One for the Ages // Book One

Chapter 4

Harry came to my room at seven am to get me for the hike. It was my vacation and under any other circumstances being awake at seven am would have annoyed me but this didn't. Not even a little bit. I was actually excited. More excited than I had been in years. I didn't have a whole lot in my life to be jazzed about so the idea of spending a whole day hiking up to a beautiful waterfall sounded like an excellent way to spend the day. I would also admit to no one else but myself that the company I would have was also a reason to celebrate.

Harry looked ready to go in a pair of khaki board shorts and a t-shirt with the sleeves cut off. He also had on good old fashioned hiking boots. He smiled,

"I'm glad to see you're awake. I was nervous you wouldn't be."

"Why's that? I said I'd be ready to go."

He shrugged,

"You're right. You did."

I didn't miss the lingering drag of his eyes as he dragged them from the tips of my own hiking boots to my ponytail. I fought to keep the smile from popping up on my face. I wish I could have controlled those types of responses better but Harry was different in almost every way from every male I'd ever been around. He wasn't scared of me and my standoffishness, he was intrigued and maybe even a little bit turned on by it.

He jingled some keys in his hand,

"Rented a Jeep to get us to the trailhead. Let's get outta here."

I grabbed my backpack and took his outstretched hand. He lead me through the lobby on an easy walk which relaxed me a bit. It didn't seem like he was in any hurry to get anywhere and so neither was I.

He opened the Jeep door for me and waited until I was safely seated and belted in before closing it. He got in the driver's side,

"Take about an hour to get there." He pulled out two bottles of water and handed one over to me, "Get comfortable."

I pushed my feet against the dashboard the whole way there. The wind whipped our hair around even though we'd both tied ours back. The wind was warm but not too bad with the breeze coming off the ocean to our left. I closed my eyes and let the tranquility envelope me.

For all the things I'd endured, I deserved this. I deserved to feel calm and in control of my life. I deserved to feel like I mattered. I deserved to be sitting next to a man who was proud to be with me, no matter his age.

I opened my eyes, turning my head to look over at Harry next to me, his hair flying in every direction in the wind. His eyes were slightly squinted even behind his sunglasses. He had one hand on the wheel and the other gently rested on his thigh.

I studied him like I was going to be tested on it later. He wasn't a kid and I needed to stop marginalizing him by using that word. He was 100% a man. He was kind and loving and more importantly he was present. He made an effort. He didn't let my shit get in the way of what he saw as something worth his time.

I found myself reaching over to touch his arm. I didn't know what I was doing or what my end goal was here. All I knew was that touching him seemed to be of the utmost importance at the moment.

When my fingertips grazed his tanned shoulder he turned his head to look at me. He looked like he was going to ask what I needed but stopped when he saw the serene look on my face. I dragged my fingertips down his incredibly toned bicep to his forearm where I spread my palm out. I finally reached his hand. He turned his hand to the side, immediately understanding what it was I was after, and threaded his fingers through mine. An easy, content smile spread out across his cheeks.