Oblivious to Him - Part II

Chapter 20 - The Steak-out

"Why did I agree to this again?" Mia wheezed, struggling to make it up the hill leading toward the spot Drew pinned on the park map. I turned to face her, eyes scanning behind her to make sure Austin wasn't already here. I could still see the parking lot from this height, and just three cars were parked in the red sand.

"Because you said, and I quote, 'I will stalk that jerk to the end of the earth if it means taking him off his golden pedestal and ruining his life for the foreseeable future," I smiled, walking back down the hill a little to hand her my water bottle.

"Well, I guess I would've rather stalked him sitting in a car. I didn't realize he would pick a park that was only uphill in every direction just to cheat on his girlfriend," Mia grumbled, accepting the water with an appreciative smile.

I chuckled, "If you think about it, it's actually pretty smart. I highly doubt Brynn would ever randomly decide to hike these trails after school since it all but guarantees sweating and getting covered in sand," I pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess that's why he's never been caught yet. Smart douche," Mia begrudgingly agreed. "Thanks," she handed me the water bottle back, and we continued our trek up the hill.

I honestly had forgotten about this park and was sort of thankful to be exploring it again. Red Rock Canyon Open Space was where I started rock climbing as a kid, and nostalgia was hitting me hard. I remember coming here with my mom, exploring and climbing the small cliff sides with her at the bottom, ready to catch me and move the climbing mat to protect my fall.

"We should be almost there. The lake is right up around the corner," I thought out loud.

"Thank god," Mia exasperated.

"Do you think he will show up where Drew says he will?"

"Why do you ask?" Mia asked, out of breath.

"Drew hasn't been friends with Austin for a while now. What if he goes somewhere else now to do whatever he does," I trailed off.

"I guess we'll find out," Mia shrugged her shoulder. "At least I got my workout in for the rest of the month."

"The rest of the month?" I mused.

"Don't look at me like that. Not all of us are born to be athletic. Some of us are born to just be around athletic people, pretending we're one of them when really, we would just rather be sitting on a couch eating chips."

I chuckled, "We can do that later tonight. For now, let's keep moving and find a good hiding spot."

"I'm going to hold you to that," Mia pointed at me in a warning.

We passed the Open Air Pavilion and towards the Quarry, where Drew suggested we wait first. Hiking in pleasant silence, with nothing but the sounds of nature around us, we continued our trek. Arriving at the spot on the map, I surveyed the area to figure out where we could hide without being seen from the trail.

"If I were about to make out with a girl, where would I go," Mia tapped her chin in thought.

I shrugged my shoulders, "your guess is as good as mine."

"Let's go over there and maybe climb up that rock a little," Mia pointed to her left.

"It even has a shrub to hide behind," I noted.

"Exactly," Mia smiled.

A few minutes later, we were finally situated behind the shrub, laying on our stomachs on the blanket I had packed to protect our clothes from the red sand.

Mia was busy pushing around sand with a stick when I nudged her in the side with my elbow and whispered, "how are things with Paige going? Outside of what happened on Monday."