Page 27 of Strictly Curious
“Shit, dude. Did you fall?” Garrett rushed to my side and squatted next to me. Up close I studied his features as he grabbed my swelling ankle and examined it. His fingers were warm against my skin and I sucked in a breath at the contact. It felt good, but it also hurt.
“Tripped when I ran after you,” I explained as his fingers continued to explore my ankle.
“Can you stand on it?”
I shook my head before answering. “I tried, but it hurts like a bitch.”
He chuckled at my description before standing and offering me his hand. I grabbed it, and he helped me up while I avoided putting too much pressure on my injured side. He eyed me with more concern when I winced.
“Are you going to be able to get back down the trail? We’re pretty far out,” he said as he looked along the path.
“We can try, but you’ll definitely have to help me.”
Garrett nodded, pulling my arm around his neck, keeping my injured foot on the inside since that would force me to keep off of it more with him being so much taller. He helped me limp down the trail a little before the pain became too much for me to handle.
“Gar—Garrett. Can we stop for a minute?” I asked. He immediately stopped moving and faced me.
“It’s going to take us forever to get back to the campsite at this pace,” he said, amusement lacing his tone.
I wasn’t amused by it at all. In fact, my heart raced as I panicked that we’d be stuck out here. Garrett must have read my unease. He placed a hand on my shoulder in what I figured was an attempt to calm me down.
“I could try to carry you for a bit,” he said, motioning to his back.
“You really think you can handle carrying me? We’re pretty far.”
Garrett rolled his eyes and moved to crouch in front of me. He held his arms out, and I grabbed his shoulders. He wrapped his arms around my legs and lifted me onto his back. Holy shit, he was strong.
I scrambled to wrap my arms around his neck as he grunted and stood to his full height. My legs clenched around his waist as he moved down the trail again.
We continued that way in total silence for a while and I rested my chin on one of my arms that was wrapped around him. There was a drop of sweat that trailed down the side of his face and I felt terrible that he was having to carry me while it was so damn hot out.
We still desperately needed to talk, but the way he’d walked away from me earlier made it clear that talking would have to wait. He wasn’t ready for it and as much as I liked to think that I was, it would dramatically change things about what we were doing. Part of me wondered if he thought this meant nothing to me. I wasn’t completely sure of what I was feeling, but I knew I trusted him and wanted to be connected to him.
Iletoutasigh of relief when we spotted the opening to the trail. Garrett’s back was drenched with sweat from carrying me, so I sat up and tapped his shoulder to let me down.
“Are you sure? I could carry you back to the campsite.”
“Yeah, you can still do that, but we’re taking a break for a moment.”
I slid down his back and did my best to not put any weight on my foot once on the ground. I hopped over to a tree and sat against the trunk. Garrett joined me and I fished my water bottle from the pocket of my shorts. I cracked it open and took a quick swig before handing it to him.
He eyed it for a moment before taking it from me and taking a long pull. I watched as his Adam’s apple bobbed when he swallowed and I suddenly found myself thirsty again. There wasn’t much left in the bottle when he handed it back to me, but I finished the last bit.
Silence settled between us again. It felt so strained without him carrying me or talking. Out of nowhere, he cleared his throat and turned to face me.
“Is it weird?”
I tilted my head to the side contemplating what he was asking me. “Is what weird?” I asked.
“To know that I have… thought about you like that before.”
I sucked in a breath as my eyes widened. He was going to admit to it after all.
I shrugged. “Honestly? It doesn’t freak me out as much as it probably should.”
Garrett chuckled softly, closing his eyes and leaning back against the tree. “I don’t understand any of this,” he said softly.
“You and me both,” I mumbled, closing my eyes as well. We sat like that for a while and I wondered if he’d dozed off when his fingers wrapped around mine and squeezed. I turned my hand and threaded my fingers with his and held on.
