7. DANTE & OLLIE and ASH & HARPER Double Date
DANTE & OLLIE AND ASH & HARPER: DOUBLE DATE
OLLIE
“Do we need sunscreen?” Ollie called to Harper from his bedroom.
Harper poked his head in from the living room. “We can’t get sunburned now that we’re bonded to the demons.”
Ollie contemplated the SPF fifty bottle in his hand. “True. It’s still weird to think we don’t need it, but I suppose if we did burn, it’d heal pretty quickly.” He tossed the sunscreen into his backpack anyway.
Harper’s phone buzzed. “Ash and Dante are here. Should we meet them on the roof?”
“Let’s go.” Ollie slung his backpack on and followed Harper out of the apartment.
The four of them were going hiking for the day. Harper had never been to the national park north of Shearwater Landing, and Ollie hadn’t been there in ages.
Ollie stepped onto the roof, a smile tugging on his lips as he took in Dante and Ash standing there with their wings out. He couldn’t help thinking Dante looked like an angel sometimes, even though he knew angels weren’t real.
Dante beamed at him as he approached. “Ready to go?”
Ollie leaped into Dante’s arms and Dante caught him, hauling him close. “Ready.”
Dante’s grip shifted to Ollie’s ass, and Ollie wrapped his arms around Dante’s neck. Their lips met in a sweet, lingering kiss.
“You guys are so cute,” Harper cooed as he pulled on the backpack Ash had brought.
Ash scooped up his mate, and with a glance at Dante, the two demons launched into the air.
Ollie clamped his eyes shut. He was sure the view was spectacular, but he wasn’t like Harper, who laughed with delight.
The flight was longer than usual, since they were leaving the city and surrounding suburbs behind.
“Almost there,” Dante said in Ollie’s ear, giving him a reassuring squeeze.
Ollie squeezed back, kissing Dante’s neck. They seemed to circle for a few moments before landing.
Once they were on the ground, Ollie opened his eyes and inspected the tall trees surrounding them. There was no trail in sight. “I think we’re lost already.”
“There were people at the trailhead, so we couldn’t land there.” Dante set Ollie on his feet, and ran a hand through Ollie’s hair, fixing the mess the wind had made of his curls.
“Oh, true.” Ollie hoped the trail wasn’t too crowded. He’d imagined this date as a private adventure.
“Wings away?” Dante asked Ash.
He nodded, and they both retracted their wings and horns. “Don’t worry, sweet,” Ash said in response to the disappointed look on Harper’s face. “I didn’t bring a shirt.”
Harper laughed. “Of course you didn’t.”
“Neither did I,” Dante said in Ollie’s ear.
“Really?” Ollie raised a brow at his mate. “That’s not like you.”
Dante shrugged. “Being shirtless in nature isn’t uncommon for humans.”
“Especially on such a warm day,” Ollie agreed.
With a satisfied smile, Dante led them through the trees to a gravel turn-out with a few parked cars and people milling around.
“Which trail are we doing?” Harper asked, looking at a sign with a map.
“How about the waterfall rout?” Dante pointed to a trail veering north-east.
“That’s a long one.” Harper caught Ollie’s eye. “It’s too bad we didn’t inherit demon strength through our mate bonds.”
Ollie snorted. “Yeah, seems unfair.”
Ash slung an arm around Harper. “We can always fly back.”
Harper brightened. “In that case, bring it on.”
After pausing for Ash to take the backpack from Harper, the four of them set off toward the waterfall. It was a gorgeous summer day and the trail had enough tree cover to keep the worst of the sun off them.
“Do you do much hiking?” Ollie asked Dante.
“No.” He threw a sheepish look over his shoulder. “I fly so much that I’ve missed a lot of this area. At least from the ground.”
“That’s a better excuse than I have. When I was in school I used to come out here more often on the weekends, but I’ve been pretty city-bound lately.”
Getting to the national park without a car was a pain, and renting one for the day was more effort than Ollie wanted to deal with. He hadn’t felt like he was missing out or anything, but being here now he promised himself to get out more.
Ollie loved the city and the nature reserve where Dante lived. He loved how busy it all was. Trudging along a trail without the sound of car horns or people was the complete opposite. But he loved this too.
The four of them chatted and joked as they headed up the mountain. Dante and Ash never seemed out of breath, and waited patiently as Ollie and Harper stopped for water breaks.
They passed a few people toward the start of the trail, but after they veered off along the river, no one crossed their path. The last mile was slow going, climbing over rocks and up steep inclines, but Ollie didn’t mind.
“We’re almost there,” Dante said, holding out his hand to pull Ollie over a huge rock.
“Thank all that’s damned,” Harper puffed.
Ollie smothered a laugh.
The trail flattened out, and a rushing waterfall came into view. A large pool sparkled blue beneath, the water lapping lazily at the edges.
Ollie wiped sweat from his brow. “It looks so refreshing.”
“Want to jump in?” Dante asked.
“Fuck, that sounds good.” Ollie tipped his head back, closed his eyes, and let the sound of flowing water engulf him.
“There’s no one around for miles,” Dante added. “I haven’t heard a soul in hours, even with my demon sense. We’ve got the place to ourselves.”
Ollie opened his eyes, a sly smile taking over his face. “To ourselves? Dante, are you suggesting we go skinny dipping?”
Dante’s cheeks flushed beautifully. “You’d look divine naked in the water with sun shining on your lovely blond curls.”
Heat pooled in Ollie’s core. “So would you. Your wings always sparkle in the sun.”
Dante’s expression turned so tender it hurt. He glanced toward Ash and Harper. Ollie had almost forgotten they were here.
Dante cleared his throat. “Want to go for a swim?”
Harper’s whole face lit up. “Hell yes. How about you, Ash?”
“Definitely. I’d never turn down a chance to see you bare, flower.”
Harper went bright red, and he caught Ollie’s eye. “Are you good with us all…you know…together?”
Ollie’s face heated. “Yeah. I don’t mind if you and Ash see me naked.” He turned to Dante. “What about you?”
Dante’s eyes flashed. “I don’t mind at all. Demons aren’t as concerned with nudity as most humans.”
“Is that so?” Ollie pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it on a rock. “Last one in has to do dishes for a week.”
Harper squeaked.
Ollie kicked off his shoes and shoved his shorts and underwear down. When he looked up, Ash was already in the water up to his waist, his pants discarded by the pond’s edge. Damn demon speed.
Beside Ollie, Dante pulled his pants off and released his wings. His eyes flashed and he grabbed Ollie’s hand.
There was a splash and a shout. “Eep! Cold!”
“I’ve got you, sweet. Let me warm you up.” Ash pulled Harper in close.
Ollie laughed and tugged Dante into the water. “Guess we’re tied for last.”
“No complaints here.”
Ollie gasped as the water covered his waist. “You weren’t kidding,” he said to Harper.
“It gets better after a minute.” Harper clung to Ash like a koala, so Ollie wasn’t sure if he’d gotten used to the water or if Ash’s internal fire was heating him up.
“It’s refreshing.” Ollie waded farther out. “How deep do you think it goes.”
Dante flopped onto his belly, sending ripples of water through the pond as he swam toward the waterfall. “Doesn’t look too deep.”
Ollie sucked in a breath and followed. The cool water covered his body, washing away the sweat of the day. He let out a shriek of his own. Dante laughed beside him, and Ollie’s heart about burst.
Ash carried Harper to the deeper water but it didn’t go past his pecs. Ollie rolled to his back and looked at the sky.
Dante’s face loomed, a wide smile tugging on his lips. “Having fun?”
“Hell yeah.” He reach back and took hold of Dante’s arm.
Dante ran his hands down Ollie’s back, holding him steady in the water. “You’re ethereal.”
Ollie squirmed at the praise. “Well, you look like an angel. How’s that for ethereal?”
Dante chuckled. “Sounds like we make a good pair.” He leaned down and covered Ollie’s lips with his.
“Careful,” Ollie said, their lips brushing. “There’s only about an inch of water covering my dick and I don’t know if Harper and Ash want a show.”
“No?” Dante hummed against Ollie’s mouth, kissing him again. “I’m not so sure they’d be opposed.”
“We can hear you,” Ash interjected.
Dante snorted and raised his head. Ollie twisted around so he was standing. Was Dante serious? Were Ash and Harper into that sort of thing? No shame if they were, but Ollie wasn’t confident he wanted to go there.
“No show, sorry. Dante is my demon.” Ollie playfully pinched his mate’s side.
A flash of something passed over Harper’s face too quick to read. “Yeah, of course. We know Dante was just messing around.”
Ash splashed Dante, hitting him in the face, and Dante sputtered. Ash cackled. “This is more fun.”
Dante growled and splashed back.
They dissolved in to laughter and half-hearted pleas to stop as they all got in on the splashing. When everyone—even the demons—were out of breath they swam to shore and crawled onto the rocks.
To one side was a wide, flat stone, warmed by the sun. They laid out, Ollie’s head resting on Dante’s chest, and Harper’s in Ash’s lap. Birds sang and a light breeze ruffled the surrounding trees. Ollie almost fell asleep to the rhythmic sound of the waterfall and flowing stream.
“Who’s hungry?” Ash passed around the lunch he’d packed. Cheese and fruit, and homemade bread. It was a perfect picnic, air drying with the sun on their bare skin.
What a magical afternoon.