scoffs, but it’s not laced with anger, like I would have expected. More like frustration. “This isn’t about the bet.”
“Of course it is. You’re hustling her with this damn bet of yours because of your damn need for control. Admit it.”
Wait, what?
“You know, for someone that keeps asking me to listen to them, you’re doing a pretty shitty job of it yourself,” Grinder growls from beyond the tent wall. “I’m not trying to win the damn bet. I’m pretty sure I know where she wants to go today, and I agree. It’s a good choice.”
There’s a pause, and I can only imagine Bats giving Grinder one of his stares. “Then what the hell are you doing?”
“It’s called being nice,” Grinder snaps back. “You know, like you’ve been asking me to do for the last two weeks.”
Huh. Grinder being nice? This I have to see.
As I unzip my tent door, the conversation comes to an abrupt halt as two heads snap toward me. I climb out and stand up to stretch. Their gazes drift lower than my eyes, then snap right back up. Goosebumps prickle my arms as I realize I’m in a T-shirt. And there’s a chill this morning. I cross my arms, making a show of rubbing them, as I mutter, “It’s a bit cold this morning.” Yep, my headlights are turned on full, and judging from the flash of heat in Bats’ and Grinder’s eyes, I’m not the only one noticing. “I’m . . . um . . . Did someone say coffee? I’ll just get my cup.”
I duck back into my tent, trying not to trip on the lip of the door and fall on my face. Not that I’ve done that before. Nope. I emerge a minute later with my cup in my hand and wearing my hoodie to hide my cold nipples. “So . . . coffee?” I ask, holding out my mug.
Grinder blinks once, twice, then remembers he can talk. “Yeah, I was asking Bats . . .”
“Cream and sugar?” Bats asks me with an amused grin.
Let him grin. We all know what they saw. Last year I would have been turning all manners of red from embarrassment. But this is all about the new Lizzy, right? They’re nipples. We all have them. So what? It’s not like I want either of them to do anything with them. Nope, that pleasure is reserved for Nova. Speaking of which . . .
“Is Nova not up yet?” I ask. “With how loud you two were going at it, I would have thought everyone within a mile would be awake by now.”
Grinder scoffs while Bats takes my cup and goes looking for the offered items. “Don’t be dramatic, princess,” Grinder tells me. Normally, his use of that nickname is off-putting, spitting the word out like a bad bit of food. This morning, it’s much more . . . pleasant? Yeah, something must be going haywire in Grinder’s head. Or maybe I’m still asleep and this is a dream? In which case, leave it to me to have the worst excuse for a flashing-the-guys dream. “Nova sleeps through anything. And we weren’t even that loud.”
“Yes, you were,” Nova’s sleep-laden voice yells back from inside his tent.
I chuckle, and Grinder smiles along with me. It’s so . . . odd. Between his behavior this morning and the moment last night as I went to sleep, it’s got me more than a little curious. I step closer, closing the gap between us. “Grinder, last night, were you . . . did you . . .”
Before I can finish my question, Bats returns with my mug. Grinder holds up a finger for me to pause while he picks up his coffee pot and fills my cup. Bats hands it to me and I cradle it to my chest, hoping to get this question out, but with Bats still lingering next to us, I can’t. It feels too personal to voice aloud in front of the other guys.
“You were saying?” Grinder asks me, his gaze meeting mine.
My question disappears as I meet his espresso colored eyes. My mouth hangs open for a moment, gasping for words that won’t come out. “Did you say you knew where we were going today?” I ask instead.
Grinder looks at me for a long moment, trying to judge if that’s really what I want to ask. “Silverwood Lake campground?”
I nod, taking a sip of the coffee. Like yesterday, it’s pretty damn good. Crap. A few minor tweaks and I might be in danger of losing our bet. “Twenty-one miles okay?”
Grinder replies with a shrug. I don’t quite know what to make of it. “Not any other good options for stops around there. Reaching it should take most of the day. I assume you’ll want to get going pretty soon, though?”
I return his nonchalant shrug. “Sure. If you can get Nova out of bed, that is.”
He leans closer, purring, “Watch me.” Grinder smiles and winks. Wait? Is Grinder being playful? What the fuck? He straightens and says loudly, “Damn it, Belle. I don’t want to see your nipples this early in the morning.”
Behind me, a zipper is torn open. I turn as Nova sticks his head out, a goofy grin on his face. He takes one look at my hoody covered chest, then throws a boot at Grinder. “Not cool, dude.”
“Oh, look. Nova’s up,” Grinder says with a triumphant grin. “Thirty minutes?”
I don’t know if I should be amused that Nova was so quick to get up, or shocked that Grinder would make that sort of joke. “Sure,” I reply, deciding to roll with it.
Thirty minutes later, we’re packed and leaving camp. Nova took a little more coaxing, but the idea of staying by a lake and maybe getting to see me in my bikini again was enough to get him to hurry.
We spend the day out in the sun as the trail winds across chaparral covered hills. We stop to top off our water at the Mojave River spillway, expecting the rest of the day to be as dry as the empty reservoir we spend the next ten miles passing by. By midafternoon, though, the sight of Silverwood Lake lifts our spirits. Nova’s in particular.
It’s still another two hours until we reach the entrance to the park. The sun is getting low to the horizon by the time we get a spot and set up our tents, but Nova thought ahead and wore his swim trunks today. I toss on my bikini and the two of us set out for the lakeshore.
When we get there, Nova’s mood sours as we spot signs prohibiting swimming because of algae blooms in the water. “Sorry, cutie,” I tell Nova, leaning my head against his shoulder.
He wraps his arm around me, holding me close. “It’s all good,” he tells me. “At least I still get to appreciate that cute butt of yours.”
I let out a short laugh. “You’re incorrigible. Walk on the beach?”
“Works for me,” Nova replies, taking my hand as we turn to follow the water’s edge.
We walk in comfortable silence for a few minutes, passing other campers, and enjoying each other’s company.
“How are you doing?” Nova asks. “After last night and all. That was quite the story.”
I don’t want to talk about it, but Nova has a way of putting me at ease. He’s not trying to get anything out of the question. Rather, he seems genuine in his concern. Always making my happiness and enjoyment a priority. “I’m okay. And yeah, talking about it sucked.” I stop, turning in his grasp and cupping his cheek, bringing his face toward mine. “But it helped. You helped.”
I kiss him, tender at first. As our desire for each other threatens to take over, our kiss grows deeper. A warmth spreads through me, fueled by his lips and hands tasting and exploring me. Pressed against his body, it’s easy to tell I’m not the only one affected by our kiss. One of his hands trails along my arm, the other down my back until he’s kneading my ass. With great effort, I pull back, breaking our kiss before things can go any further. We stand there panting, staring into each other’s eyes.
As our breathing calms, I lean into him. “You have no idea how much I’d like to take things further.”
“But you still need time,” Nova finishes for me.
I nod. “That. And I’m not a fan of public nudity.”
Nova chuckles, the vibrations carrying through his chest and into me. It’s a joyful sound that makes me smile. “Good to know.” He looks up at the setting sun, then shifts his grip on me until we’re side-by-side again. “Come on. We should get back to camp. Grinder will want to try to get us to leave early tomorrow.”
A playful idea comes to mind, and it’s always a good time to tease Nova. “Not if I show him my nipples again.” He goes still and I slip out of his grip.
“Hold up. That really happened?”
“You’ll have to get up early to find out.” I blame Rachel for what happens next. “But since you missed it . . .” I turn and pull my top down, baring my nipples long enough for him to get a good, hard look. I smile and give him a sexy wink before covering up. As I turn to sashay my cute butt back toward camp, I’m followed by a pained groan.
When I wake up the next morning, Grinder has coffee brewing and Nova has oatmeal waiting for me. Win-win.
***