All The Things I've Yet to Do

Chapter Twelve

I wake up to the ungodly sound of the generic iPhone alarm. Letting out a muffled groan, I try to melt deeper into the sheets. There's a shift on the bed next to me and the ringing meets its end.

"Come on," whispers Christian as he lightly nudges my shoulder.

Ignoring him, I attempt to pull the sheet over my head. Before I can do this, he grabs the comforter and throws it off of the bed. This results in me shooting him a cold glare and him returning it with a cheeky grin.

"What time is it?" I rub my eyes and search for my phone.

While he replies, "Time to go," my phone lights up and reveals that it is now 5:02 in the morning.

I almost collapse onto the bed again, but Christian counter attacks by turning on the lights. The brightness causes me to squint and I currently want nothing more than to punch him in the face. Once my eyes adjust, I see him standing by his closet throwing on a sweater. While he stretches out his arms, his shirt rises slightly, and I try not to get caught up in the sight of his muscular torso.

Still not happy to be up this early, I rip open my bag and begin to pull on a pair of sweatpants. While my head is down looking for my own sweater, something flies across the room and whacks me in the head.

I almost begin to yell at him, but catch myself when I remember that his mom and sister are probably still asleep. I pull the article off of my head and my expression softens when I realize that it's one of his hoodies. Hiding my smile, I slip the black sweater over my head. It smells of Christian and the inside is unbelievably soft. The feeling of it against my bare arms sends ripples down my spine.

At the same moment, we both begin to walk to his bathroom. I raise an eyebrow at him, but don't say anything as we both pick up our toothbrushes. He sticks his tongue out at me and I suppress a smile as we stand next to each other brushing our teeth.

From this point of view, we look like a couple. It's funny how close we've gotten in the short time we've known each other, despite my efforts at doing the exact opposite. Somehow it feels like we know so much about each other, but also nothing at all. He catches my eye in the mirror and I playfully push him over with my hip, going to wash out my mouth.

"This better be worth it," I grumble as I follow him out the door and to his car.

Instead of replying, he lets out a husky laugh and we begin our drive.

The sky is still fairly dark, but I can tell that soon it will be full of blue, yellow, and orange. We drive for about fifteen minutes before pulling up to a parking lot. At the entrance, there is a large wooden sign reading "Mitsky Conservation Area".

The engine cuts off and Christian looks over at me. "It's a little bit of a hike, so bear with me."

"You're lucky it's too late to turn back," I roll my eyes.

When I join him on his side of the car, he grabs ahold of my hand and leads me into a dark thicket of trees. He seems to know where he's going, even in the blanket of night that surrounds us. Every so often, I can hear the rustles of creatures scattering among the bushes.

The smell of earth is strong, and the air feels significantly clearer than what we get closer to the city. We walk along a path for a while, before Christian pulls me to the left.

This would be the perfect place for him to kill me. Since when do I walk through fucking forests with guys I barely know? As we continue to push through the trees, the birds begin to wake up and fill the space with their chirps. I take a deep breath and allow all of my senses to be immersed in the wildlife.