November

Chapter Eleven

-Oliver-

The trees in the Hoh Rainforest were some of the biggest I'd ever seen in person. Everything was green - the leaves, the ferns blanketing the ground, and the moss growing up the trunks of the trees. Moss was also draped from tree branches, hanging in curtains that stretched towards the ground. With rain lightly falling, every tree and plant dripped water. It felt like I was walking through a fairytale, through an ancient, enchanted forest that had been here since the beginning of time.

I turned towards Cooper. "This is incredible. I know I've been saying that about everything, but I really mean it. You weren't kidding when you said this was a rainforest. This is so...majestic," I said, trying to find the words. "It's like seeing the Earth as it would have been millions of years ago."

Cooper's face lit up. "That's exactly how I feel. Like I'm going back in time."

"I love it," I said, gazing around at the forest. "You're lucky to live near this."

As we walked along the path that wound its way through the trees, I wanted to reach over and hold Cooper's hand. This would be perfect for a romantic walk. Instead, I stuck my hands in the pockets of my rain jacket. It wouldn't be right to use Cooper as a vacation hook-up or a rebound. That's not what it would be to me, but that's what it might seem like to him.

Besides, I wasn't sure if Cooper would be interested in me. He was probably just being friendly. I mean, he was friendly to everyone. I probably wasn't special. The last thing I needed to do was read too much into things, make a fool out of myself, and put Cooper in an awkward situation.

When we stopped near a large moss-covered maple tree and Cooper was looking up at the branches, I allowed myself to indulge in my crush for a moment. I let my eyes move down Cooper's body. He was muscular with massive shoulders and biceps, but he wasn't cut. Despite his stomach being flat, I could tell he had a layer of fat over his abs. He was solid, and I really liked that. One of the best things about his body was his ass - it was huge, and most of it was muscle. I wanted it in my hands, even though I knew there was no way it would fit into my hands.

I felt myself blushing. I shouldn't be standing here thinking about Cooper like this. I needed to stay in the moment.

"When did you come here for the first time?" I asked.

"When I was a baby. My parents liked to get pictures of us here."

I laughed. "I should have known. Where else did they take you? Did you all travel a lot?"

"We tried to, but we didn't have a ton of money growing up. We'd go to Oregon a lot, and we went to Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, and once we took a road trip across the country to see the Great Smoky Mountains and Mammoth Cave National Park. And of course I've been to California and Alaska for my fishing job. But that's it."

"That's a completely different experience from mine," I replied. "My parents liked cities and beaches. So there were a lot of trips to Chicago and New York, and then to Florida. I studied abroad for a semester in college and got to see London, Paris, and Barcelona. I guess that's why I'm trying to do a trip involving the outdoors now. It's something different."

"You sound well traveled. I'm impressed," Cooper said, grinning.

"It was mostly because of studying abroad. Did your college have any programs like that?"

"I didn't go to college."

"Oh," I said, not sure how Cooper felt about it. "Sorry, I just assumed."

Cooper laughed. "I'm glad you assumed I'm smart enough for college. But I didn't need it for logging or fishing, and it would have been tough to find the money to pay for it."