Page 61 of Two Guys, a Girl, and a Tripod

Natalie opens the door and I can feel her eyes on me as a chuckle escapesher throat.

“Good show?”

“Pretty damn.” I nod. “Give me a couple minutes and I’ll get all this cleaned up.”

“You’re fine, just wanted to let you know I’m home. I was thinking about going for a hike if you want to join me.”

“How do you have the energy for that after filming?”

“It’s nature. I always have time for nature. Come on. Clean up and let’s get moving!”

With a groan, I sit up and scoot to the edge of the blanket, careful not to get any excess lube or bodily fluids on the sheet beneath. Cleanup doesn’t take long. Once finished, I join Natalie in the living room. She tosses a water bottle to me before heading down the stairs and I barely catch the damn thing before it can hit me in the face.

The drive to Griffith Park is peaceful, despite the traffic. No outbursts from my roommate. I’m still not overly familiar with all the trails in the area, but Natalie has her favorites. She leads the way from the parking lot and we begin the slow climb.

I’m out of breath before we’ve gone fifty feet.

“I’m taking you on hikes more often,” Natalie chuckles when she realizes how difficult this is for me. “Just let me know when you need a break.”

“How about a break where we go home?” I ask, my voice annoyingly breathy and weak.

“Nope. Gotta make it to the top, fat ass.”

I roll my eyes. I have no problem with my weight and she knows it. The words don’t hurt, just the fact that she’s going to make me walk this whole stupid trail. We pass a couple walking a golden retriever who looks very happy to see us.

“Oh, can I pet her?” Natalie asks.

The man nods and grins, tight-lipped. He’s tall and skinny with circular glasses and ginger stubble on his chin. The young woman’s dirty blonde hair blows in the breeze as she holds tight to the dog’s leash.

“This is Oakley,” she says with a smile as Natalie kneels. I join her.

“Aw, such a good girl,” Natalie coos to the dog whose entire back half is wiggling as her tail wags.

We both love on the pup for a minute or two before letting the couple continue on their way with a wave. Then it’s back up the mountain we go.

“I have,” I pant, “a confession to make.”

“Uh oh,” Natalie laughs without looking at me. She’s a couple of steps ahead of me on the trail.

“Before you get mad,” more panting, “just know I’m going with my gut here.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just make sure it’s actually that intuition of yours. It’s on point, but sometimes you follow a different… instinct.” She glances back at me with a knowing smile, but I just shake my head.

“Brody,” I continue, still huffing, “he sort of ran off on me the other night.” Natalie stops and turns to face me.

“He what now?”

“I asked you not to get mad.”

“No, you said ‘before you get mad’, which is totally different.”

I ignore the fact that she’s right.

“I already told him about my work and I thought he was ok with it for a sec, but then,boom. He just ran.”

“Like, knocking over tables, ran?”

“No.” Laughter comes out through my nose in a huff. “But he got out of there as fast as he possibly could.”

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