Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 118(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 118(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
“Sounds like a little sister.”
“I love her to bits, but yes, she is absolutely a little sister.”
I take a few steps in and appreciate the great majesty of what’s around me. I’d only seen scenery like this as computer wallpapers or on social media. Seeing it with my own eyes gives me a whole new appreciation for it all. “So you just come out here whenever you want to enjoy it? No one stops you?”
“Yes?” He sounds surprised that I’d ask such a question. “I’m a grown adult. I’m allowed to do whatever I want as long as I’m not hurting anyone.”
Must be nice. My teeth grit at the thought of my parents, and how it seems impossible to shirk their influence. They’d probably be apoplectic that I’m out here in the forest alone without, like, a full tour group or something. One guy alone can’t protect you from all the vicious bears, I hear my mother’s voice.
Bears don’t work like that, Mom. God.
“Actually,” he says, stroking his chin in deeper thought. “There was never a time I couldn’t just come out here. That’s how I had cliff-racing competitions with my sister. Made sense when I was twelve. Not so much when I’m twenty-two.”
“I’m surprised your parents let you out here without a babysitter of some sort.”
“This is a small town. Babysitters are kids who are, like, three years older than you, if you have one at all.” He scratches his chin again, more deep thoughts hitting him. “Was I babysitting my little sister this whole time?”
“Nothing about being a man disqualifies you from being responsible for others, so yes, yes, you were.”
“Damn. And I never even got paid for it.”
“Just the responsibility of making sure your family is okay. How dare they do such a thing to you, Hawk? How dare they?”
He shrugs. “I’m sure I’ll get over it eventually.”
We drift closer to one another, his arm around my shoulder. We’re pressed up against one another, enjoying the sight of the waterfall, and the endless flow of the creek. Water goes on and on, forever, continuing, despite the world, with or without us. Nature is always a bit haunting when it comes to this sort of thing.
“The real main event is a bit farther down,” Hawk says. “Right through those trees over there.”
“There’s more to show me, huh?” I smirk. “Lead the way, big boy.”
I’m still a bit exhausted after climbing the hill, but the rest of the journey Hawk is leading me on seems to be more on flat ground, thankfully.
We pass through another forest path, and into a new valley, a small divide between two mountains. Soon the trees start to give way to a huge field. The sun shines down on a big clearing, a meadow, the only plants there being some grass of decent height.
“Here we are. One of the few places in the entire forest not completely covered by trees. And it's quite the sight on its own.”
It really is. There’s a quiet serenity about it, a difference to its scent. I can hear distant birdsong, but as we walk into the field, it’s just me and him. The only things in the world that matter at that moment are him and I.
He drops down his hiking backpack, and whips out one of the blankets, finding one of the flattest pieces of ground on the field to lay it out. “I think it’s time for us to take a break, don’t you think?”
I’d agree with him even if my legs and back weren’t aching. I set down my pack beside him, and have a seat on the blanket as well. We both sit for a time, sipping our canteens. I lean back into him, falling into his lap, his arms around me as he pulls me close.
There’s no rush to get up and keep going. As the sun begins to set in the distance, he runs his hands through my hair, his touch tender and sweet. “I’m forever captivated by just how gorgeous you are.”
“You ain’t too bad yourself, there, handsome.”
Our embrace brings us closer, climbing into his lap, Hawk lowering his face toward mine, until we’re gazing into each other’s eyes, mere inches separating our lips. My heart starts to pound faster. I’d never been this close to a guy, like this. My parents were always those types who had to micromanage my personal life, ready to freak out about whatever boy I liked wasn’t good enough.
My parents would absolutely loathe someone like Hawk.
But my parents aren’t here now.
I’m a grown-ass woman ready to make my own decisions, and if those decisions turn into mistakes, I’ll own up to them all the same.
When the inevitable happens, and Hawk goes for the kiss, I accept it. My lips meet his, and it’s more amazing than I ever thought it would be. It’s really just two sets of lips meeting, but God, the adrenaline is pumping through me at that moment, and how it makes me desire him all the more. I pick myself up and lean into his kisses as they grow more intense. Our tongues invade one another’s mouths, tangling, entwining with one another.