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“I can fix that,” I offer. “I’ll get my water bottle.”
“Please don’t.” She opens an eye to gaze down at me. And then her smile fades, both eyes fluttering open. Her green eyes grow soft as they hold mine, and my hands tighten against the material of her leggings. “Will you help me down?”
I nod slowly, trying to keep my mouth from going dry as she turns to face me. The anticipation is palpable, drowning out all sounds except for the pounding of our hearts.
She takes a step forward and gently places her palms on the tops of my shoulders, slowly lowering herself into my waiting embrace. A spark of electricity shoots through me as her body presses against mine and I feel her breath catch in her throat. A voice in my head tells me to let go, but I can’t bring myself to do it.
Her lithe form slides against me, fitting perfectly into every curve and angle. I instinctively bend down towards her, enveloping her in my arms. Nila’s eyes meet mine and I am struck by the intensity and passion that burns within them. It’s intoxicating, igniting something primal and raw inside of me.
As her feet touch the ground, she tilts her head up to meet my gaze and that’s when I see it—the desire simmering just beneath the surface. It’s a magnetic force pulling me closer with each passing second.
My nose brushes against hers as we stand there, neither of us daring to break the moment. Her eyelashes flutter closed and I can feel her body relax into mine.
Our lips are just inches apart now.
But before we can close the tiny gap between us, she suddenly tenses in my arms and pulls away slightly. “We can’t do this,” she whispers breathlessly, her words breaking the spell between us.
“Sorry,” I mutter, dropping my hands and stepping away from her. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what I was think—”
“Cameron, it’s fine,” she says, though her voice wavers as she meets my gaze. “We just got caught up in the moment. It happens.”
And with that, she heads down the trail.
Man, I’m an idiot.
I race to catch up with her, though I stay a few steps behind.
The silence feels deafening. Minutes feel like hours. And I resign to the notion that I’ve probably messed up the playful dynamic between us…
And that sucks worse than her rejecting me.
“I’ve been having a hard time coping with losing my gran a couple years ago,” Nila blurts out.
I furrow my brow.
I have no idea what that has to do with the moment we just shared at the lookout, but it’s definitely a heavy conversation opener.
“I’m sorry,” I tell her.
“It’s been really hard moving on without her.”
I swallow hard, understanding on a level that brings me pain. “Yeah, I understand that.”
“I know you do,” she says quietly. “It’s nice to be around someone who gets it. I tried to go to grief counseling, but it never seemed to help. Did therapy help you?” She glances my way.
I hesitate. “Looking back, I think it did. Though, at the time, it didn’t really feel like it helped me at all.”
She nods. “Yeah, maybe that’s how it was for me, too. She loved the mountains, and she’s all I’ve thought about since we started this hike. She would’ve loved it here.”
Great, and all I thought about was your butt.
I’m gross.
I shake off the guilt. “Did you vacation to the mountains?”
“No. We mostly went to lakes and rivers. Well, I think she’d been to the Rocky Mountains, though—before me. I don’t know. I just wish people lived forever.”
My heart aches at the grief in her voice. “Me, too. I think that’s the only pain time doesn’t always heal. It doesn’t necessarily get easier; you just learn to live with their absence.”
