The Brightest Star

75. King

King's POV

How was Leo in better shape than me? Where did all that stamina come from? I was used to fighting in the underground ring, working out, and running after punks, so why was I so out of breath?

"Done already?" I could hear Leo's cocky grin as he neared the top of the mountain. Well, okay, the mountain was an exaggeration, but it was a super tall hill.

"You don't even work out. How are you not exhausted?" I asked, stopping to catch my breath.

"Maybe it's because I paced myself and didn't try to show off at the bringing of the tail," Leo giggled as I narrowed my eyes at him. "I told you not to walk so fast, and you knew this would take two hours."

"Well... whatever you brat. Fine. You were right. I should have listened to you from the start." I grabbed my chest like that was painful to say.

"Awe. That's just what every boyfriend wants to hear." Leo looked ahead of us. "We got about five more minutes. Come on, we can rest longer at the top and eat our lunch before heading back down."

I groaned at the thought of having to walk all the way back to my truck but forced myself to keep close behind Leo in case I tripped over the small logs pounded into the steep trail, like stairs, so you didn't lose your footing. I would gladly take him down with me by this point, no matter how much I loved him.

"Ughooo, thank the gods," I whined, collapsing on the blanket as soon as my Leo laid it over the grass.

"King!" Leo tried to scold me, but I could hear him hold back his laughter. "I wasn't done yet. Here."

Something ice cold laid across the back of my neck, and I swear I melted into the ground. "Thank you," I mumbled as I shut my eyes.

I could enjoy the view in a few minutes. My legs felt like jello, my body covered in sweat, and I was more than sure my face was also coated in dirt from dust kicked up from the dart path. Why did I think hiking was a good idea again? Oh, right, because the love of my life made it sound so fun.

"Wow," I heard Leo say under his breath and peeked my eyes open to watch Leo as he looked out. He soon took his phone out, snapping pictures of every angle he could. I smiled at the sight. It was the most beautiful thing I had seen all day. "Are you done resting yet? Come look at the view you nearly passed out to see."

"Nah. I have the best view from right here," I admitted, not taking my eyes off Leo as he turned towards me. His face turned redder than it was while we were walking when he noticed me watching him.

"Stop playing around," Leo muttered, unable to stop himself from tucking a few of his long strands behind his ear and looking around, but I hadn't seen anyone in miles, so there was no way someone would randomly pop up now. "Since when have you been so cheesy?"

"I'm offended. I would never lie to you like that. Give me just one more minute, babe. I think my legs fell off a few miles back."

Leo laughed at me again before walking over to his backpack on the ground in front of me. He began taking out a thermos we filled with ice water and our homemade sandwiches and store-bought pre-made salad bowls. "Lunch first, then. Want to see the pictures I took?"

I told him I would love to, and I wrestled to set up so I could eat. Hiking wasn't all that bad, something I wanted to get used to after seeing how much Leo loved being out here. I knew I was being dramatic, but I guess it could have been worse for my first time.

Once we were done and I had feeling in my legs again, Leo walked me over to the hill's edge. The view was beautiful. You could see the tops of trees for miles one way and the city's tall buildings the other way you looked beyond more trees that covered the pathway here. I started to wish we had taken this hike later in the evening so we could watch the sunset up here too, but I knew Leo wouldn't want to walk for miles back to the truck in the pitch black. Hell, I didn't want to either. I didn't know what kind of animals roamed out here, and I wasn't up for wrestling a bear just yet in my life. But at least the day was warm, and the sky had nice-sized fluffy white clouds for us to watch as I hung over Leo's shoulders, holding his back against my chest.

There was nowhere else I wanted to be in this moment—no one else I wanted to share this moment with than Leo in my arms. I wish we could stay like this for the rest of our lives without a care in the world.

I turned my head to kiss his neck and heard him giggle. "I love you," I told him as I pulled away from his neck when I felt him turn his head to look at me.

"I love you too. Thank you for coming up here with me."

"It was worth every drop of sweat."

We shared a kiss before I heard a click from next to us and pulled Leo to the other side of me to see what the hell that was and to my shock, a young kid with glasses and thick wavy brown hair had a large camera poked at us.

"Oh, sorry. I should have asked before taking that, but it was so lovely of a moment that I didn't want to spoil it. My name's Jake. I run a photography club at my college, and I also run the LGBTQ club there as well." He dug into his pocket, pulling out a business card.

I stared at it for a few seconds before looking back at him. "You shouldn't be taking pictures of people like that without their knowledge," I hissed at him, but he didn't seem dangerous, however, I knew this wasn't something Leo was comfortable with.

"I do apologize again. Um, do you want to see them? They turned out beautiful, and I could send them to you both if you would like or delete them after you see them. I'm not trying to make a sale or anything. It would all be free."

I looked back at Leo, seeing him staring at the kid, biting his lip. "I, um, I guess we could take a look." He looked nervously at me, but I gave him a nod, exhaling my frustration at the fact this kid snuck up here and took pictures of us in a private moment without our permission.

**********

Important Announcement Please Read!

Due to personal reasons, I'm sad to announce that I will be pausing Patreon, Tapas, and Wattpad for the months of November and December. I will hopefully be back in January. I will try to get as much writing done as I can during this time, and I will start posting Mason and Felix's spinoff from my other story, Just My Luck, on Patreon when I get back instead of starting this month as I originally planned.

I deeply apologize for all the breaks I've had this year and my lack of inspiration. It was far from planned. I am human, and just like anyone else, we struggle from time to time, we have flaws, and it takes a while to bounce back.

I hope to see you all at the beginning of next year! Have safe and fun holidays with your families and friends!

<3 Kody!

Thank you for reading here on Wattpad!