Chapter Five
Trista
I stay three more days.
I tell myself it’s practical. That I should see more of the area, get familiar with the trails, understand what Nate loved about this place.
But that’s only part of the truth.
The real truth is that I don’t want to leave. Don’t want to step away from Duke and whatever this is that’s building between us.
I tag along with him to work, and we spend the days hiking.
He shows me trails I never would have found on my own, pointing out signs I would have missed.
Animal tracks in the mud. Scat that tells him what passed through and when.
The subtle way the vegetation changes with elevation.
The sound the wind makes when weather is coming.
He teaches me to read the mountain the way he does. Not as something to conquer or fear, but as something to understand. To respect.
We talk about everything. His childhood growing up at the base of the mountain. My career, the buildings I dream of designing. His time in the military before he became a warden. My relationship with Nate, the way his death left a hole I’m still learning to navigate.
We don’t talk about what this is. What we’re doing. Where it might go.
But it’s there in every look, every touch, every moment we choose to stay together instead of apart.
The nights are even better.
He takes me apart slowly, methodically, learning what makes me gasp and moan and beg. I learn him too. The way his breath catches when I kiss his neck. The sounds he makes when I take him in my mouth. The way his hands tighten on my hips when he’s about to come.
On the third night, after we’ve exhausted ourselves and are lying tangled in his sheets, he says something that stops my heart.
“I love you.”
I freeze, certain I misheard. “What?”
He props himself up on one elbow, looking down at me with complete certainty. “I love you, Trista. I know it’s fast. I know it’s probably too soon to say it. But that’s what I feel.”
My throat tightens. “Duke…”
“You don’t have to say it back,” he continues quickly. “I’m not saying it to pressure you or because I expect anything. I’m saying it because it’s true. Because you deserve complete honesty, and this is me being honest. I could never, ever lie to you, about anything.”
I reach up, cupping his face in my hands. “I love you too.”
His eyes widen. “You do?”
“I do. And you’re right, it’s crazy and fast and will probably make no sense to anyone who isn’t us. But fuck them. This is real.” I pull him down for a kiss. “It’s the most real thing I’ve felt in years.”
He kisses me back, deep and claiming, and then we’re moving together again, not frantic but intense. Purposeful. Like we’re sealing something with our bodies that our words have already promised.
This time when we come together, it’s different. Not just sex, though it’s still incredible. But something more. Something that feels like commitment. Like choosing each other not just for right now, but for whatever comes next.
Afterward, as we lie catching our breath, I think about what Nate would say about all this.
He’d probably laugh. Tell me it was about time I took a risk. Tell me to stop overthinking and just trust my instincts.
And then he’d tell me to hold on to this. To Duke. To whatever we’re building.
Because love like this doesn’t come around often.
And when it does, you don’t let it go.