Page 69 of All Roads Lead to You

“That’s fair. Come on. Let’s dump our bags and dunk under the falls. I feel gross and sticky.”

I’d love nothing better than to sit under those falls and drown in Logan’s kisses, but there were too many hikers around.

Logan stripped off his shirt, tossing it onto his bag, and removed his hiking boots and socks. As he waded into the water, I took several shots of him with the camera hanging around my neck. I had the perfect shot of him once he turned around to face me with a huge smile and then looked up at the falling water.

Hell, he wasn’t just attractive. He was beautiful.

Chapter 21

Logan

Day 9

Nick and I spent the day canoeing along Buffalo National River’s glassy water. When we rented the boat, we got a quick lesson so we wouldn’t paddle in circles as Nick said we would.

I slowly dragged the paddle along the calm water as Nick lay against me between my legs, dangling his feet overboard. His head was back on my thigh, and his sunglasses rested snugly over his eyes.

He’d taken tons of pictures of birds and other wildlife, and some of me, before lying on me to take a nap. We were up late last night, fooling around. I was tired, too, but this moment, here and now, was the most relaxed I’d ever been.

For most of my life, at least after I lost my mom, I’d been tightly wound and easily agitated. Now, for the first time in years, I finally felt at peace. Not only was I relaxed, but I’d been coming to terms with who I was, and that was all thanks to Nick, who accepted me just as I was. It gave me hope for my future.

I’d never dreamed I would ever have a chance with Nick, yet here we were, falling into each other with an odd and unexpected ease. When we started this trip, I’d already known I was in love with him and resented loving what I could never have. What a joke. That hadn’t been love. That had been infatuation. This was love.

Before, my love for him was in perpetual turmoil. Now, it was filled with comfort and ease. It was warm, not cold. That’s how love should always feel.

I pulled the paddle into the boat to float for a while as I played with Nick’s soft, dark strands. He shifted and curled his arm around my leg, holding onto it, as if it were keeping him tethered to the real world as he got lost in his dreams.

The day had been perfect.

“I love you,” I whispered as quietly as the wind.

Nick was waiting for me in a restaurant in Little Rock in the early evening, ordering us dinner after we’d talked to our parents. But I also needed to call Hunter. It’d been almost a week since we talked.

“Hello?” Hunter answered.

“Hey, man. How’s it hanging? Is everything good? How’s your mom?”

“Hey, Logan! Man, it’s good to hear your voice. It’s all right here. Mom’s… doing okay. She’s been weak lately and hasn’t been eating much. I’m kind of worried, but she keeps reassuring us that all is fine. Honestly, I don’t believe her. There are all sorts of side effects from chemo I keep reading about. It’s scaring me, man.”

My good mood vanished with his words. I felt selfish for feeling upbeat about this trip since Hunter couldn’t go with his mom being so sick.

“Shit, Hunter. Do you need me to come back? Because I will.”

“Fuck no. Don’t you dare. I totally expect to see pictures of your entire trip. You better finish it, or else I’m going to kill you… Not really, but I’ll be pissed.”

“Okay, then I’ll keep going.”

We sat there for a beat, and I didn’t know what else to say.

“Lo, tell me something good about the trip. I want to hear about it. I need to hear something good.”

“It’s been fucking nice, man. We got to see Grand Ole Opry and Graceland like Mom had wanted. But honestly, it’s been the camping and nature that’s really sucked me in. Just swimming or sitting by the campfire, having a cold beer…”

“Sounds fucking nice. So, you and Nick are getting along, then?”

“You could say that.”

“What does that mean?”

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