I stood under the hot water, still in shock over what I’d spent the night before doing. Had I really slept with Kyle? The answer was obviously yes, especially since it had happened more than once. My body warmed as I thought over our night.

I heard the door open. “Kyle?” I wasn’t sure whether I was more terrified or excited about him walking into the bathroom. Was it going to be awkward?

“Mind if I join you?” he called from inside the room.

“In the shower?” Did he want to hook up again? I had no clue if the night before had been a one-time thing.

“Yes.” He pulled open the curtain and stepped in. I guess that answered one question. He wasn’t planning to bring things back to platonic.

My eyes took in his naked body as I continued to stand under the stream of water. His eyes were doing the same thing to my body. “You didn’t wait for me to answer.”

“I decided to go for it.” He grinned. “Very glad I did.” He closed the space between us, his lips meeting mine for a slow and gentle kiss. I closed my eyes, accepting his kiss and pushing away my doubts. I needed to live in the moment, and that moment involved Kyle kissing me in the shower.

“I’m glad you did.” I fought off the urge to cross my arms over my chest. He’d already seen me naked. There was no reason to be embarrassed, yet I still was.

“Mind if I get under there?” He gestured to the shower head.

I nodded, and scooted out of the way. Were we really going to do this? Shower together like two people who were supposed to be showering together?

Before I could think about it long, he eased me back under the water and his lips descended on my neck. He cupped my breast with one hand. I ran my hand down his wet chest, loving the feel of each muscular plane.

“How are you feeling?” he whispered.

“Good.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.” His lips ran over my earlobe, sending a chill through me.

“Would you mind helping me with something?” I handed him the bar of soap. If I was taking a shower with Kyle, I was going to enjoy it.

---

“Are you up for a hike?” Kyle cleared away the remnants of our breakfast in bed. He seemed intent on keeping us in bed as long as possible after our shower. I wasn’t sure if it was all about the sex or staying away from his family. Maybe it was a little of both.

“You should have told me to pack my hiking boots.” I jumped on the first non-sexual conversation Kyle had started all morning. I was still in a bit of a haze from everything that had happened. Despite my apprehension about the wisdom of what I was doing, I decided to channel the advice I gave my friends. Now wasn’t the time to overanalyze everything. Sometimes it was better to feel than to think.

“You have hiking boots?” He stepped into a pair of cargo style shorts. Kyle seemed so comfortable being naked in front of me.

“Yes… after how well I pulled off our camping at the festival you shouldn’t be surprised.” We’d camped out with some friends during a music festival a few months earlier.

“But hiking boots mean you hike a lot.”

“I do it with my mom.” I shrugged. “It’s kind of our thing.” For the first time in a while I really missed my mom. Then I thought about what her reaction would be to what I was doing with Kyle. I was lucky she wasn’t anywhere nearby.

“That’s really cool. It means you’re all set for our hike today.”

“But without boots.”

“This is a really gentle hike. Sneakers are good enough.”

“How many miles?”

“Four.”

“Sounds great.” I sorted through my bag for a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Unfortunately I didn’t have any long socks with me, but if the hike was as mild as Kyle promised I’d be fine. I did however pull out my bug spray.

“Now I did remember that.”

“You conveniently remember the way mosquitos eat me alive?” Luckily the music had been great at the festival, so it had all been worth it.

“That’s hard to forget.” He pulled on a t-shirt. “I felt bad for you.”

“You laughed at me.” I’d been annoyed at the time, but eventually I forgave him.

He walked over and put his hands on my hips. “I only laughed because you were so cute.”

“I was cute because I was covered in bug bites?”

“No, it was your reaction.”

“No laughing at me if it happens again.”

“I won’t. Instead I’m going to kiss each and every one of them to make them feel better.”

“No hoping I get more bites just so you have more to kiss.”

He laughed. “Would I ever do that?”

“I’d hope not.”

“Nope. I’d prefer blood sucking creatures not steal your blood. So that also means stay away from vampires.”

“Couldn’t you just kiss those bites and make them better too?” Teasing and playing around seemed like the best way to handle any potential awkwardness. Kyle seemed to have the same idea.

He ran his lips down my neck. “The only one biting you is me.”

“I’m guessing that’s supposed to sound hot?”

He laughed. “In theory.”

“Stick to what your lips are doing. That’s hot.”

“In other words keep my mouth shut.”

“Not always. Sometimes your words are pretty darn sexy.”

“Like when I tell you all the sordid things I want to do to you?”

“Sordid? Let’s stick with dirty.”

“I can do dirty.”

“If you want me hiking keep those dirty thoughts to literal dirt right now.” I stepped out of his embrace. “I need to get changed.”

“You mean you don’t want to go hiking in that?” He gestured to my pajamas. I’d gotten dressed while he ordered breakfast. There was no way I’d have eaten while naked.

“Oh, you’re so funny.” I headed toward the bathroom.

“Nuh uh. You don’t need to change in there.”

“Why does it matter?”

“Because you’re not supposed to be afraid to change in front of the guy you’re sleeping with. I’ve seen you naked plenty now.” He stopped. “Ok, not plenty. I could use a lot more of it.”

I smiled. “It seems different at those kind of times.”

“I know a quick solution to that problem.”

“What?”

He slipped the strap of my pajama top off my arm. “I can just undress you right now. Clearly it makes you more comfortable when I do it.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“It’s what I mean.” He slipped the other strap down my arm and tugged down on the top, fully exposing my breasts. He quickly covered my breasts with his mouth and hand.

“Kyle, that’s not the kind of getting dressed I meant.”

He grazed my nipple with his teeth, and I stopped caring about getting dressed. “But if I’m getting undressed, so are you.” I unbuttoned the shorts he’d just put on.

“I have no problem with that.”

---

I pulled myself off the bed and slipped on my panties and a bra. “So much for an earlier hike.”

“It was a very worthwhile reason to delay.”

“Remember that when we get hot halfway through.”

“It’s not that hot here, besides, now you won’t get bug bites.” He buttoned his shorts.

“Oh yeah? Why is that?”

“Haven’t you heard? Bugs prefer their blood more virginal. They don’t like biting after the victim has had sex.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Then I shouldn’t get any bug bites.”

“If you do that means we’re not doing it enough.”

“Once again no hoping I get lots of bug bites.” I tied my tennis shoes.

“Like I said before, I don’t want anyone or anything biting you except me.”

“I’m going to pretend you don’t sound creepy.”

He brushed his lips against mine. “We better get out of here before I ravish you again.”

“Sordid? Ravish?”

“You’re dating an English major, get used to it.”

“Actually I’m sleeping with one, but close enough.” I headed to the bathroom. “I assume it’s okay if I go in there to brush my hair.”

“Hey, you know I wasn’t saying you couldn’t change in there. I just didn’t want you doing it because you were nervous or anything.”

“I know.”

A few minutes later I was dressed, and we finally managed to leave the room. Kyle had already talked to his mom about borrowing her car, so we drove a little ways from the hotel before Kyle pulled over to the side of the road. “This is my favorite hike up here.”

“Your favorite? Now you’re setting the expectations high.”

He laughed. “I said my favorite here. I won’t claim it’s the best hike anywhere.”

“Sure, sure.” I got out and waited for Kyle on the dirt shoulder.

We started up the path through the trees, and I took in deep breaths of the crisp air. There’s nothing like getting away from it all in nature. The sun was bright, but the tree cover helped protect us as we continued up the trail. An hour later we finally reached the first lookout.

“I thought the lake was beautiful, but this. This is unreal.” I gazed all around me to make sure I didn’t miss any of the views.

“Now I know the trick.”

“What trick?” I gulped down some water from the canteen Kyle had packed for us.

“To impressing you. I need to get you out into the great outdoors.”

“I love that movie.”

He laughed. “I should have known you’d share my love for 1980s comedies.”

“You can thank my mom for that too.”

“I really need to meet her one day.”

“No you don’t.” The thought of Kyle meeting my mom terrified me. She’d somehow know what I’d done. She had a sixth sense like that. At least she usually did.

“Why not?”

“First, she’d kill you for what we’re doing, and secondly, she’d ask you so many questions it would make your head spin.”

“I’ll wait to meet her later then.” He took my hand and started walking again.

“Why would later change anything?”

“Time can change many things.” He winked.

“You’re such a dork.” I knocked my shoulder into his.

“So are you, but who cares?”

“How am I a dork?”

“You like my humor which makes you just as dorky.”

“Dorks or not, let’s enjoy this beautiful day.” I ran up ahead. I couldn’t wait to reach the next lookout.

“Yes, the trick really is to get you out into the great outdoors.”