We settled into our seats and prepared for the long drive ahead, I was half prepared to sleep for the three hour drive but Coach had other ideas.
As my head started to fall towards the windows he jabbed me with his elbow in the side.
"Hey, don't fall asleep!" I'm not sitting in silence for the next few hours!"
I grunted.
"What do you want to do tomorrow?" He asked while lightly jostling me to make sure I was still awake.
" I don't know... today hasn't even begun yet."
"I want to take you to my favourite pool!" His eyes sparkled with excitement.
"You just want to see me in my swimming shorts again." I leaned on his shoulder, craning my neck to focus on his eyes.
"You're right." He laughed. "I should have kept those nice orange speedos. I liked how they made my bulge look." He grabbed his crotch with his hand.
"And I think you liked how it looked too." He winked.
"Is your mind always in the gutter? You were so sweet before we had sex." The end of my sentence seemed to happen as the rest of the guests stopped talking. My face blushed as I'm sure they all heard what I had just said.
"I'm sorry. You know I really like you and it's way more than just sex, that being said, you're really good in bed. You can't blame me." He laughed playfully.
I knew entirely what he meant, I know our connection ran deeper than just the urge to sleep together and no matter how high and mighty I acted it's not like I didn't want to constantly feel his naked body against mine either.
We carried on talking about what we could do tomorrow, Coach giving way more ideas than could fit in one day. After sometime I happened to glance down and notice our hands were intertwined. I don't know how long they had been like that or who even made the first move, but it comforted me.
Coach looked down to see what had caught my attention, he squeezed my hand and smiled at me knowingly.
We carried on talking and laughing, the three hours flew by and before we knew it the coach was pulling in to the car park for the first stop.
We stepped out and I was shocked at how temperate it felt. There was no snow falling and the small amount on the ground was melting away. It felt surreal to be walking around and not be surrounded by snow. The wind was still there but even this wasn't as cold and cutting as it had been.
We made our way up a small dirt path, a steep drop to our left with a small river flowing gently down the ravine, we headed towards a small mountain with a large, flat wall facing us. A portion of the wall looked like it had been cleaved in two, a thin crack running towards the ground.
As we approached the mountainside I noticed the dirt track disappeared into the crevice, but the entrance looked way too small for us to enter. A few more steps and the entrance seemed to grow a lot larger, as did the stream as it now cascaded down some steps with much more force than the gentle trickle that had ran along side us.
At the base I looked up at the huge towering cliff face, my head spun from the sheer height of it.
"Come on, let's go explore" Coach said, his voice gentle and warming, almost as if he knew I was uneasy. I didn't have a choice as our still interlocked fingers caused me to be pulled behind him as he pushed forward into the fracture.
The tight, cave-like walls seemed to close in around us, a large frenzy of birds swarmed above us, their squawks echoing around the enclosed space.
"In some places they say it's lucky if a bird craps on you, don't they say that in England?" Coach clearly pulling from his knowledge garnered from other tourists.
"Yeah we say that. Not sure how lucky I am though, being stuck with you."
I nudged him gently in the side with my elbow.
"Hey you never know, let one crap on you and I might disappear!" He tried to shake his hand free of my grasp, almost like he was making a show out of it. I tightened my grip.
"I don't want you to disappear." I whispered, the echo seemed to magnify the sound as some of the guests turned to look at me inquisitively.
My cheeks blushed again. I don't know why I'm so embarrassed, it wouldn't take a genius to work out there is something going on between me and Coach.
We carried on moving further into the belly of the gorge. The screeching birds above us, the narrowing walls and echoes that bounced from the cold, jagged walls started to make me feel very on edge. I didn't say anything for fear of disturbing the group, that and I didn't want to look like a wimp in front of Coach but as if he could again sense how I was feeling he squeezed my hand to let me know he was there. He'd promised many times that he would protect me and I believed him. The tour guide suddenly started telling us a story about a half-human, half-giant who threw someone to their death in the here and their spirit could still be felt in the gorge. The hairs on the back of my neck stood to attention as my blood seemed to run cold.
"Don't worry. I'm here." Coach whispered in my ear.
I don't know how he thought he could protect me from a vengeful spirit but I had to applaud his confidence. He started squeezing my hand rhythmically almost as if instructing my body when to breath in and out. It worked, the long deep breaths helped calm my racing mind.
As we turned to leave the gorge I realised we were the right at the back of the line and would be last to leave, the panic set in again. I don't know why I was scared but for some reason I just felt really uneasy.
Coach grabbed my shoulders and looked me in the eyes.
He pulled me into his arms, my head pressed firmly against his chest as his hand stroked my hair.
"We'll be out soon." He held my head against his chest for a few more minutes, his steady heartbeat distracting me from the screeching birds above, the fear subsided once again.
I peeled myself away, Coach smiled at me with worry in his eyes.
"You ready?"
I nodded weakly. He took my hand and we marched out of the gorge.
As we walked out back in to the open I felt so much better, I pulled gently in Coach's hand, he stopped and turned back to face me.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what happened back there...I don't even have claustrophobia or anything...."
He placed his hand on my cheek.
"Don't apologise. I was scared too." I tilted my head, he didn't seem scared.
"I was scared something would happen to you."
"That was so cheesy! Are you auditioning for a role in a romantic movie?" I scoffed.
We walked back to the coach, trailing behind the rest of the group. Our laughter carried on the gentle breeze. The more I looked at Coach's face, the more he made me laugh and feel safe, the more I found myself drawn to him.
He grinned from ear to ear almost as if he could sense what I was thinking. Feeling.
We arrived at our next stop, a small village named Arnarstapi.
We stopped inside a small cafe, the rich scent of coffee and freshly baked goods filled the space. We distanced ourselves unintentionally from the rest of the group as we huddled in a corner with our drinks. Although the wind was gentle today and nowhere near as biting as it had been, it was still nice to settle into the warmth of a building. Coach sidled up as close as he could to me, and he kept shuffling.
"Careful! You'll end up on my lap if you get any closer!" I tried to push back gently with my arm.
"And what if I want to sit on your lap?" He laughed.
I ignored him as I took a big gulp of my coffee, I could see his big puppy dog eyes above the rim of my coffee cup.
I lowered my cup and opened my mouth as if I was going to say something.
His eyes opened as if he was paying attention, waiting to listen intently to what I had to say.
I quickly raised my cup and continued drinking, his posture slumped as if he'd been let down. I couldn't help but smile slyly, feeling he was as captivated by me as I was him.
After we had warmed, watered and fed ourselves we made our way back outside, we walked from the cafe towards the cliffs ready to journey to our next stop on foot. The wind started to pick up the closer we got towards the cliffs, it wasn't as strong as it had been on earlier days but it brought a heavy chill from the sea.
I felt something being draped over my, Coach was placing his coat over my shoulders. I could see his tense muscles shivering under his jumper, but he smiled warmly.
"You looked cold." He said through almost chattering teeth. I could tell he was cold, why had he taken his coat off!
"Take it back! You're shivering!" I tried to pull the coat off of my shoulders but he wrestled it back in to place, I had no chance of overpowering him.
"Please take it back Coach, I don't want you to freeze!" My stomach started to ache slightly, the worry for his safety welling inside.
"Give me a kiss, that'll warm me up." He smiled as he puckered up.
"I'll give you a kiss if you take your coat back!" I snapped, some of the other guests turned to see what the commotion was and my face burned.
"You drive a hard bargain!" He paused. "Fine." He peeled the coat from my shoulders and slid it over his muscular arms. He leaned in towards me as he pulled up the zip, his nose almost touching mine.
"I'm not kissing you in front of everyone!" I could feel their eyes burning into me.
"Fine...." he pulled away as he turned to follow the group.
"You owe me though!" He said without even glancing back towards me.
If only he knew how hard it was to say "no"!
