Twenty-Nine
Bart
We drove along the narrow road toward the big slab of rock that was stuck into the side of the mountain. There were names and words painted wherever someone could cling to the slick surface. “Whoa what is that?”
“That is the slab. It’s a rite of passage for the high school graduates to come up here and write their names,” Keith explained as he drove to the bottom of it. “Want to climb it?”
I ducked down to get a look through the window up at the steep mountain that looked like a piece of it had been sliced off leaving only a large smooth black surface. “Hell no. I like adventure but I’m not crazy.”
“I think I’m a little too old to be climbing it now.”
“I think I might be too old,” I said and didn’t feel one little bit bad about it.
We drove a very narrow trail along the mountain.
There were lots of rocky outcroppings and a few oak trees scattered here and there and some blackberry bushes where I guessed there was a small creek. “This is beautiful.”
“It is a nice area. Most people don’t come back here unless they’re trying to find the swimming hole or want to go for a short drive off road.”
“It’s not very far?”
“No, the road is less than ten miles, but it’s a tough ten miles. Not like Rubicon, but not a Sunday drive either. Be sure your seat belt is tight,” he said before we started going up the steepest fucking mountain I’d ever seen. It wasn’t as steep as the slab, but it looked like it was close.
“Is this safe?” I asked as my whole life passed before my eyes and I forced myself not to open the door and risk jumping.
“It’s safe. I’ve climbed it many times, and the old girl can handle it no problem.” He patted the dashboard of the old Toyota truck that had to be older than me. We inched our way along until we were nearly to the top where there was a hump. “Don’t worry, we’ll make it.”
“Jesusfuckingchrist,” I yelled and gripped the handle above the door like that would save me if the truck flipped backwards down the hill.
Which it didn’t. By some miracle it climbed the hump and, in a few minutes, we were at the top where it was thankfully flat.
Keith pulled to a stop and set the brake before turning to look at me.
“Well, what do you think?” He waved his hand in the direction of the way we’d come which looked even more amazing from above. I gripped the back of his head and pulled him in for a kiss.
“It was terrifying and somehow exciting all at once. The view is beautiful, but I really hope there isn’t anything else this steep,” I rambled. He grinned and hugged me as tightly as he could since we were both strapped in and there was not a chance in hell I was unlocking my belt.
“I promise it’s not any worse than that the rest of the way and if you’re not sure of any of it, we’ll turn around.”
“I really want to go swimming with you.”
“Let’s go then. We’ll see if we can find this secret place.”
Keith put the truck in gear, and we continued along the narrow road that reminded me of some of the bike trails I rode on. “Why is this road here?”
“I’ve heard it was an old road that led to the mountains when they used wagons to go this way. When they put a road in they went the other way that was flatter.”
“A wagon could go up that mountain?”
“I don’t think so, there’s another way that goes around.”
My head moved so fast to look at him I got a headrush. “There’s another way, but you chose to drive us up a fucking wall?”
“Well yeah, it was fun.”
“Oh my god I am seriously questioning my choice in men right now.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll make it up to you.”
“I’m holding you to that.”
The rest of the trail was more meandering than terrifying.
The small stream that was occasionally visible from the road grew wider the deeper into the mountains we went.
Not that we went far, but the landscape grew wilder and more untouched, and I was thankful I’d brought anything we might need in case we were trapped here for more than a few hours.
“We’re not going to get trapped, we’ll be home for dinner,” Keith said and I wondered if I’d said that out loud. “I can feel you calculating how long we can live off whatever food you packed.”
“Was not,” I mumbled, annoyed at being caught.
“Here it is, I think this is where we turn to go down.” He slowly drove down the sloped area that really wasn’t bad at all, right next to the rushing water until we turned at what looked like the end of the road, and there it was.
There was a small waterfall at the other end that formed a small pool-type area which looked deep enough to swim.
It was surrounded by large smooth boulders that would be perfect to warm up in the sun after.
“This is beautiful,” I said and we climbed out of the truck as soon as he turned off the engine and made sure to set the brake.
“Ready to go for a swim? Might be a little cold.”
I pulled my shirt over my head and picked up the backpack and ice chest from behind the seat. “Let’s go check it out.” We took a few steps before he took the ice chest from me and took my hand as we walked closer to the edge.
“Watch your footing and be aware of snakes.” He said it so casually.
Like he was pointing out one of the cows looking cute in the pasture.
I stopped in my tracks and looked at every possible place I thought a snake could be.
There was grass, and rocks, so many rocks that a snake could hide under or behind.
“Exactly what kind of snakes?” I asked, even though I knew.
“Mostly rattlers.”
“Keith, why are you taking me someplace so dangerous?” I yelled loud enough to echo off the rocks.
“Don’t worry, the snakes don’t want to be around us any more than we want to be around them, and I’m pretty sure you just scared any of them out of here with that shout.” He smiled and gave me the look that made my insides turn to goo every fucking time. How could I ever be mad at someone like him?
“Good, come on. I want to swim,” I said and started to walk down in front before changing my mind and letting Keith lead.