Page 38 of Losing Sleep
“It’s a beautiful area. If the winters weren’t so cold, I’d move here in a heartbeat,” I said, surprised at the truthfulness in the words. I wondered if Island Park could use a yoga studio.
The others joined us at the trailhead, everyone eager to start hiking in the mountain air.
“I vote we play a game as we hike,” Brad called, starting the group down the trail. His voice carried with ease, his confidence that of a man used to being followed.
I hung back, uncertain of where I fit in the group. While I was friendly with everyone, Tory and Grey were the only ones I’d count as friends. And Grey’s upgrade to that status was only a recent change. Though since we’d slept together twice and held hands the night before, calling him a friend seemed inadequate. Anxiety wound its way up my throat, and my mind drew a blank as I thought about trying to make conversation and contributing to a game the entire hike.
Alex groaned. “Is it the Brad is Quiet Game? You know, the one where you keep your mouth shut and let the rest of us enjoy a break from your voice?”
“Ha-ha, very funny.” Brad grabbed his brother in a mock choke hold, and they wrestled, blocking the trail and forcing us to wait a moment for them to finish roughhousing. After a few moments of scuffling, they bumped into a tree and broke apart, grins splitting their faces and hinting that such behavior was normal for these brothers.
“I’m the worst at the Quiet Game,” Grey said as we started moving again, our steps making a scuffing sound in the dirt. I bit back a laugh, imagining him remaining silent for an entire hike. I think the only time I’d experienced full quiet from Grey was when he slept.
“That surprises no one,” Tory called. She was in the middle of the group next to Kylie, with Trent acting as a buffer between her and the twins. I assumed his position wasn’t accidental. Apparently, the conversation between Trent and Tory the night before had done little to ease his worries and possessiveness.
Grey placed a hand on his chest, mock-offended, before breaking into a grin and dropping his hand back to his side. “Fair enough. Since we all know I’m going to lose, I vote for another game. Something that involves alotof talking.”
“I was thinking something along the lines of Top Five. I’ll pick a category, and everyone shares their top five favorite things in that category. If I say restaurants, you list your top five restaurants, same with color, snack foods…you get the idea.” Brad kept looking back at us as he spoke, making sure we understood the game. I was impressed he didn’t get whacked in the face with a tree branch.
“Now, hold up, picking only five favorite restaurants is a tall order. I mean, are you talking fast food? Sit down? Chain? Locally owned?” Grey asked, ticking each option off on his fingers.
I snorted, realizing that picking only five favorite restaurants might actually cause Grey physical pain.
“You know Grey’s top hobbies are eating food, talking about food, and talking while eating food,” I said, the words slipping out before I could second-guess myself.
Tory barked a laugh as she stepped over a fallen tree. “Truer words have never been spoken.”
We were passing through a forested area full of quaking aspens and the occasional pine tree. The gaps in the trees revealed glimpses of the river, which we could hear in the breaks in our conversation. Grasses and wildflowers carpeted the ground on either side of the dirt trail, adding pops of color to the scenery. I focused on our surroundings, trying to block out the heat filling my cheeks as everyone reacted to my comment.
Grey shot me a mock glare followed by a smile, white teeth contrasting with his beard. Even here in the woods, he kept it well-groomed, and I found myself wondering why I hadn’t been interested in bearded men before now. “I’ll have you know ittakes time and skill to develop such a wide range of knowledge about eating. I bet I could come up with top five places just for tacos in Utah County.”
“Spare us!” Kylie joined in the banter, throwing me a wink. I was still figuring out how to read her. At times she seemed friendly, and at others it felt like she saw me as competition for Grey’s attention. “Brad, we’ll play your game, but you can’t pick any food categories. The last thing we need is Grey waxing poetic about a mediocre burger.”
“I’ll have you know I save my poetry for only the best burgers. They have to earn the poetry.” Grey stopped and struck a dramatic pose, one hand on his hip, the other draped over his forehead.
Kylie shook her head, stepping around Grey with a pat on his arm. “As long as the poetry is earned…” She trailed off, not realizing what she had invited.
“In that case, let me share a little ditty I just composed called, ‘Ode to a Mushroom Burger.’” Grey cleared his throat, and the group gave a collective moan.
“Boo! No poetry!” Tory said, covering her ears. “I refuse to listen to anything about ground beef and cheese.”
“Did you miss the part about mushrooms?” Grey persisted as he followed behind Kylie. He was directly in front of me, and I found myself wanting to reach for his hand and twine my fingers with his. I fought the impulse, surprised I only felt a small amount of hesitation.
“No burger poetry. If you’re going to recite food poetry, at least make it about something really epic, like cream puffs,” Alex said.
“Cream puffs? What, dear brother, is epic about cream puffs?” Brad asked, humor in his voice.
“Have you ever tried to make cream puffs from scratch? They’re not easy,” Alex explained with a shrug, unembarrassed by the ridiculous turn in conversation.
“I feel like we’ve lost sight of our objective,” Tory called, reining the group back in. “Brad, pick the first topic.”
“I’m going with top five movies. Alex, kick us off!”
The game progressed from there as we continued along the trail, climbing over rocks and under tree branches. The group joked and laughed as we went. Brad’s game turned out to be fun, and I felt the band of anxiety in my chest loosen with the light atmosphere—until Brad asked us to pick our top five songs.
“Only five?” The incredulity in my tone carried, and everyone turned to look at me in surprise, my cheeks flushing with the attention.
As we paused in a clearing, I could see surprise written on every face except Grey’s. I considered laughing it off and pretending like I was joking but decided to hold my ground. If Grey could declare restaurants off limits because it was too hard, I could do the same with music. There was no way I could pick only five favorite songs. Five favorite songs by Earth, Wind, and Fire? Easy. Top five songs of all time? Impossible.
