24. Blake
BLAKE
We drive for about two hours, leaving the highway, then meandering through roads that look as though they get used by like ten cars a year. I obviously know it’s way more than that, but it feels like we’re traveling in the middle of nowhere.
It’s so stunning. I keep catching my breath as I stare at the mountains looming in the distance and the hilly landscape around us.
The road is a snake in the landscape, winding back and forth through an ocean of pine trees.
This is Colorado backcountry at its best, and I can’t believe I’m about to hike through this wilderness.
I can’t admit that I’m just a little nervous.
I’m mostly excited because I’ve never done anything like this before, and new adventures are fun.
I’m also excited because I finally have Grady all to myself.
Although, I highly doubt he’s feeling the same way.
He’s been tense and silent ever since we left, and this trip is going to royally suck if he doesn’t chill the fuck out .
Seriously. Does he think I’m a rattlesnake or something?
I’m not about to pounce and inject him with venom. I just want to hang out… maybe get a little frisky, sure. There’s nothing wrong with a spring break fling.
I just need to figure out a way to convince him of that.
Checking him out from the corner of my eye, I study the side of his gorgeous face, once again captured by those high cheekbones and the strong lines of his dark skin.
Mm! He’s so freaking hot!
“Here we go,” he mumbles, slowing his Jeep and pulling into a small gravel parking lot. There’s one other vehicle, which looks to love the outdoors as much as Grady’s Jeep does.
We park next to it, and then he cuts the engine and turns to look at me.
I smile at him, hoping to ease that tense frown off his face.
He stares at me for a beat before his lips twitch and he gruffly asks, “You ready for this?”
“You bet I am.” Unbuckling, I jump out and walk around to the back of the Jeep.
We load up, Grady making sure my pack is sitting comfortably. I kind of love his close proximity as he adjusts straps and checks the pack’s positioning.
“That feel okay?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Make sure your hips are taking the bulk of the weight,” he reminds me, checking the strap around my hips and giving it a jiggle until I confirm that I’m good to go .
My pigeon shoulders can manage this thing. I’m determined to make it so.
“Okay, then.” Grady locks up the Jeep, then turns to glance down at me. “Time to show you my favorite place on earth.” His lips stretch into a genuine smile, and I drink it in, grinning right back at him before spinning in my hiking boots and marching into the forest.
He sets a fair pace, and after twenty minutes, I’m struggling to keep up.
I don’t want to complain and come across like some weak city girl, so I grit my teeth and keep going, totally understanding why my parents never introduced me to this activity.
Picturing my classy mother sweating it out on a dirty trail with insects buzzing about and nothing but the sight of endless tress nearly makes me laugh out loud. I may have grown up in Colorado, but my life has consisted of one luxury after another.
Mom’s idea of a vacation is a two-story “cottage” by the lake or a three-bedroom suite on a cruise ship.
We’ve seen the world in style, and any vacation time we’ve spent in this fine state has been surrounded by country club pricks on the edge of a golf course with all the modern luxuries one could ask for.
This right here is new to me.
And although I’m already sweating and my muscles are asking me what the fuck I’m playing at… I’m loving it.
“You good?” Grady’s stopped up ahead, waiting for me to catch up.
“Uh-huh.” I reach him as fast as I can, and he narrows his eyes at me. “What?”
“You have to be honest with me when we’re out here. If you’re struggling, you gotta tell me; otherwise, I don’t know to adjust.”
I make a face and reluctantly admit, “We’re going a little fast. I want to keep up with you, but you’re like… like the Flash.”
He snickers.
“And I feel like a freaking princess who’s never even broken a nail.”
“You’re not that precious.” He gives my shoulder a playful nudge, then spins and starts walking a lot more slowly.
We meander along the trail for a while, and I tune in to the sounds of nature around me. Birds twitter; a woodpecker taps in the distance.
Wow. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a woodpecker in real life before. That sounds so cool!
My boots crunch along packed dirt, dead pine needles, and rocks scattered before me.
“This trail seems pretty unused. Where are we?”
“We’re on the Itsá Trail. It’s not a very popular one, and I love it for that very reason.”
“Why don’t people like it?”
“Not sure. I think it’s kind of out of the way, harder to find. Not too many people know about it.”
“So how do you know about it, then?”
He glances back to flash me a smile. “My dad’s been taking me out since before I can remember.
We’ve hiked most of the state. Every vacation, he’d always take me someplace different.
I think I was about fourteen or fifteen when he found this spot for us, and I fell in love with it.
I don’t even know what makes this place different to all the others. I guess it just speaks to my soul. ”
Okay, wow.
My insides tremble, and I gaze around the forest and instantly get it.
This place has a very special vibe. I can feel it too. There’s an ancient type of magic or spirituality here. Its energy surrounds us, an invisible swirling mass that makes my heart pulse and my insides sing.
“It’s really beautiful. I get why you love it.”
He stops, turning to look at me, like he’s double-checking that I actually mean it.
I nod. “I’m serious. I can feel the energy of this place. I get why it’s your favorite.”
His lips curl into a smile that warms his eyes as well, and I just want to stand here drinking him in. The dappled sunlight breaking through the trees is highlighting his handsome face and?—
He turns away, continuing down the trail, and I try not to feel that burn of disappointment. We almost had a moment. I could feel it.
Wrestling my phone out of the front zipper pouch of my bag, I know I can no longer capture him just the way he was… but that shaft of light breaking through the trees is stunning.
Pausing on the trail, I line up the shot, catching Grady’s back as he walks into the light. He’s surrounded by trees, and it seriously looks like angels are smiling down on him or something.
“Nice,” I murmur to myself, smiling at the screen and already imagining this picture blown up and framed on a wall. It’s stunning.
“You coming?” Grady calls from ahead, and I pick up my pace, chasing after him as he teases me about being on my phone when I should be enjoying the view.
“I was taking a photo, dipshit.” I snort, laughing when he turns to frown at me.
I grin back, and his lips start to twitch before he nods and keeps walking.
Happily following after him, I enjoy this slow pace, although it’s probably taking us way longer to get to the first pit stop he planned. But I don’t want to go any faster. I want to drink this all in.
It’s so gorgeous.
We’re like the only two people on the planet right now, and that’s not overwhelming or scary at all.
It’s comforting.
Peaceful.
Two hours disappear in a flash as I take in this nature like it’s my personal brand of fuel. I snap a stupid number of photos, but I just can’t help myself. There is so much to capture out here.
My shoulders start to ache, my calf muscles are cramping as we ascend a steep, rocky pathway, and my feet are complaining big-time.
But I’m struggling to remember a time that I felt this content.
This unburdened.
And I want to freaking drown in this feeling.