Page 38 of Reckless Hearts

We’d ended up having a good time with Nate and Sage, the four of us hanging out for a few hours, drinking and telling surf stories as we schooled Sage on surf lingo and shit. She is adorably cute in her naivety on surfing, but it’s pretty obvious Nate loves how much she tries.

The two of them are super cool, and I got really lucky with getting this place for my stay here.

With a groan, I drag myself from the bed, pulling on some shorts and a T-shirt before grabbing my runners. I’d Googled this place last night and worked out when I’d need to leave if I wanted any chance of running into her.

Twenty minutes later, I am pulling up to the entrance to Waimoku Falls, grinning when I see Alana’s car parked on the shoulder. After parking the car, I turn onto the trail and see herall too familiar figure up ahead. Picking up the pace, I slowly get closer, eventually falling into step beside her.

“Fancy meeting you here.” She turns to me, hitting me with a look that might be a “what the fuck” look, but might also be an “of course you’re here” look. Either way, I can’t help but laugh as I add, “You just started, you seem kinda out of breath already.”

Alana stops, turning to me with her hands on her hips. I know I should be paying attention or whatever, but I can’t help myself, my gaze dropping to her chest, her gorgeous tits now contained in a skintight sports bra.

“I’ll have you know, this is my second lap,” she says, reaching up to tip my chin up so my gaze meets hers.

“Is that right?” I ask with a laugh. “So, you’re what, like 5k in? Actually, do you know what 5k is?”

Alana slow blinks. “Yes, of course I know what 5k is.”

I lift my arm, starting the app on my watch before I say, “Come on then, back to it,” before I start jogging down the trail.

Alana follows after me, the two of us falling into a steady rhythm side by side. The scenery around the trail is spectacular, tall bamboo and a river running along the track. It’s tough, though, with the rocks and the elevation changes, so we don’t talk much, both of us breathing hard.

Eventually, we come to an amazing waterfall, and I stop, hands on my hips as I take in the spot, the water crashing down the rocks into a pool.

“See, 5k,” Alana states, her chest heaving as she stands with her hands on her hips.

I glance at my watch. “Actually, a little more, but that’s good,” I say, giving her a wink.

“Good for me, I’ve done it twice,” she says with a smirk.

Laughing, I make my way over to the rock pool. “Good, you should be doing it at least twice if you wanna be competitive for Pipe.”

I stand at the edge of the pool, wondering how cold the water is. It actually looks incredibly refreshing, and even though I could keep running, I’m suddenly thinking a dip in the pool is a much better idea.

“Should you be telling me things like that?”

I glance over my shoulder to where Alana stands behind me. Her skin is glistening with sweat, and I suddenly have an intense urge to lick every inch of her. “I don’t think it’s that big of a deal,” I say.

“No?”

I turn so we’re facing each other. Lifting my shirt, I wipe the sweat off my face, not missing the way Alana sneaks a glance at my bare stomach when I do. “How about this,” I start, lowering my shirt, even though I’m tempted to take it off, just to see what Alana does.

“What?”

“We agree that there is nothing sinister going on here,” I start. “I’m not trying to get inside knowledge on you to pass back to Jade, just like I’m not gonna do the same to you. I’m not trying to fuck you here, Alana.”

She smirks at my choice of words, crossing her arms over her chest, and I swear I hear her mutter, “Pity.”

Chuckling, I take a step toward her. “Trust me when I say I wish things could be different. That this,” I pause, moving a finger between us, “could be what I know we both want it to be.”

Alana takes a step toward me, that sexy smirk still on her face. “And what exactly is that?”

Smiling, I take another step toward her. “You really want me to spell it out?”

“Uh huh,” she says, nodding.

I take another step so there’s only a foot of space between us. I don’t know if it’s the heat and humidity in the air or thenever-ending sexual tension that seems to be between us, but suddenly, everything feels hot as fuck.

I reach behind my head, pulling my shirt off in one quick move. Wiping the fabric across my face, I tuck it into the back of my shorts, grinning when I see the look on Alana’s face. Her eyes are wide, her mouth open in a tiny O shape as she blatantly stares at me. That’s the reaction I wanted.

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