Page 12 of Diverge

“Good, because we’re here.” I didn’t even notice the car had stopped. Nate gets out of the car and stretches his arms above his head. We’re parked in a gravel parking lot in the middle of the mountains.

There’s one small takeaway shop serving hot dogs and the other looks like a souvenir shop. Getting out of the car, I throw my backpack onto one shoulder.

“Are we hiking?” I ask, noticing the walking trail that leads up the mountain.

He takes his backpack from the boot of his car and smiles. “Sure are.” I audibly groan. “It’s about time you got out into nature. When’s the last time you did something outdoors? You’re as pale as Casper.” I glare at him as he walks past me chuckling. “Come on, this way.” He begins walking up the trail, and I guess I have no choice but to follow.

It’s quiet, considering it’s a Saturday. Although, I do think today is a public holiday, so I’m assuming most are spending it with their families, having barbeques and drinking. Given Riley was invited to a buck’s weekend, I didn’t have any plans.

“And how long is this trail?” I’m already slightly breathless from walking up the small hill, which I am assuming is not the only one.

Fantastic.

“About an hour,” he answers.

“Are you joking?” I sigh, stepping over a large boulder. “Please tell me you’re joking.” Nate is walking the track like a pro, and I don’t even think I have seen a bead of sweat on his face yet. “You promised I wouldn’t be disappointed.”

He doesn’t respond, he just smirks.

“You know, when I think of fun, this is definitely not the first thing that comes to mind.”

“Oh, please, little B, do enlighten me then. What does come to mind first?” He turns to me and winks.

Lord, can this man get any more attractive?

Ignoring his obvious flirting, I tell the truth.

“Books.”

“What kind of books?” I can’t tell if he’s insinuating something.

“All kinds, really. Romance, mystery, horror, thriller.” I stop to catch my breath. Nate turns to face me as he takes his backpack off, reaches inside, and pulls out a protein bar.

“Here, it’ll give you some energy to tackle the upcoming hills.” He holds it out to me. Taking it, I sit on a large tree branch, tear it open, and take a bite.

“Do you come here a lot?” I ask.

He shrugs. “Sometimes...” He pauses as he takes a drink from his water bottle. I watch his throat work as it bobs up and down. “I come here when I’m in a battle with myself. The fresh air and exercise always helps to clear my head.” He sits beside me. “I thought maybe bringing you here would help you, too.”

That’s what I like about Nate, he cares. On the outside, he may look all mean and scary to someone who doesn’t know him, but he really does care about the people in his life.

Smiling, I reach out and place my hand on his thigh, feeling his strong leg underneath my palm.

“That’s really sweet...” I smile up at him.

He grins. “Don’t thank me yet, little B. Not until you see what’s up that hill.”

He nods in the direction we were walking in, but all I can see are his perfect lips moving and his magnificent emerald eyes staring into mine.

Right, the hike... I need to pull myself together. Hastily, I stand and brush off the crumbs left on my leggings from the protein bar.

“Okay, well, let’s go see what is so amazing about this place.” Pulling on my backpack, we begin walking up the never-ending hills, and my thighs begin to burn as sweat pools on my forehead and upper lip. Great, now I’m paranoid with how I look given the amount of exertion needed to climb that beast of a hill. We come up to two signs which only have arrows on them, one pointing left, which looks like another trail, and one pointing right, which looks like it leads into the thick forest.

“This way.” He pushes through the bushes, turning right as he makes a path for me to follow.

“Uh, are you sure this is safe?” We walk through the forest, surrounded by trees and singing birds. I hear a scurry come from my right, and I yelp, latching onto Nate’s backpack.

“Relax.” He laughs and continues through the thick shrubbery. “It was only a possum.”

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