Page 45 of You Met Me There

“So we’re, like, lost?” I growl.

He shrugs, and I watch as a bead of sweat rolls over his toned shoulder and down his tan arm. Even all sweaty, Luke looks good in a tank top and basketball shorts. He’s the kind of guy who looks attractive no matter what he’s doing. He could be in a bunny suit sitting on a tractor, and I’d still drool.

I hate him for it right now, almost as much as I hate myself for caving and deciding to run with him today.

“I wouldn’t say we’re lost. I’ve been following these blue markings on the trees. It has to lead somewhere, right?” His smiling eyes meet mine, and I’m so done with this run that I’m debating drop-kicking him right here for getting us lost.

That is, if I knew how to drop-kick someone. As I’ve already proven with this run, I’m not athletically inclined.

I shake out my legs, hoping it will help with the pain in my ankles. “But we don’t know how long this blue trail is. It could be another five miles. Or more!”

“Do you want to turn around?” he asks. “We can go back the way we came and try to find the path we were supposed to take to finish the loop.”

We drove to the Kittappy River beach parking lot and left the car there to find some running trails that twist through the woods. I think we started out on the white trail, which was supposed to be a two-mile loop, but there’s no telling how far we’ve run past the turnoff.

“Can we just sit here until someone comes along who can tell us how far we are past the white trail?” I groan and lean against a tree, hoping there are no spiders crawling into my hair from the branches.

Luke steps closer to me, hands splayed wide on his hips. “We haven’t seen that many people. It could be a while before someone else takes this exact trail. Maple Lake has hundreds of hiking paths.”

I sigh and wave my hand. “You’re right. But can we stop for a minute?”

He nods, rubbing his jaw and watching me. “I’m glad you’re running with me today. I think it will help with your anxiety.”

I bend to retie my shoelace. “I know. You’ve said that before.”

“And yet you’ve still never tried it until now.”

I shrug, standing. “Because I hate it.”

His lips press together. “You know I just want to help you.”

“I’m fine,” I lie. “I haven’t been feeling that anxious lately. And the nightmares haven’t been bothering me.” I smile reassuringly at him.

In actuality, the dreams have changed. They’re still present, but different somehow.

Luke looks up to the sky, breathing away what he wants to say next. I let him take my hand, and he guides me back to the middle of the trail. Our hands are hot and clammy as they press together, but I don’t mind now. His touch instantly grounds me, bringing me back to a place where everything is okay.

“You ready?” he asks.

No.

I nod. “Yes. Let’s keep going. I just want to get this over with. Maybe there’s an ice cream shop on the other side of the woods or something.”

Luke laughs from his chest, and his eyes sparkle when he leans down and kisses me on my salty mouth. His face drips with perspiration, and I’m sure mine looks even worse. His lips are soft, but the kiss is firm. And before I can lean into it, he’s already pulling away.

He starts jogging again, his fist in the air. “Onward! For ice cream!”

I follow, hating the jog, hating that I’m lost in the woods, and desperately hoping there really is ice cream at the end of this.

As we emerge from the trees, our feet meet a gravel parking lot, but it’s not the one we came from where our car currently waits for us.

This lot is smaller, with railroad ties lining the perimeter. There are three cars sitting in the sun, and across the two-lane street is a bait shop. The bait shop. The one where Luke and I first met nine years ago. My breath catches, and I take it all in. I had no idea we were heading in this direction, and I never knew there was a hiking trail leading out from this parking lot.

We slow to a walk, but before we cross the road, I stop. I stare up at the building, the wooden siding painted a dark green. A big chipped sign hanging over the entrance reads Rick’s Live Bait and Tackle Shop. The familiar neon ice cream cone sign blinks in the window. My heart flutters, and my eyes light up like the sign in the window.

“What was that we said about ice cream on the other side of the woods?” I ask, turning to Luke.

His smile is almost as big as mine. He runs a hand through his hair, but it falls back over his brow anyway.