Page 29 of Fight

Lena shrugged helplessly and laughed with Morgan and Annie at her cluelessness when, out of nowhere, sweaty, shirtless Satan came stomping around the bend in the path like a bat out of hell.

He had a red bandanna tied around his head and his chest glistened. It was sparsely populated with dark blond chest hair that matched the scruff on his face. He was breathing heavily and glaring at her. “Why are we stopped?” he barked.

“We just needed a little break, Jake,” Annie answered as she joined Lena on the boulder.

“It’s totally fine.” Ian spoke up before Jake had a chance to explode. He handed Annie his water bottle and she shot him a grateful look before taking a long swig.

“Weneed a break orsheneeds a break?” Jake questioned as he breathed heavily and motioned to Lena.

What was it with this jerk? “Why does it matter? Why are you treating this like some kind of contest?” Lena rose from the boulder and tripped over a root as she walked over to stand in front of him.

Jake looked her up and down as she straightened in front of him. “Hurting is what makes it fun. You have to push your body to its limits to get anything out of something like this.”

“That’s the craziest damn thing I’ve ever heard.You’recrazy.” Lena threw her hands in the air dramatically.

Something seemed to snap in him at that proclamation. “The only reason you think that is because you’re weak. You can’t keep up. Why are you even here?”

“Okay, okay, let’s all calm down.” Annie was using her teacher's voice on them as she moved to stand between them, but Lena stood her ground. She would not back down from this bully.

“I don’t like you.” She ground the words out, feeling as though she’d wrung them from her soul. “You are a terrible person.”

He breathed in and out through his nostrils for three seconds like an angry bull. She almost felt like taking it back. Had she gone too far?

However, when his face fell into the familiar smirk, she had no regrets. He looked down at her with that superior look.

In response, Lena stretched her body up to appear bigger. He was so much taller than she was and never before had Lena wished she had been blessed with a couple more inches.

“Feeling’s mutual, darlin’. Now, let’s move.” He turned around and left her there, still seething.

As Lena pushed open the door of the Blue Sky, she was hit in the face with the fresh, cool breeze that wafted from the lake. She could see the dark waters of Lake Conrad at the base of the hill, a few hundred yards from where the Blue Sky rested. Taking a deep breath, she took a moment to appreciate the cool evening air. She didn’t realize how stuffy it was in the bar until she’d stepped outside.

The loud murmur of the crowd laughing and talking drifted outside; everything felt much more clear and concise out here in the parking lot with the breeze rustling her hair and the stars shining in the dark sky overhead. The muddled feeling she’d felt sitting at the table abandoned her and she sighed in relief.

Turning to her right, she walked to the edge of the squat wooden building and leaned against the side of it. She wiggled her feet out of her heels and kicked the shoes to the side, letting her bare feet sink into the cool gravel of the parking lot. Feeling much more at ease, Lena crossed her arms under her chest and looked up at the sky.

One of the only positive memories she had from Hell Hike was how bright the night sky had been when they’d camped that night. Lena felt like she could see through light years overhead. She’d seen bright stars shooting across the sky, and planets glowing through the dark layers of blue and black that enveloped the Earth. It was like sleeping in a planetarium. While the night sky outside the bar was bright, it was nothing compared to that night.

From inside the bar, Lena heard Cole Sutton, the musician, say something unintelligible into a microphone, and the crowd’s answering cheer. He started playing one of Lena’s favorite songs, The Head and the Heart’s “Down in the Valley.” The sound was clear out in the parking lot and the song lyrics sunk in a little deeper with all this wide open space surrounding her. She wrapped herself in the music as she stargazed, so she didn’t hear him approach.

“Lena.” She jumped at the clear male voice and turned to see Jake had followed her out of the bar. He stood a few feet away from her with his hands in his pocket, looking sheepish. “Are you okay?” he asked quietly.

Lena didn’t answer right away; instead she turned her head back up at the sky. She sensed him, though, as he walked over and leaned against the building next to her, looking up at the sky with her.

She scowled at the thought of him towering over her and she wished she had kept her heels on. She pouted sullenly for a few seconds about this before giving him an answer. “I’m fine.” She almost whispered the words.

They stood there in silence for a few minutes, staring up at the sky, listening to the music, and letting the lake breeze lap up against them in waves. As Cole dove into the chorus of the song, Lena unconsciously started humming along with it. Piano music accompanied the guitar and Lena’s heart swelled. She loved a well-played piano.

“We’re friends, remember?” Jake finally spoke softly to her and she looked over to see he hadn’t been staring at the sky—he’d been staring at her. She could make out his eyes and facial features from the light pouring out from the bar; he looked tired and worried, his eyes soft as they searched her face for an answer to his question.

She nodded as she turned her body so that she was leaning on her left shoulder, facing him.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he whispered deeply, his voice catching slightly. “I don’t want to argue with you. I like you.” He paused then before looking up at the sky and looking back at her. “I’ve always liked you.”

Lena looked over at him incredulously. If it was true, he sure had a crappy way of showing it. She started breathing heavily as she searched his face for some kind of understanding of this whole situation.

He reached out and touched her bare shoulder lightly with his left hand, pulling up the spaghetti strap of her dress that had fallen down. His hand lingered over the strap on her shoulder for a few seconds before he moved it up the side of her neck. His fingers were large, rough, and warm as his hand glided up her neck and finally settled at her hairline.

She closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side to allow him better access as he weaved his fingers through her hair along the back of her head. Taking a step closer to him, Lena sighed throatily. She felt like she was in a dream. She may not have the words to communicate with him right now, but this felt right and easy.

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