Page 52 of If You Need Me

I hustle to catch up with Isaac. Based on last night and this morning, Sam is the leader of this pack. He sets a quick pace thatdoesn’t allow a whole lot of room for appreciating nature or the view.

I can feel Isaac looking at me, so I glance in his direction and smile. “Did you have a good time last night?”

“Yeah. It was nice. I wish Hemi would let us set her up in her own place, but she can be stubborn.”

“Oh yeah. At work it’s pretty much Willy’s way or the highway.” I rub my bottom lip, hiding a smile as I think about all the times she’s made it abundantly clear that she is in the driver’s seat, and I’m just along for the ride. Just call me Wilhelmina Reddi-Grinst’s Passenger Princess.

“What about outside of work?” he asks.

“Eh…” I consider the shit I’ve pulled recently. “It’s more divided.” In my favor, although not because that’s how Willy wants it. Thinking things through has never been my strong suit. On the ice it’s different, because intuition guides me, but in real life…usually it means I fuck shit up.

Issac makes a sound I can’t interpret. “You’re not her usual type.”

“She dates guys with PhDs.” Like the cardiologist who started us down this path. I should send him a thank-you gift.

“But you’re notthatdifferent from her PhD dudes in some respects,” Sam calls from in front of us.

“I don’t mean it in a negative way,” Isaac reassures me. “She has a type she usually goes for, and you defy that. It’s probably a good thing, to be honest. You have the same drive and ambition.”

“She needs a challenge,” Sam calls over his shoulder.

How he can still hear us is a wonder, considering how far ahead he is.

“Yeah. She’s exceptionally driven,” I agree. “It makes sense that she would want somebody who’s equally as ambitious and intelligent as she is. Yet somehow, she’s ended up with me.” I laugh weakly. I don’t like the unpleasant feeling in my stomach that has nothing to do with my need for about three breakfastsandwiches. Willy always dates highly educated, well-mannered men. I have manners, a good family, a great career, but university wasn’t my jam. I passed the classes I took, but I had tutors and some professors who took pity on me.

“You don’t need ten years of post-secondary education to be the right fit for her,” Isaac says. “The two of you complement each other. And it’s clear that you’re head over heels. I mean, those gifts for our moms won you bonus points. I still can’t believe you found earrings like my grandma’s. Hemi’s a sucker for a thoughtful guy, and that’s a lot more than I can say for the last couple of dudes she ended up with.”

“There was a cardiologist a while back,” I note.

“That guy was a clueless idiot. Just because he has an IQ of one-forty doesn’t mean he understands how my sister ticks, but you do.” Isaac claps me on the shoulder. “Pro athletes have a different kind of smarts. You’re good at reading people, you understand risk management, and you know when to set your ego aside for the welfare of your team. That’s why Hemi wanted to work in this field.”

“Come on, guys! Let’s pick up the pace,” Sam shouts.

An hour into the hike, I’m soaked with sweat, my balls are chafed, and my legs are rubber. I could really use a five-minute rest—or a five-hour nap—and I only have a quarter of a water bottle left. According to my smart watch, we’ve already hiked eight kilometers. I’m not sure how far we’re going, but if we don’t turn around soon, I’ll have to cancel with Ash tomorrow because I doubt my legs will be able to handle squats. I might have to cancel regardless.

Three and a half hours, two rope bridges on which I thought I was going to die, and twenty kilometers later, we’re finally back at the car. I guzzle three bottles of Vitamin Water and accept two sandwiches from the cooler in the back of Sam’s luxury SUV.

My plan is to sleep all the way back to Toronto, shower off the salt, soak in the hot tub for an hour, and follow that with athree-hour nap (during which I will dream about their sister sitting on my face).

We pile into the car, and I’m grateful that my legs no longer have to do anything other than feel like Jell-O as I stretch out in the back seat.

“Next up is paintball!” Sam exclaims with more enthusiasm than anyone should have after a twenty-kilometer sprint-hike through the woods.

Isaac looks over his shoulder and gives me a thumbs-up. “You in? We know a great place.”

I’m definitely not in. All I want to do is sleep for the rest of the day, and probably part of tomorrow, but I return the thumbs-up because I will not tap out on Willy’s brothers. There’s too much at stake. “I’m in.”

Willy messages for an update.

I send her a thumbs-up.

She sends a frowny face in return.

I send heart eyes and kissy lips.

She sends a middle finger.

I follow it with the tongue.

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