Page 72 of You, with a View

He’s already halfway down the stairs but turns back to toss me the van keys. “Let’s go, Shep. Time for you to show me up.”

“Fuck me,” Theo wheezes.

I look over my shoulder at him as a drop of sweat trickles down his nose.I’d love to.

Instead, we’re hiking Angels Landing, a strenuous five-miler,with the sun blazing down, Theo randomly cursing behind me, and people passing us regularly on the trail. When the time comes for fucking, I sincerely hope it has a sexier ambiance. And less threat of death.

We’re not at the terrifying part of the hike yet, but even this portion is rigorous. The trail is carved into the side of the canyon, and though it’s wider in this series of switchbacks called Walter’s Wiggles, the drop-off is straight down with only scrubby plants to stop the fall.

“Buck up, Spencer, you got this,” I call over my shoulder. I’m winded, but my body is loving the familiar burn in my lungs, legs, and chest from the demanding incline.

Suddenly Theo’s closer, nearly at my back. “Logically, I know that you wore those shorts because they’re functional, but your ass in them is the only thing keeping me going right now.” He reaches out to grasp my spandex-covered hip with firm fingers, his thumb digging into my ass. “Also, the fact that you’re destroying me is hot.”

Pride buzzes inside me. “Where’s that competitive spirit?”

“Slid off the side of this trail after the twelfth switchback.”

I laugh. There are twenty-one.

“And anyway, I’ve always liked watching you kick ass, Shepard. Even if it was mine.”

“That’s not true at all.”

I appraise him. Despite his complaint, he looks like he could go for days. His cheeks are flushed, his forearms damp. But his strides are long and confident, and he’s only slightly more out of breath than I am.

He grins, catching my lingering eyes. “Completely true.”

“Not in high school.”

“For sure in high school.” I give him a look, and he holds up hishands, laughing. “Maybe you were annoyed by our competition, but I loved it. Either you were complimenting me in your ass backwards way, oryouwere killing it. Do you know how fun it is to see you get that homicidal glint in your eyes?”

“Oh please,” I scoff, like I didn’t inherit my focused murder eyes from my mother.

Theo’s breath dances over the back of my neck as he gets closer. Probably a distraction so he can overtake me. “You saw me as someone to battle against, and I admit I saw you like that, too. But there were times when you felt like my only equal.”

My foot catches on a patch of silky dust and I slide, only to catch myself against the wall. Theo’s right there, half a second behind me, crowding me to safety. My heart races, both from the brief loss of control and from his words. From how true I want them to benow, not in the past tense.

“Okay, well,” I say slowly, “that was a decade ago.”

“You’re kicking ass now, too.”

My eyebrows raise doubtfully. “You’re impressed because I’m a competent hiker?”

“It’s very hot, don’t underestimate that as a skill.” I roll my eyes, trying to break free from his grasp, but he keeps me caught. He bends down so he can murmur in my ear, “Not just that, though. After I made you come last night—”

“Ohmy god,” I choke out with a laugh, pushing at his stomach. But he just smirks, not giving me an inch of space. A foursome passes us, the couple in back looking at us with amused smiles.

“I spent some time on your TikTok once you fell asleep. You’regood,Noelle, and I knew it as soon as you picked up your camera in Yosemite. You had this look on your face—the same look you’d get when you’d volley a ball back and you fucking knew you weregoing to get that point. It’s thatI’ve got thislook, and every single time you have that camera in your hand, it’s there.”

I swallow hard, staring up at him. There are people moving around us, feet shuffling in the dirt, breathless conversation, but it all bleeds away with his words.

“I admittedly don’t know shit about photography, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. What matters isyouknow you’re good, and it seems like you need someone to remind you that you know it.” Theo’s eyes track over my face. “So here I am, reminding you.”

His words warm me, but it doesn’t change the situation waiting for me at home: no job, no place to call my own. “I don’t have my shit together the way you think I do.”

I give him a piece of my secret to see what he’ll do with it. Search his face for any sign of dimming interest, or suspicion.

But his eyes are clear, and it does something so intensely dangerous to my heart, flares it with hope and feelings I refuse to name. “Neither do I.”

---