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“Like I said, not that kind of trip,” I mumbled. “Let’s get going.”
I led Gavin and Kyle to the garage, where Blake had finished loading the gear. She and Gavin chatted while Kyle and I went to load our overnight bags on the other side of the Jeep. As soon as we were moderately out of sight, he put a hand on my ass and squeezed me.
“Hey!” I spun around, holding my overnight bag between us.
His surprise from my reaction was quickly replaced by a smile so smug I could tell Kyle was used to getting his way. He leaned against the Jeep, sidling right up to me as he whispered in my ear. “I hope we can pick up where we left off last night.”
I took a step back. “What happened last night? One minute you were there, and the next, gone.”
“Oh, yeah,” he said, rubbing his stomach. “I started feeling sick, so I just took off.” Then he reached out his hand toward my middle, and pulled me close. My bag dropped to the cement floor. “Maybe I could sneak into your tent tonight and you could take care of me. That is unless you want the old guy.”
I tried to wiggle free, uncomfortable with his mention of Gavin as the “old” guy. Gavin wasn’t more than five years older than me. So what did that make me in comparison to Kyle? To make matters worse, I saw Gavin had stopped talking to Blake and was now standing at the back of the Jeep watching us. I pushed away from Kyle and leaned over to grab my bag.
That’s when he slapped my ass.
I shot up, bag in my arms, and mouth wide open. But before I could form any words in my head, Gavin was between us. His eyes were wide as he looked between Kyle and me, and his face was beet red. I shied away, embarrassed I’d let the flirting get this far.
“Cher,” Gavin said between gritted teeth. “Can you meet us out front?”
I nodded, not able to make eye contact with Gavin. I didn’t care what Kyle thought anymore. He just made me look like an idiot, and I did that enough myself. I opened the Jeep door and tossed my bag inside, then started it up. Quickly glancing back, I couldn’t see Gavin or Kyle anywhere. So I backed out of the garage, closed the door, and drove to the front of the building.
Kyle stormed past me, down the sidewalk with his overnight bag on his shoulder. Oh, man. Was Gavin mad? Was he going to cancel the trip? I started biting my lip, and old habit from childhood whenever my mom would get after me for not following one of the crazy fad diets she put me on before a pageant. All I wanted to do was play outside in the dirt, and all she wanted me to do was look pretty and act like a girl. I was torn between two worlds.
Gavin knocked on the Jeep window, and I realize the door was locked. He opened the door and tossed my bag in the back seat with his, then climbed next to me.
“Ready?” he asked.
I nodded, then took a deep breath before putting the Jeep in drive. “Are you mad at me?”
He looked confused as he turned toward me. “You? Not at all. Why?”
“I saw Kyle leaving. I just want you to know—”
He cut me off before I could finish. “It looks like Kyle is still not feeling well. I recommended he go home and get better.” Pausing, he raised an eyebrow. “I hope that’s okay with you?”
“Perfectly fine,” I said. I was relieved that Gavin wasn’t upset, but my body still vibrated with nerves. Was it the idea of being alone with him? That made no sense. We were friends. I was just embarrassed that yet again I’d picked out a real winner like Kyle. I needed to get my head out of the clouds and up the mountainside so I could lose all of these romantic notions. I needed to stop searching for love where it didn’t exist.
THREE
After parking the Jeep and strapping on our backpacks, Gavin and I headed on my favorite lake—Upper Kananaskis. It was a light 3k hike to the Point Backcountry campground where we’d spend the night. The nice thing was we could spend most of our day either exploring the trails around the lake, or venture off the paths in search of Gavin’s list of plant life.
The trail to Point was clearly worn, being a popular day trip for most hikers. While I knew Gavin wasn’t looking for a challenging experience, I suddenly wanted to show off some of my skills. Most people saw me as nothing but a curvy-figure girl. But I was a damn good hiker and knew the mountains around us well. And it mattered to me that Gavin saw that.
“I was thinking once we set up camp we could hike over to Hidden Lake?” I asked. “It’s a beautiful spot in this area.”
“Maybe we could take a quick swim,” he said. “I haven’t been there since I was a kid.”
I nodded. The thought of swimming alone with Gavin at the falls sent a warm sensation through my middle. He’d be half-naked—I’d never seen under his plain shirts before, but this girl could imagine. Ohmygod. Friend-zone, Cher. Stop being a dork. Plus, as hidden as the falls were, they were still a popular place for hikers to visit and photograph. We’d be lucky if we were alone anywhere but the campsite.
I cleared my throat before my mind ventured off into further thoughts of Gavin. “So why couldn’t your other staff come?”
“Well, you know that Jacques just quit. Mary is a single mom, and it was supposed to be her kid’s
dad’s weekend, but he got called away to work. I offered to pay for a sitter, but she didn’t like leaving her daughter alone that long.” He offered a lazy smile. “Then there’s Rene, but her husband is sick, so she didn’t want to leave him overnight. They’re both older. She just works at the shop to pay for his medical bills.”
“Wow, single moms and seniors. You’re a pretty nice guy, Gav.”
“Some think so.”
