Chapter Eleven
Tasha
It was a good thing my parents were staying in the bedroom on the ground floor or they would have heard us. It was also good that I’d remembered to lock the door before anyone could burst in and catch us in a compromising position.
The moment my senses became awake, I got a whiff of Stryder’s natural scent fused with the faint remnants of his perfume. It was a manly scent, one that I wanted to keep sniffing. My eyes were greeted with the sight of his toned abs on which my head was lying. I had a clear view of his boxers, through which his manhood was standing tall and proud.
That vista was definitely tempting, rousing in me several different sensations. I felt my thoughts drift away as I recalled our passionate sex the night before. How did we get there, anyway?
He stirred awake, his eyes popping open, staring at the ceiling.
I moved my head toward his shoulder, my lips grazing his chest and neck in the process. I could feel his body reacting, which gave me great satisfaction.
He looked down on me and our eyes locked on one another, communicating in silence. But I still couldn’t understand what was happening between us. He was like fire and ice last night. Was it because of Brad? Perhaps that was one reason… Had he actually gotten jealous? It was certainly a huge question mark, one that was hard to wrap my head around.
He smiled down at me, which seemed to soothe my nerves.
“I’m so glad to see that silly, goofy smile back on your face,” I told him honestly, feeling relieved.
Chuckling, he actually began stroking my hair and caressing my shoulders. “What do you mean…”
“You know what I mean!” I said, slapping his chest.
“Ouch!” he cried out. “What’s the problem?”
“You!” I said, not helping it anymore. Shifting to face him squarely while we were lying down, I looked at him seriously. “You were quiet even before my friends had come. You were even ready to ditch me! What’s up with that, huh!”
“Nothing,” he said, chuckling but averting his eyes. I could tell he wasn’t being honest but he wasn’t going to open up, either.
I sighed in frustration, sitting up and getting dressed. “If you’re not going to talk to me, let’s just make the best of this day and get started.”
“Sounds great,” he said with a casual grin, standing up, too.
My eyes fell on his broad shoulders and bulky chest. A yearning stirred inside me. I wanted to touch him, but I quickly turned around and headed to my own bedroom to take a shower and get ready for our hike.
He was just so hard to decipher sometimes. And as I showered, I kept on analyzing his words and actions. Eventually my thoughts led me to a conclusion—he was still confused about us, and so I had to probably give him space. If I pressure him, I might end up losing him.
I hated the fact that he had this kind of effect on me and that I had to be the one to wait for him. But I was falling fast for this man and there was nothing I could do to hold back or reverse it.
In a few minutes, we were on the trail in the woods, equipped with nothing but water and an extra shirt in our backpacks. We didn’t talk about the previous night nor about us. He acted as if everything was back to normal, so I decided to just go with the flow instead of sulking and worrying about it the whole day.
We mostly hiked in silence, admiring the natural scenery and immersing ourselves in the whole experience. The sounds of nature around me were quite comforting.
Stryder became truly engrossed in his art, snapping away with his camera at almost every area we passed. He looked very happy, like a little kid who had been given his favorite candy. And when he was like that, even though we weren’t actually conversing, I felt really happy for him. It was a peaceful kind of feeling.
We reached my favorite point of this trail—the steep ascent on an almost ninety-degree rocky path between some trees. There were ropes tied securely to the trees to help climbers go to the next level.
“I thought it was just a simple hike,” Stryder said in a slightly dubious tone.
“It was,” I answered with a wide grin. “Until this part.”
“We need to rappel now?!” he asked incredulously, tugging at the rope and trying to put his weight on it.
“Yeah, sort of,” I said, trying to keep my face straight at the look on his face.
I hoisted myself up the rope on the right side, choosing the rocks on which to place my feet on to keep my balance while pulling on the rope. Midway I stopped and dared to look back. Stryder seemed quite small from where I was hanging for dear life. I hadn’t realized I had gone far already.
“Come on! You can do it!” I egged him on.
He scratched his head and once again tugged on the rope at the left side. Then he moved over to my side and checked out my rope. “I think I’ll just follow your lead over here,” he said, sounding more confident as he began his way up.
“Way to go, Cooper!” I shouted cheerfully. “Remember you were able to nail skydiving! So I’m pretty sure you can do this.”
“Ha-ha!” he shouted back sarcastically, making me giggle. “You got me again, Rodriguez! I’m going to kill you!”
“If you catch me!” I yelled back, laughing out loud as I inched my way up again. It was just a little more before I clambered up a huge sturdy rock and stumbled back on flat ground.
I crawled toward the edge and looked down at Stryder. I could see that he was struggling hard, sweat breaking out on his forehead and dripping from the sides of his face. He was almost at the top, though.
“Great job!” I called out.
“There’s no fucking harness!” he yelled. “You’re dead, Rodriguez!”
I laughed in response and simply continued to egg him on. “Don’t look down now. You’re like ten feet above the ground!”
“Thank you for the encouragement,” he answered, his tone laced with sarcasm. It only made me laugh harder.
Finally, he reached the top and stumbled beside me, panting and trying to catch his breath. I held up my hand for a high five, which he gave. We both ended up laughing.
“I really did it, didn’t I?” he asked.
I nodded, my eyes flashing with excitement. “Yup, you did. Congratulations.”
“Thanks, I guess,” he said, giving me a mock dagger look. “You’re still not off the hook, though. Why did I let you talk me into this? Remind me never to say yes to your ideas ever again.”
I chuckled, leaning closer to him until our lips were only inches apart. “You’ll never be able to say no because deep inside, you want it,” I whispered, our eyes drilling holes into one another. “This may be something new, but it doesn’t have to be scary or bad…”
“Are you talking… about… rock climbing?” he whispered back, making my heart skip a beat.
For a moment, I was tempted to tell him, “No, you idiot! I’m talking about us and I want to fucking know why you’re having second thoughts because it’s starting to hurt like hell!”
But of course, I didn’t. Instead I laughed and said, “Of course, silly. What else would I be talking about?”
“Right,” he said, laughing along with me.
We both got back on our feet then and resumed the hike. I could hear the loud rush of the falls nearing as we trekked on. But silently I was fuming and feeling confused and anxious.
Refocus, I told myself silently over and over again.
“Waterfalls!” Stryder exclaimed. “Where is it? I could use the refreshing cold water in this morning heat!”
I suddenly halted. The sound of the falls was almost deafening now. “It’s beneath us!” I shouted to Stryder.
“What?!” he shouted back. “So how do we get down?”
“Well…” I started, taking his hand and pulling him toward the edge.
“Oh, no way,” he said, shaking his head. “No way, no way, no wa—”
He was cut off as I yanked him hard and we jumped off the cliff together, the mist of the waterfalls splashing on our faces and bodies. It wasn’t very high, but the thrill was enough to spice up our little adventure. Our screams could probably be heard echoing through the entire forest.
There were two enormous splashes as we hit the water below. I felt the hard impact of it even as I plunged underwater. Instinctively, I held my breath and started kicking until I resurfaced. I scanned the surrounding area for a sign of Stryder whom I had lost on the way down.
“Stryder?!” I screamed. He was nowhere to be found. “Stryder!” I called again, louder this time.
I waited for a while before immersing underwater to check on him. I couldn’t find him anywhere in the area, which led me to begin panicking.
“Fuck, Stryder, where are you!” I bellowed, the sound of my voice getting lost in the torrential pour of the waterfalls.
I swam to the nearby patch of grass and cluster of rocks. That’s when I saw Stryder lying face down, seemingly lifeless.
Adrenaline kicked in. With all my strength, I pushed him to his side so that he was facing upward. His eyes were closed and his skin looked really pale. “Oh, shit, this is not good,” I muttered as I tried to search for a heartbeat.
I slapped him and pushed him and felt for a heartbeat. “Shit, shit, Stryder… Please stay with me…” I pleaded, my voice almost breaking. “Oh, this is all my fault!”
I went on to perform CPR on him. When I went down to breathe air into his mouth, his arms suddenly wrapped around my body. He lifted his face to meet my lips and kiss me. Alarmed, I pushed him and stood up. “You asshole!” I cried out, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
He was laughing as he stood up and tried to hug me. “Hey, just a joke, alright?” he said. “I’m sorry I scared you.”
“Jerk!” I shouted, pushing him and stomping away.
He followed me down the path, apologizing many times. I ignored him the whole time, though I was silently very relieved that he had not really been hurt. I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself if something bad had happened to him because of me.
At one point, I screamed again when he suddenly tackled me from behind. We fell on the grass together, with him on top of me. Despite the lingering annoyance I still felt, my heart began beating faster than ever.
“Let me go!” I demanded, struggling to free myself. He had me pinned firmly under his body. It was definitely stimulating, especially with the way he looked at me.
“No,” he answered resolutely. Then his voice softening, he whispered, “I’m really, really sorry, Tasha. Forgive me, please.”
“Okay, just let me go!” I said.
He grinned at me and loosened his grip, giving me a hand. I ignored it and just climbed back on my feet all by myself.
“A tough woman is truly hot,” he murmured approvingly, mischief dancing in his eyes.
I just scoffed and began stalking off to the right direction. “We’re near,” I said without any emotion.
“Near where?”
“The caves,” I answered without a hitch.
“Caves?! Crap, there’s more?!”
I almost laughed at that. All of a sudden, I stopped and turned around to face him. I took a deep breath and looked at him. “I’m sorry, Stryder.”
“For what?”
“For pulling you with me over the waterfalls.”
“Hey, that’s alright…”
“I should’ve just pushed you,” I interrupted, my lips turning up in a grin.
He grinned, too, knowing we were back on track with one another. He stepped forward and took me in a sweet embrace. When we finally let go of each other, he said, “You’re really special, Tasha.”
My mouth dropped open. I was speechless.
He simply smiled again and then hiked on. “Let’s go conquer those caves!” he said with renewed energy, determination, and courage.
“That’s the spirit!” I managed to say, despite still being in shock over the words he’d uttered. It was a very simple message, but in that instance, it meant the world to me.