28. Luke
28
Luke
S unlight filters through our hotel window, casting a warm, golden light. The peaks of the Rockies rise in the distance. Greer remains nestled against my side, her leg draped over mine, toes tucked under my calf. Her hand cradles the side of my face, anchoring us.
Golden strands of her blond hair lie tousled across the pillow framing her peaceful face. I tenderly explore the exposed patches of skin, partially hidden by the crumbled sheets. Sunlight dances along her cheekbones, leftover glitter shimmering slightly. Her lips, now a gentle shade of red, carry the memories of our night together. She stirs slightly, and, for a moment, I think how mornings like this could be enough.
From the moment I met Greer, she felt different to me. Dancing with her, wrapped in each other’s arms, I knew we were different. Underneath the fireworks, I understood my life would never be the same now that she was in it. But last night rearranged my soul, pieced together my heart, and showed me what true love really is.
Greer breathes deeply beside me, constantly drawing closer. A soft laugh escapes me at how much she resembles a koala right now. She’d crawl all the way inside me if she could. My hand traces along her arm, down her ribs, and over the curve of her hips. Even in sleep, her body responds to my touch, and goosebumps cover her golden skin. The desire to roll her over washes over me. After making love, we’d fallen into a deep and restful sleep.
“What are you thinking about?” she asks, her sleepy voice cutting through the quiet morning air.
“I was thinking of rolling you over and having you again.”
“Oh, I like that idea.”
She moves her hand from around my neck, tracing a path down my chest until she grips my hip. I turn toward her, gently guiding her onto her back, eager to see her face. A red mark blooms over her cheekbone where she slept against my chest the majority of the night.
“Last night was—”
“Beautiful,” she finishes for me.
The word escapes her lips, floating in the air around us. We kiss in a soft and unhurried way for several minutes as we greet the day. My hands slip around her shoulders, drawing her closer to me. Her legs ease apart, inviting me to lie between them. There’s no mistaking the desire pulsating through our bodies.
Unable to resist, I brand every inch of her face with my lips. Each touch elicits a gasp, a moan, or a subtle shift of her hips. My dick presses along her inner thigh and against her center.
“Damn,” I say. It would be so easy to slide right into her.
“Yeah.” Her hands slide down my back, gripping my bare ass and kneading the flesh.
“Be good.”
“It would be good,” she sighs, her hips meeting mine in a tempting thrust.
“Fuck, but do I know it would.” My mouth descends on hers, tongues colliding in a heated dance. “I don’t want you to hurt.”
“You won’t hurt me.” Her teeth graze my lower lip, sending a shiver down my spine. “Luke. Please.”
“Please what?”
“Fuck me.”
At her words, I reel back, taking her in. Every time this woman fully owns her sexuality and allows her shyness to fade, it shocks me to my core. The denial dies on my lips when she looks at me like this.
“Oh, I’ll do more than that, but we should probably get downstairs. They’re probably all waiting for us.”
Sitting back on my heels, my erection stands at full attention between us. She launches up to a semi-seated position with her arms braced behind her.
She huffs out a breath. “They can wait.”
“Greer,” I bend over her body, gripping her face, trying to calm whatever emotion is swirling in that beautiful mind of hers. “I’m also a selfish bastard, and if I take you now, we might not ever leave this room.”
That goddamn lip of hers disappears between her teeth, her gaze downcast. Her breathing accelerates. Her legs wrap around my hips, rubbing along the bare skin.
“Then be selfish with me, Luke.”
By the time we finally make it to the lobby, it’s crawling with people in various forms of outdoor gear—some heading out for a hike, others just returning.
“Well, well, well,” Hunter says, rising to greet us. “It’s about time you graced us with your presence.”
“Shut up, bro.” I grip his hand and he pulls me into a one-armed hug.
“I’m happy for you, man,” he says pulling back, keeping a firm grip on my shoulders. “Jealous as hell, but happy.” Judging by the girls surrounding Greer—huddled in anticipation, letting out bated sighs and “Oh my gods”—it seems everyone knows what happened between us last night.
“Jesus,” Vinnie says. “Can we go to breakfast now? I’m starving, and this happy couple’s bullshit is too much on an empty stomach.” He shoves his hands in his pockets.
“Yes,” Navy says, pulling out of the girl huddle. “Let’s go eat. We’ve got shit to do today.”
“Oh yeah?” Greer reaches for my hand. “What kind of shit? You going to be our tour guide?”
“Not sure yet,” Navy shouts over shoulder. “We’ll figure it out.” She leads our raucous bunch to breakfast. Spilling onto the sidewalk, we head to a boutique breakfast joint nearby. My stomach grumbles in annoyance and anticipation.
“Gee,”—Greer bumps her hip with mine—“someone sounds mighty hungry.”
“Someone might have worn me out.” I bump her back. “In the best possible way.”
“Oh god,” Vinnie says, rolling his eyes, “today’s going to be a long day.”
“Vinnie,” Navy says, “just because you were turned down by a gorgeous woman last night doesn’t mean you get to ruin the day for everyone.”
“Gorgeous woman? Do tell,” Sutton chimes in.
“You guys,”—Vinnie gets a faraway look in his eyes—“she was everything.” He goes on to tell us the whole sordid tale.
After breakfast, we decide to hit a popular hiking trail nearby, supposedly an easy trail with spots for picnics and water access. We pile into two vehicles and grab lunch from a sandwich shop. Soon, backpacks are loaded with food, water, and other snacks, courtesy of Navy.
“The trail says it’s intermediate level,” Navy says. “About two miles round-trip.”
“Sounds fun,” Grace says.
We head out, but it’s not long before our group separates. Hunter and Sutton take the lead, like always. Navy and Vinnie stick with us while Grace and Adam bring up the rear. Most of us have grown up together, but this is the first time we’ve ever left our hometown to do something together. Vinnie, Adam, and I knew how lucky we were when I got assigned to their shift and truck, but it’s still a pain to match schedules to do anything outside our usual routine.
“Hey,” I say as we pause on the trail, “what if we do something out of our norm?” We’re surrounded by spruce trees, sweeping views of the valley below, and an endless azure sky. It’s astounding that we get to live on a planet where places this incredible exist.
“What do you mean?” Sutton asks.
“I was thinking,” I say, “after this, why not try something different? I saw a sign for zip-lining on the way here.”
“Zip-lining?” Vinnie raises an eyebrow. “Sounds fun.”
“Sounds like a hell of a lot of fun,” Hunter chimes in.
Navy looks intrigued. “Ugh, why not? Together?”
“Together,” we chorus.
We hike for a bit longer, before turning back toward the truck. It’s midday when we find a swimming hole tucked off the trail and surrounded by massive boulders to have lunch.
“We should do this more often,” I say as I unzip my backpack and pass out food.
“What?” Vinnie says. “Go on vacation where everyone has sex except me?”
“I haven’t either,” Navy says. Greer giggles, trying to hide it by gulping down water. Hunter and Sutton are oddly silent. I'm curious what drama is going on now.
“C’mon.” I gesture to the beauty around us. “You guys know what I mean. When have we ever made time to do anything like this?”
“You getting sentimental on us, Cap?” Adam calls.
“And what if I am?”
“Nah, I agree,” Adam says. “We should do this more often. It would be fun to see more of the world than just our backyard.”
“Agreed,” Greer says softly. “Life is short.” A somber look passes through the group. I appreciate how everyone seems to be treading lightly—I’m not sure where Greer’s at mentally.
“How are you feeling, G?” Scratch that, everyone but Navy. “It’s almost the anniversary.”
“I actually feel pretty good.” Greer gifts them a smile as she toes off her sneakers and steps into the water. “If you’d asked me three months ago, I’d have said something different. But now? I feel more settled than I have all year.”
“What changed?” Sutton asks, struggling to unknot her laces. Hunter swats away her hands so he can unlace them.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Greer raises her arms out to her sides, dragging them through the water. “It’s you guys. Over the last year, I isolated myself so far away from the world that I kind of forgot it was out there, but somehow, you guys found me, and I haven’t been the same since.”
“Me either,” Navy and Sutton say as they step next to Greer, followed closely by Grace. The four girls wrap their arms around one another’s waists.
“So, uh, should we hug too?” Vinnie opens his arms wide.
“Why the fuck not.” Hunter rushes into Vinnie, pushing him up against the girls, who open to include them.
“God, what’s happened to us?” Adam asks, motioning me to join the group hug. “It’s like all we do is talk about feelings and hug and shit.”
“Greer happened to us,” I say, placing my arms over their shoulders. We've always been an affectionate group, but it's at a whole new level now.
“Sometimes,” Navy says, her voice thick with emotion, “the people we need most in our lives find us.” She shakes her head, blinking back the tears threatening to emerge. “Okay, enough of that.” She wiggles out of the group, and Sutton and Greer burst into laughter.
“What the hell are you laughing at?” Navy narrows her eyes at them.
“Your grumpy ass, that’s what. Someday, someone’s gonna find you, and your heart is going to grow three times its size.” Greer winks as she turns back to the stream.
The silence of our secluded swimming spot is broken by the shrill sound of my phone going off. I gather it from my bag, only to notice it’s the fire chief calling.
“Hey, Chief.” I walk out of earshot of the group.
“Bradley, where are you at?” His tone is urgent.
“Went out of town for the weekend, sir.”
He grunts, and I can tell he’s debating whether to ruin our weekend. “Thing is, there's a pretty serious wildfire burning east of town. We’re gathering our resources and mobilizing our engine boss units to respond.”
Dammit. “Copy that, sir.”
“How far out are you?”
“Over six hours, sir.” Hunter catches sight of me and walks over to where I’m standing. Concern fills his face. Chief is silent on the other end of the line. “What do you need from me?”
“Well, I need you to be here and ready to run this crew.”
Hunter’s face turns angry, and he shakes his head back and forth as he eavesdrops on the conversation. A clear indication where he stands on this issue.
“I understand that, sir. What about Tyler or Brandon?” Hunter nods his head in encouragement. Normally, I’d never question or say no to my chief. Normally, I’d drop everything and do exactly what’s asked of me.
“You’re the best one we have, Luke. If you leave now, you could make it here by this evening and report to command immediately.” Hunter rolls his eyes, mouthing for fucks sake.
Turning back toward the water, I catch sight of Greer. She’s removed her tank and is stretched out on the rocks, bathed in golden sunlight. Her eyes light up when she sees me, and her lazy smile sets my heart to pounding. But it's her words from earlier that echo in my mind, making this decision feel effortless.
Life is short.
“Sir, as much as I would love to help out, I won’t be available until after I get back.” I can’t take my eyes off Greer. This , right here, right now, with her and my friends, is what’s important.
“Okay, Bradley,” Chief says. “I understand. Good for you, getting out of town. I’ll talk to you when you get back.”
I end the call, dropping my hands to my sides. That was easier than I thought it’d be.
Hunter grips and squeezes my shoulder. “Proud of you, bro.”
“Life is short, right? It means nothing if I miss out on actually living it, right?”