“We’re headed out for a hike,” Ashton said. As soon as he said it, it was obvious. They both had backpacks on and wore sturdy hiking boots, just like me.
“Oh!” I said, my eyes wide. “Um, me, too.”
“Cool,” Jude said. “Anyone else coming?”
“I’ll go check in the office,” Ashton said, and he slipped inside quickly, giving me a wink before he walked away.
Alone, I looked at Jude, suddenly panic-stricken. I shouldn’t have kissed him. Either of them. But Jude didn’t pick up on my agitation, which led me to believe he didn’t know about my other encounter.
“Do you do a lot of hiking?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant. “Quite a lot, actually. You?”
“I try and pick different hikes around the Peninsula where I live. Ashton doesn’t usually join in, but the friend we’re staying with has massage clients all day, and our other buddy has some work to catch up on, so Ashton agreed to come with.”
Interesting. The other guy they were with was the resort’s masseuse. I smiled, knowing Callie would be in good hands today.
Before I could put my foot in my mouth, Ashton came back out. “Just the three of us,” he said, with a wide grin. “Lucky, right?”
“Yeah,” I said, much too forced. “Lucky us.”
“You okay?” Ashton asked.
“Totes!” Now I was being overly enthusiastic. This was a freaking disaster.
“Okay, well, the cashier gave me a map, and the trail starts at the water’s edge, where we were last night. We all know how to get there.” He bit his lip slyly and looked straight at me. Shit. This was going to be bad.
“The question isn’t about the starting point, it’s about how we want to end up,” Jude said, and I heard his double meaning. I looked at him sharply, but he didn’t pick up on my dagger eyes.
“Well, I know exactly where I want to end up,” Ashton said. “Do you, Willow?”
“Umm, sort of?”
He gave me a quick nod. “I bet you know more than you’re letting on.”
“Yeah, she does,” Jude agreed.
Not answering either of them, I started walking toward the water where the hike began. The leaves under our feet crinkled, but we all walked at about the same pace. I didn’t look at either of them, not knowing what I should say. Last night I had felt so free, so unencumbered. I hated that now those feelings were replaced with doubt.
I should be able to kiss or have sex or do whatever I want with whomever I want. I hated that I was getting all worked up over these guys. Why couldn’t I just be in the moment?
We walked for about an hour in an increasingly awkward silence. The guys talked a little about work, about their friends. But I kept quiet.
“You sure everything’s okay, Willow?” Ashton asked, pulling me back and letting Jude move ahead of us on the path. His hand found mine and he gave it a squeeze.
He looked concerned, but also had that look in his eye that told me he wasn’t too concerned about me. And why would he be? We’d just had a random one-off at the water.
“I’m good,” I said. “Honest.”
“Are you annoyed Jude’s here? Maybe you wanted me all to yourself again.”
I laughed. “Maybe that’s it.”
“I think it’s more than that,” he said.
For a moment I wondered if he knew what I’d done with Jude, but then he grabbed my face and kissed me, erasing any question that he’d told his friend about our fuck.
No way would he kiss me when Jude was just a few yards ahead of us if they had told one another about our intimate moments.
His kiss was strong and sweet, and filled with the happiness the woods offered. I smiled at the maple syrup smell of his lips, knowing mine matched his.
“You look good in hiking boots,” he said, after we pulled apart. I leaned in for another kiss, taking in all of him.
Then, smacking his ass, I smiled and said, “You look good in nothing.”
I started walking away, a little nervous that Jude would turn and see us. But he was taking a photo of a tree with his phone, so I didn’t think he knew what had been going on, literally behind his back.
Jude spoke quietly when I caught up with him. “Isn’t this gorgeous?” He pointed to a small sparrow on a branch, and he was right. The bird cocked its little head toward us, and seemed to smile and nod before flying off.
“Have you seen any eagles here?”
“So many,” Jude said. “Last summer I was up here, out on the water kayaking, and this eagle swooped low to the water, grabbed a fish and sailed away. It was incredible.”
I noticed Ashton had moved quite a way ahead of us, at a good clip. But I wanted to pause here with Jude for a moment, tell him that I was sorry for the kiss. If anything was going to happen again, it needed to be with Ashton. He was the one who made the first move.