Page 37
Isabella
If someone would’ve told me a week ago that I’d end up traveling to another country with my asshole neighbor… and enjoying myself…. I would’ve called them a liar. But spending time with David is surprisingly fun. Even the silences are comfortable and we have plenty to talk about.
Hannah was right; we’re not as different as we thought we were.
“Do you like working from home?” I ask him, breaking the silence between us as we hike the last mile for today.
“I love it,” he responds as he stops, removes his water bottle from his backpack, and takes a swig before continuing. “I’m my own boss and I make my own schedule. No more eighty-hour work weeks for me.”
I sigh. “That sounds amazing. Do you travel a lot since you can work from anywhere?”
He scoffs before attaching his water bottle back onto his backpack. “Never. This is the first time I’ve ever left the United States.”
My eyes widen at his admission. “You’re kidding.” He shakes his head, a look of sadness clouding his expression.
He continues, “I’m honestly shocked that I’ve enjoyed this trip so much. I’ll definitely be adding several more trips into my schedule.” The edge of his lips turns up into a smirk. “So I might need the URL for your website for ideas.”
“Just google Isa’s Itinerary.” I bump his arm with my elbow playfully. “Hey, I’ve been wondering… Why do you call me Isa?”
His brow furrows as he thinks, then he opens his mouth to answer and closes it again.
I’m too focused on him to notice the loose rocks in front of me, and my foot slips. I shriek in terror as I fall towards the edge of the path with a steep drop-off. I have no idea how far the fall will be, but my guess is pretty damn far.
Right as I’m internally making peace with meeting my maker, David’s hands grab onto my arms and pull me away from the ledge. For a moment, I keep my eyes squeezed shut and take deep breaths. When I finally pry them open, my face is buried in David’s shirt. His scent, which is now familiar to me, envelopes my senses and calms me. David’s arms are around me, one hand firmly on my waist and the other gently rubbing my back in a soothing rhythm.
I want to stay like this, wrapped in the safety of his arms, but our group is probably watching us and the longer he holds me, the more questions they’re going to ask. I pull back and look up at David, his cool blue eyes laced with concern.
“Are you okay?”
I nod my head but keep my eyes locked on his.
He doesn’t make a move to step away from me, instead keeping his arm around my waist.
We stand there with our gazes locked for what feels like a blissful eternity, before he finally breaks the silence. “I call you Isa,” he says barely above a whisper, his chest heaving, probably from watching me nearly fall to my death, “because it feels right.”
He steps back so there’s an appropriate amount of space between us again. I glance over where we had almost caught up to our group and half of them are staring at us, the other half walking in our direction.
Rocco must notice the commotion and rushes over. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, sorry. I stumbled on some rocks but I’m fine.” I attempt a smile, but my whole body still feels shaky from nearly falling over a cliff, and from David’s gaze nearly setting me on fire.
Hannah and Anthony break through the crowd. “Girl, your scream almost gave me a heart attack,” Hannah says as she pulls me into a hug. She pulls away and grasps my shoulders to look me over, like she’s making sure I’m not broken. Then she leans in and whispers, “thank goodness David was there to rescue you.”
I blink to keep from crying, not wanting anyone to know how scared I really was, or how much I loved being rescued by David.
With a strained laugh, I shoo her away from me. “I’m fine, see? Not even a scratch.”
Not even an hour after my near-death experience, we arrive at the edge of Machu Picchu where we’ll camp for the night. Just like Rocco warned us, the thick fog is prohibiting our view, but hopefully it will clear in the morning and we can see the Incan ruins in all of their glory. The grass looks so thick and soft, I have the urge to lay down in it, and there’s a large swing set so you can swing while taking in the Mountain Views.
The swing looks a little too close to the edge of the mountain for my comfort after my slip earlier.
Llamas are ambling about, grazing and seemingly oblivious to our arrival. They must be pretty used to tourists invading their turf. Llamas roam about here like cows in a pasture in the Midwest.
Hopefully none of them will try to make out with David tonight. I smile to myself as I remember that he thought I was the one doing that… and he wasn’t trying to push me away. A shiver runs through my body, from my toes to the top of my head, making me feel warm and flushed all over.
What would it be like to kiss David? A man who’s calculated and does everything with precision. Would that make him an excellent kisser, or a horrible one?
Someone clears their throat next to me, I was so deep in thought I hadn’t even noticed them before now. I look over to see Hannah standing there watching me, one eyebrow quirked and a hand on her hip.
