“We were teasing,” I say. Her footsteps stall at the sign, and I eat up the space between us, shaking out my arm now that feeling has returned. “Are you upset?”
She tilts her chin. “No. I’m not upset.”
“Good. That would be a major vibe killer.”
“Can’t have that.”
“Nope.”
Mark stands beside us, hands on his hips while he scans the horizon. The stance of a true pioneer. “About a six-kilometer hike, and then we’ll move. Reckon we might spot a wombat. Sawa burrow a few days ago with a different group when we headed to the Jenolan Caves.”
“They have a hard plate on their butt,” Sofía boasts. “To protect the burrow by blocking the entrance. They’re also so cute.”
“Right on,” I cheer. “Keep the facts comin’.”
Doug and I work together to gather the gear we need for the hike, leaving the rest behind. I take the camera, securing the strap around my neck, while he sets up the drone. Molly stares at his ass, and when I raise a brow, she shrugs.
“He’s my husband, and I think he’s hot.”
“Thanks, baby,” Doug says over his shoulder, adjusting the controls to make sure the blades on the drone are functional.
“Gross,” I mumble, loud enough for them to hear.
Outside of my parents, they’re two of the sappiest, most head over heels in love people I’ve ever met. And I envy them for that. Charlie and Mateo, too. I spent so long imagining what a life like theirs would look like for me—a lifetime with the person I love.
I had imagined that life with Grace.
She would work at a veterinary clinic, bringing home every animal that tugged at her heartstrings. I would keep filming videos and making content, traveling the world with her when she could join us.
And eventually, I would give it all up. Spend the rest of my days with her. Maybe I would volunteer at the shelter to surprise her. We would have dinner every night and share about our days—good or bad, it didn’t matter.
The image was so vivid in my mind, a series of clips that created a magnificent movie. So clear, I bought a ring. So confident, I proposed.
Turns out, I was the only one with those dreams.
Where I saw a family and a future, she saw a dead end. A man with no education and lacking the skills to provide in the ways she needed.
Now jealousy is a bitter thing that bites at the worst times. I hate when it happens, but worst of all, I hate how it rips open every wound I’ve tried to seal over, allowing the consuming thoughts of inadequacy to return.
We start the hike at a brisk pace, passing a different group that’s admiring the view, snapping photos of the mountainous landscape. Lush, vibrant plant life surrounds us, moss covering rocks and trees, creeping to the edge of the path. Large ferns bloom from the earth, and wide old tree trunks stretch toward the sky. The air is fresh, and my breathing grows labored as we hike up a set of stairs formed from the earth.
Mark affectionately pats a tree trunk, mottled grays and greens with brown swirls, like a bug ate a path through it. It stretches upward, branches jutting out to display small, slender leaves.
“This beauty here is the scribbly gum tree, a type of eucalyptus,” he says, stepping aside so Doug can find a few good angles to record long footage. “The squiggles are from the larvae of the scribbly gum moth. You can track its path and growth based on the width of the tunneling.”
Sofía checks it out, trailing a finger along the grooves in the bark.
I lean down, my mouth by her ear. “How cool is that?”
Instead of a response to my simple question, I’m greeted with a yelp, followed by a flailing fist into my stomach. Agony rips through my abdomen, and I double over, clutching my side while I try to catch a full breath.Ugh, that hurt.Why do women always punch me in the gut? First Charlie, and now Sofía. It’s my most tender spot.
If they have to hit me—even if I’m not sure what provokes it—I would prefer a bicep. Stings a little less.
A hand lands on the center of my back. “Oh my god. Are you okay?”
“I-I’m fine,” I groan.
“I amsosorry. You frightened me. I didn’t expect you to be so close.”
