25. Grady
GRADY
Blake seems happy. Her genuine smile is absolutely stunning.
I’m not used to seeing her so unchecked.
This smile isn’t the one she puts on for Wily, and it’s not the one I saw her use when she was talking to her parents yesterday.
Their video chat was all about her parents questioning why she was taking this insane trip with me.
They were obviously too busy, on the weekend we visited them, talking football with Wily to really let the news sink in, but now it has…
and her mother wanted to know why on earth her daughter would choose to live like a savage for five whole days.
Blake had laughed at the comment, but it hadn’t been a relaxed sound.
Not like the one she made when we spotted that squirrel racing up the tree.
A squirrel.
She’s definitely seen one before, but obviously out here, in the wild, it’s that much more spectacular.
The musical sound carried across the breeze, and I turned back in time to see her pointing at that tree and grinning at me.
It was beautiful.
She’s so stunningly beautiful, it’s hard to concentrate around her.
Which is why I’m leading the way.
I have to be in front, because if I had to follow that luscious body of hers, I’m not sure I could do this.
I’m hyperaware of her behind me—listening to the sound of her boots, making sure her steps are steady and even. She hasn’t faltered since I slowed the pace, and I can almost feel her relaxing the farther we get into this hike.
She seems to love it out here, and I can’t even describe the effect that is having on me.
Showing people my favorite place is almost like a sacred affair, and when they don’t get it, it’s such a blow.
Teah never got it.
I think back to the one and only time I brought her out here. I’d planned for a weekend getaway, packed all the necessary supplies.
We lasted less than a day. We made it to the lake about an hour north of this position, and she was in the foulest, grumpiest mood I’d ever seen.
Sweat was glistening on her skin—she was one sexy thing—but she wouldn’t let me near her.
She spent our lunch break complaining about the insects, perched on a rock and muttering about how much her feet hurt.
I knew within a few minutes that there was no way she could cope with a night out here.
So, I suggested we go for a swim, then head back.
She was so relieved, she stripped off quickly and jumped into the water, only to complain about how freezing it was, then grumbled her way back to the car, quickly giving up her pack before her shoulders hurt too much.
Needless to say, we drove back to Nolan in aggravated silence, and she didn’t relax until I’d pulled up outside her sorority house.
“Sorry I didn’t love it, Grady,” she’d mumbled. “I guess hiking’s just not my thing.”
I gave her an understanding smile even though I didn’t get it at all.
How I hadn’t seen that as a big red flag is beyond me. I was too loved-up to do anything but forgive her.
We made amends the next morning, and I accepted the fact that I was with a woman who wouldn’t share my passion for the outdoors. I could deal. We just wouldn’t do that one thing together. I still had my bros and my dad to share that with, and it was enough.
But watching Blake get into this with me…
Yeah, there’s something special about it.
Unhooking my water bottle, I slug back a drink, then dig out my trail mix.
“Want some?” I hand her the bag, and she takes it, greedily scarfing down a couple of handfuls before passing it back.
“Delicious,” she murmurs around her mouthful. “What’s in that?”
I glance down at the bag and list off the things I always put in there. “Cashews, almonds, peanut butter chips, raisins, dark chocolate chips, cranberries.”
“So good. You make it yourself?”
“Uh-huh.” I pop another handful in my mouth before sealing the packet and zipping it back into the side pocket of my pack. “You still feeling all right?”
“Yeah.” She hitches her pack on her shoulder, blowing a wayward curl off her cheek before grinning at me.
“We’ve got about two hours, maybe two and a half at the pace we’re currently going, until we get to a place I thought we could camp tonight.”
“Okay.”
“You gonna be good? How’s your body feeling?”
Resting her hands on either side of her slender waist, she nods. “Good. Yeah, I can keep going.”
“You’ll tell me if it gets too much, right? Because there’s another spot we can go if?—”
“Grady, I’m fine,” she assures me. “I promise I’ll tell you if I feel like my feet are about to fall off.”
“Is your body hurting yet?”
“My legs are complaining, and getting up that hill made me feel like my lungs were about to explode, but that’s my fault for not exercising on the regular.”
My lips twitch. “And here I was thinking you were one of those gym bunnies or Pilates princesses.”
She scoffs. “Yeah, right. I’m the study nerd who’s allergic to sweat, didn’t you know that?”
I gaze at her glistening skin and the red hue on her cheeks and can’t help murmuring, “Could have fooled me. Sweat looks good on you, Wilson.”
Her blue gaze lights with appreciation, and fuck, I shouldn’t have said that. I don’t know how I’m looking at her right now, but I’m probably giving away far too much.
Clearing my throat, I spin before I say anything else that’s gonna get me in trouble .
“Sweat looks good on you too,” she softly says behind me, and I pick up my pace, needing to create a little more space between us.
I slow it down after a couple of minutes when I can sense how hard she’s trying to keep up with me.
Shit, she’s fire.
And I’m gonna get so fucking burned in this forest.
Keep it together, man. You can do this!
“Ooo! What’s that?” Her excited voice distracts me, and I happily launch into a detailed explanation of the wildlife she just saw scurrying away into the forest.
I’ve studied every animal out here, and it’s easy to rattle off the facts as we plod along the trail.
The farther we go, the denser the surrounding trees and bush will get.
The hike I planned and logged on the website is taking us into parts of these woods that are hardly ever touched.
I feel safe doing it, because I’ve done it so many times before.
I love choosing trails that are only touched by the seasoned hikers and hunters in the area.
Blake’s gonna get a taste of what it really means to “go off-grid,” and I’m stoked that I get to experience all of her firsts with her.
She seems so fascinated by what I’m telling her that I keep the conversation going and answer every one of her questions. She keeps saying how stunning and beautiful it all is, and holy shit, if I didn’t like her before, I most definitely do now.
Pulling out her phone yet again, she ends up snapping a bunch more shots as we crest the next hill, then head down toward the lake.
It takes us even longer than I expected, but I don’t mind so much because none of the photos are selfies.
This girl is all about capturing nature, adjusting aperture and fiddling with her phone app until she gets the lighting just right.
When we break out into a clearing that will be tonight’s campsite, she actually gasps, running to the edge of the lake and taking what feels like a hundred shots.
The mountains in the distance are highlighted by the early-afternoon sun, the snow on the peaks glistening, the blue-sky backdrop turning it into a picture-postcard view.
“Holy shit, this is amazing!” She glances back to gape at me. “Are you seeing this?”
“Yep.” I grin and can’t help stopping to watch her. I know this view by heart, but her, I’m still memorizing. I know I shouldn’t, but I just can’t help myself.
She’s decked out in hiking attire, looking like a model for the REI catalog, and it’s a freaking turn-on. Those skintight yoga pants with the clunky hiking boots? Yep, it totally does it for me.
Forcing my gaze away, I unclip my pack and let it slide off my shoulders as she finally slips her phone back into her pocket and steps toward me.
“I’m gonna run out of juice before the end of this hike, aren’t I?” Her lips form a quick pout. “How am I gonna capture it all?”
“I’ve got a power bank you can use, but I’d also turn it off at night to save as much battery as you can.”
“Okay.” She grins, pulling out her phone again to take a quick shot of me.
“Don’t waste your battery on me.”
“It’s not a waste.” She gazes at the screen with a little smile that’s both unnerving and enticing .
Shit, she thinks I’m hot.
The feeling is mutual, girl!
With a soft sigh, she turns back to stare at the lake again. “Seriously, this place is insane. I’ve never seen untouched beauty like it before.”
“Yeah, it’s one of my favorite spots.”
“I can see why.” She glances at me, her blue eyes bright with a smile that I can’t turn away from.
So I just stand there as she unbuckles her pack. It thuds to the dirt because her arms are obviously too tired to catch it in time.
“Whoops. Sorry.” She winces.
“No worries.” I walk over to the pack, picking it up and stowing it next to mine. “Let’s have some lunch, and then we can get to work setting up camp.”
“Sure.” Pulling the now thoroughly squished sandwiches out of her pack, I pass them to her, and we munch down the food I prepared when I first got up this morning.
For multiday hikes like this, you have to be organized, so I’ve mapped out our meals and snacks to ensure we have enough food to last us.
I’ll do some fishing this afternoon, and we can cook that over a campfire tonight, plus I have some overnight oats already soaking for tomorrow morning.
I’ll have to make sure I secure our packs properly and rig them up so we don’t get bears sniffing out the food and visiting us in the night.
Figure I should probably go through safety procedures and warn Blake about all the potential threats and dangers we face on a trail like this, but I’ll let her finish eating first.
One thing at a time, right ?