CHAPTER FOUR #3
Surfing with the guys a few days ago seemed to clear Wolf’s head.
It always did. One of the things he loved most about living high in the mountains was the hiking trails which offered him clarity and a chance to escape.
They’d be leaving for the tour in about another week, and he wanted to try and free his mind of all negative thoughts before then.
He’d been sleeping well and wanted it to stay that way so he didn’t scare the hell out of everyone on the bus with one of his nightmares.
The fresh mountain air filled his lungs with oxygen.
He bent his leg at the knee, grabbed hold of his ankle, and stretched out his muscles, then did the same thing to his other leg.
He picked up his backpack, slung it over his shoulder, and was about to jump on his Harley to ride to the entrance of the trail, when his phone signaled that someone entered his front gate.
He expected it to be Ethan, but it was Harris, and he waited next to his bike for his friend to make it up the driveway.
“Did I catch you at a bad time?” Harris asked, pulling his Porsche to a stop.
“I was just about to head out for a hike. What’s up?”
“Nothing much. I was bored, so I thought I’d swing by.”
Taking a cruise in the middle of the night and showing up unexpectedly at Wolf’s door because of a bad feeling was one thing.
Taking a spur-of-the-moment drive during the day with the horrendous LA traffic was something else.
But Wolf appreciated the company so didn’t ask questions or make it a thing.
“I was heading to Runyon. Do you want to join me?”
“Cool. Hop in. I’ll drive.”
Wolf grabbed a couple more bottles of water and an extra baseball cap for the hike and then climbed into the convertible.
The wind took his hair on a roller coaster ride from hell.
It was in his eyes, his mouth, and turning into one big knot.
He found a hair tie in his backpack and twisted his hair into a bun at the back of his neck.
He thought about putting the baseball cap on his head, but it would probably just fly away, especially since Harris was driving like he was racing in the Formula 1.
Wolf looked over at Harris. The guy’s hair handled the wind as if he were in a shampoo commercial. His thick waves bounced with body and volume, and time at the beach brought out his golden highlights. Lucky bastard.
Wolf ran his hands over the crown of his head to smooth down the flyaways. “I hate convertibles.”
Harris glanced at Wolf, then raised the windows which offered a bit of a reprieve from the wind. “Better?”
“A little.”
When they arrived at the entrance to the trail, Harris hesitated before getting out of the car. “There are a lot of people here. Do you think we should call security?”
“We’ll be fine. I got pepper spray.”
“Are you serious?”
“You never know when a mountain lion is going to follow you.”
“A mountain lion?”
Wolf smiled at the fear in Harris’ voice. “Just kidding. Sort of.”
Most people were locals who didn’t care if celebrities trotted by, and the tourists were too absorbed in the scenery to notice most of the time. The baseball caps which shielded them from the sun also added to the camouflage, so no one bothered them, and they hiked the easy trail making small talk.
After a while, Wolf decided to address something that was weighing on his mind. “Do you want to tell me the real reason you’ve just shown up at my house recently?”
“I didn’t know I had to call first.”
“You don’t, but it’s a ride to show up on a whim. If I’m not home and you gotta turn around and drive right back, it would suck. What’s going on?”
Harris slowed his pace and glanced at Wolf briefly. “I worry about you. After I saw that nightmare you had that night, I can’t stop thinking about it.”
“You’ve seen me have nightmares before.” During the early days of touring, some of his nightmares were 10 times worse than they are now. He’d scared the shit out of everyone, including the bus driver, in the middle of the night when he woke up screaming. “What was so bad about this one?”
“I don’t know. I guess because you were so scared.
I don’t want you to wake up like that and be alone.
” Harris dropped his chin into his chest and walked with his head down for several seconds.
“I care about you, Wolf. I don’t ever want to see you hurting or know that I could’ve been there to help you and I wasn’t. ”
The sincerity and empathy in Harris’ voice touched Wolf in ways he never expected. His chest felt tight, and his throat closed up. “You mean you’re driving all the way over to my place to make sure I’m OK?”
“Yeah.”
Wolf struggled to find his voice as an overwhelming warmth spread through his body. “Not many people have been there for me in my life. Thank you. It means a lot to me. More than you know.”
Harris stopped and turned to face Wolf. He nodded. His throat bobbed. He wrapped his arms around Wolf and held him in a tight embrace before giving Wolf a few pats on the back.
Wolf returned the hug. His chest filled with vulnerability but also feelings of security at the same time. He needed someone like this in his life. Someone to lean on. Someone besides Ethan.
What Wolf really wanted was to get his life under control.
He was 27 years old. When the fuck was he going to straighten his life out?
He wished he had an answer for that question—one he’d been asking himself for years.
He wasn’t there yet, but he knew he would be one day.
He still needed a little help, and if Harris was offering, he’d take it.