Finding June (16 page)

We started to hike, and soon the only sound was our boots against the trail, sparse limbs cracking under the soles of the hard rubber. Reece was a few steps ahead of me and I was following him, which I didn’t mind. It meant I had a nice view of his ass and toned legs. There could be worse things in life.

“How goes it back there?” Reece asked as he turned his head.

I was blatantly staring at his ass when he looked. He chuckled. “That good, huh?” He turned away again, which was great because then he couldn’t see the red tint that had crept in my cheeks. I couldn’t catch a break with this guy.

We walked for another twenty minutes uphill and stopped for a break. I reached in my bag for a bag of pine nuts and took a drink of water. I climbed onto a large rock. The sun was shining, and had heated up the rough surface. Setting my bag down, I laid on it like a pillow, taking in the sun’s rays contrasting the cool day. I felt Reece climb next to me, his legs touching mine. “I claimed this rock as mine, go find your own.”

With my eyes closed, I heard Reece’s soft laugh.

“You always know how to make me laugh, June. I don’t think I have met anyone who has made me laugh as much as you.”

His compliment made me smile.

After another hour of quiet hiking, I raced ahead of the trail, knowing we were getting close to the top. I had a surge of energy and started to sprint up the trail in my clunky hiking boots, trying to avoid tripping on loose branches or tree roots.

The trees started to thin and I could see a clearing. As the land started to open up, I slowed down. I was ahead of Reece and had a few moments to myself. My mind was always a mess of thoughts, but for a minute, the beauty in front of me gave a sense of clarity. I slowly started to unfurl the tangled web of thoughts in my mind.

From the moment I met Reece, I knew he was going to be different. I felt it within myself, like his aura was looking for something and had found it in me, like calling like. He had a faith in me that even I didn’t have. How was it possible for him to know I would be okay if I wasn’t even there?

I took in a deep breath as the view in front of me wrapped around my being. There was something magical about being lost in the forest. With the trees behind me, the land spread for as far as the eye could see, and the sky a huge sprawling picture, I felt like I could breathe. I felt everything was lifted off of me, and for the first time in a long time I could feel my breath rush into me and leave as freely. The calm and silence from the view lifted my spirits. I breathed in the fresh air, feeling like the carefree girl I wanted to be. I was able to simply breathe. It was like the dirt below my feet, the diverse rainbow of varying shades of green splashed across the canvas, and the blanket of the barely grey skies were a painting. And this painting, which could only be painted by an artist so attuned to its surroundings, was made to calm the soul of humans. I took it all in, the greys, browns, and greens, the vibrant colors of life overwhelming my senses. It was completely freeing. It was too much. It was everything.

Nature was not made to be taken all in, it was too big. It was a double-edged sword. It took you in with its freeing abilities, but the real scope of nature was all encompassing. This scene in front of me was too big. It engaged all of my senses and made me feel every emotion. How could one person, so small, make an impact when these mountains had been doing it for hundreds of thousands of years? They had continually been working higher toward the sky, in constant change for many ages. How was I, one person, supposed to find that greatness?

“You don’t,” I heard behind me. I turned around to see Reece standing there. Apparently my thoughts were being said out loud. I wondered how long he had been behind me.

“Yes, mountains have many years to reach those heights. But what about the streams? The small trickle of water that runs down the mountain and carves away from the mountain’s greatness. Those streams are changing the mountain and forging their own path, finding their own way. They are working their way downward as a small spring creek after a long winter. A stream of clear, cold water, can make as much of an impact as the big mountain. You said mountains take a long time to reach those heights, but the streams, they don’t take as long because they know where they want to go. And if they don’t, they just find a way down, because they know eventually they will be off the mountain, they will eventually find their way.”

Reece moved toward me as he said this. By the end of his tale, he was only a few inches away. He raised his hand to my cheek, his strong, calloused hands comforting me. His hair fell on his forehead as he leaned forward. His lips were so close, and then he erased the space between us as his lips lightly touched mine. It was a whisper of a kiss, like a ghost. I craved more of his lips with that tease. He slightly lifted his head, but I wouldn’t let him get far. I put my hand behind his neck, gripping his hair and pulling him closer, our lips smashing together. His hand snaked behind my waist, pulling me flush to his chest. There was no space between us as I opened to him, deepening the kiss and matching his force, tumbling into the emotions pouring through every pore in my body. He kissed me like he was the stream finding his way home.

I gasped as I felt something cold hit my bare shoulder. And then another cold drop, and another. I broke apart from Reece and glanced up into the turbulent sky. It was raining. I looked back at Reece with a wide grin on my face.

And I laughed.

I laughed a breezy laugh that released the tension I had been carrying around for months. I took big breaths of laughter as the rain continued to hit my skin. Most people run and hide when it rains, trying to find shelter, but I embraced it. The cold, wet drops made my skin feel vibrant. The rain was taking my tension and the weight I carried and washing it away, giving it to the land to consume and hold.

Reece grabbed my hand and tried to pull me to the trees to grab shelter, but I held my ground. With an eyebrow raised, his face was telling me he didn’t understand why I didn’t want to move as I watched the rain drench him. I looked at him and shook my head. I wasn’t moving. He gave an airy laugh and stepped closer to me, not letting go of my hand. He pulled me closer and I thought he was going to kiss me again. Instead, he wrapped his arms around my shoulders and brought me close to him, laying my head on his chest, covering me the best he could from the cold drops of water. I couldn’t help but think he wanted to cover me from more than just water.

There we stood; big, fat, cold raindrops falling on our exposed skin. The cold made me feel alive, but his arms wrapped around me gave me a sense of safety. The cold water contrasted from his warm grasp on me, intermingling my feelings of life and comfort. Cold rain and warmth from his arms made me feel complete. I turned my head to the side and looked out as the land took in the rain, letting it soak in the trees, the soil, and the air. I glanced up to see Reece’s eyes soaking me in.

Maybe I was his rain.

Maybe I was his warmth.

I was hoping I was both.

After another few blissful moments of rain cuddling, I noticed we were starting to shiver. I grabbed Reece’s hand and we made for a big pine tree, its branches giving us shelter from the rain. We threw down our packs and I laid my head down on it, settling in for the short storm and hoping it would pass soon. We both settled in, facing each other under the natural shelter. Reece was close enough to take a hand and swipe a tendril of my drenched hair behind my ear; the movement gave me chills. He leaned forward and put a soft kiss on my forehead. I felt him blow softly on the tiny kiss he had just delivered.

“What are you doing?” I asked with a small laugh.

“Making sure it stays,” Reece replied.

I knew from this moment things had changed. The uneasiness from earlier, the fear of letting Reece in, had subsided. I was still nervous about whatever this was, but I didn’t want to fight him anymore. I didn’t want to fight letting him in because having him there made things easy. I was still fearful about what I wanted to do in my life, but Reece brought a light of clarity I had been missing. I had let him into my life and all the crazy things that went with it. I didn’t know if we were a couple, but Reece had made an impact, had made things a little bit clearer, and that was what I needed right now.

We cuddled under the tree branches as the storm calmed down, and soon we were hiking down the mountain. The smell of the rain after the storm was strong as we hiked, but it was my favorite smell so I took it in, wishing I could bottle it and take it out any time I needed it. Walking in the forest with Reece behind me was another perfect moment. With Reece I was starting to have a large collection of perfect moments. A short while later we were walking into the cabin, soaked to the bone and ready for a hot shower.

As I pulled my boots off and stumbled, Reece grabbed me by the arm so I could steady myself. We made eye contact and started to laugh at each other over how drenched we were. I looked over to the table to see four sets of very wide eyes looking at me.

“What?” I asked.

Jo put her cup down, and with a shit eating grin said, “Oh nothing. You two have a nice hike?”

“Yeah, it was great.” Reece smiled at me. I blushed.

I took off my hat and threw it on the back of the couch. I was freezing and needed to shower. I also knew Reece needed one, too. I looked at him and said, “You can use the shower first.”

“No, go ahead, you’re shivering,” Reece kindly replied as he motioned to the bathroom.

I wasn’t one to argue. I shrugged my shoulders and went in. If I was more suave, I would have said something smooth like, “You could warm me up,” or “It would be faster if we shared.” But at the same time, I didn’t know if rain drenched sweet kisses warranted showering together.

I was obviously jumping steps in this relationship.

Shit.

Is that what this was? A relationship? Was I ready for that? I wanted to be with Reece. I was done trying to tell myself anything different, hiding what I truly felt. But was I ready to jump straight into a relationship again? Would it be identical to the one I had with Owen, where I was overshadowed and lost? I thought about this the whole time in the shower until I realized I needed to save some hot water for Reece. I quickly turned off the water and got dressed. Taking a towel for my hair, I went back into the living room. Reece silently passed by me as to take his turn.

Now I wasn’t sure what to do. I really hoped it wouldn’t be awkward for the rest of the night. Jo was the only one at the table when I sat down.

“Where is everyone?” I asked.

“Bethany and the boys jumped into the hot tub. I was sitting here waiting for you. What happened on that mountain, June? The June who left is different than the June who came back.”

“You could tell?” I shifted in my chair as Jolene stared me down.

“You were all smiley and shit when you came back. I haven’t seen that in a really long time.”

I fidgeted again in my seat. “We kissed. And we might have kissed the night before we got here. And when I say we kissed that night, I mean I kissed him after yelling at him,” I blurted out in one breath.

Jo’s sad smile turned into a huge megawatt grin.

“Oh,” was all she said, super chipper.

Bitch knew she won.

I punched her in the arm.

“Oh? That is all I get! You have been all over my ass about that boy in the shower and all I get is an oh. I expected more, Jo. More gushing and squealing.”

“Squealing would only piss you off.” True. “I was laying off. While I think you all should have humped a month ago, I’m letting you set the pace here.”

“Gee, thanks so much, Jo. I’m glad I can set the pace in my relationship.”

“So, you’re in a relationship?” Jo asked, tongue in cheek. Bitch.

I raised my hands in frustration. “Ugh, no, that’s not what I meant! Stop putting words in my mouth, hooker.” We were at our best when we threw insults at each other. It really was a friendship made for life.

“Who’s calling who a hooker?” I heard a deep voice behind me ask. I turned in my chair to see Reece standing there. Not wearing a shirt. Naturally.