Page 136 of Imogen

Those three words are on the tip of my tongue but I’m too afraid to say them out loud. I’ve loved him for a long time, but not like this. Now it consumes me.

But I need him to be the one who says it first.

No other boyfriend has believed in me the way he does. They’ve never supported me like he has.

I cup his jaw and tilt my head up. “If we were alone on this mountain, I would give you a blowjob.”

He grins. “And risk getting your jeans dirty? Never,” he teases.

“Come on, let’s get to the top. I want to see the view already.”

“We need to be quick because it’s going to be dark soon. We shouldn’t have left it so late to start.”

I roll my eyes as I get to my feet. “You’re the one who wanted to have sex again.”

He grins wider. “You tempt me with those eyes.”

As we begin to walk, I glance over at him. “Wait, did you bring torches? I’m not getting stuck up this mountain in the dark.”

“It’s more like a hill,” he tells me as he continues ahead of me.

“Ben,” I call out. “Ben.”

He laughs. “There are two in my bag.”

“I hate you,” I yell, and begin to walk faster to catch up with him.

I never thought I’d say this but I’m so glad he forced me to get some pumps. As much as I love my boots, they would never have survived the rocks, and the blisters would have been ten times worse.

*** *** ***

Ben wraps his arms around my stomach as the wind picks up. I’m sitting between his legs, my back resting against his chest.

We’re resting against a large rock that is surrounded by other rockery and wild grass. Belongings of those who have walked on this bluff before are on the trees on the level below us. The top is set in three levels, the path dug into the wall of the hill, making a winding path in the shape of a zig-zag. Which means the further up we went, the smaller the space became.We spent time on the level below, leaving a shoelace of Ben’s and a keyring I’ve had since I went to Ibiza with the family. But since we got that far, I wanted to walk up to the very top, and it didn’t disappoint. Although, the smaller space did give me a chill.

At the back of where we are sitting, the bluff edge has a drop down to the third platform. It doesn’t share the path on the side we are facing. Ben tried to get me to take a look down, but fear of falling that far down made me take two steps back.

“We should start heading back,” he tells me, nuzzling my neck.

“Just one more minute,” I plead, taking in the view.

The view is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. We can see over the high trees, where lodges and homes are starting to light up.

But it’s the sky that has me transfixed. On the horizon, deep pink and purple blooms with the coming of night. Whereas to the left, blacken clouds have amassed with a promise of rain.

“We really should go,” he tells me. “We don’t want to get caught up here in the rain.”

“All right,” I give in.

He stands before me and helps me get to my feet. “Don’t worry. We can come again next year in the summer.”

“Oh, making plans for next year already. Maybe this mountain does have magical powers,” I tease.

He takes my hand. “It’s not a mountain,” he whispers, grinning like a mad fool. “Which way do you want to go down?”

I glance at the two paths set on either side of the bluff. “Which way is the quickest way down?” I ask.

“Going somewhere so soon?”

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