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Surprisingly, I wasn’t even last in line on this hike. While Archer walked behind me to help me ‘keep pace’ as he put it, there were several other couples behind us, all not enjoying this hike the way I’m sure Cyrus intended for us to.
Damian and Marion were behind us, Damian complaining the whole way up and Marion chastising him for not “living in the moment.”
Well, I don’t want to live in the moment either. I want this moment to end fast. I want to be home in my Baby Yoda pajamas, watching a movie and eating cupcakes.
Like that time Archer brought them over and we did exactly that.
That’s my idea of a good time.
“You doing okay, Viv?” Archer comes up next to me, and I glance over and scowl at him. “What’s wrong?”
I scoff at his question. “What’s wrong? What could possibly be wrong?”
“I don’t know.” He gestures to me. “Your face looks mad.”
“Not mad,” I correct. “Irritated. Irritated that you still look perfect, barely breaking a sweat, whereas I look like I’ve been running for ten miles.”
Gah. That sounded horrible. Who would willingly run ten miles?
“I do not.”
“Yes, you do.”
“Well,” He clears his throat. “You look like you have been working on your… glutes.”
I arch a brow at him and then nearly stumble over a rock. He catches me with his hand on my arm and pulls me up, then he slides his hand down my arm and laces our fingers together.
“Are you referring to my ass?” I call him out and his cheeks redden. Oh, how I love making Archer Moore blush.
“Maybe.” He chuckles and squeezes my hand. We hike a little farther and he says. “Would that bother you?” I give him a questioning look and he clarifies. “Would it bother you if I were talking about your ass?”
Holy shit. Why is this making my heart race? We’re literally talking about my butt right now and it’s a hard subject to take seriously… however. “No,” I answer him and give him a small grin, feeling my own face blush at the conversation.
“Okay,” he replies with a different tone that I don’t quite know how to gauge. “Good. I will continue to talk about your ass, then.”
I let out a bark of laughter and then cover my mouth, embarrassed at the outburst. Archer chuckles at me and tugs me along.
“Come on, I’ve heard the view at the top here is amazing.”
Somehow, he manages to completely take my mind off of the hike with talk of his new job, my family, and a new series of fantasy books he’s reading. Before I know it, we’re nearing the top.
The group slows to a stop and I try to block out the thoughts that are going a million miles an hour. I can’t stop thinking about Archer commenting on my body in a not-so-brotherly way. It felt like an “I’m interested in that body” kind of conversation.
But could that possibly be it? Could Archer actually be into me like that?
I take a deep breath and slowly let it out, then I let my eyes wander around me and gasp at the sight. Everywhere I look, I can see the tops of mountains. The tops. Not the bottom, not the front range, the peaks.
This is far from a high hike, so I’m told, but being up here and overlooking what I am, I feel on top of the world.
Couples immediately pull out their phones and start to take cute photos. Even Damian agrees to one for his wife, the guy looks like he puts up a fight just to have his wife’s attention, but in a good, playful way.
Archer nudges me, and I look over at him. He kind of tilts his head in a “should we take a picture?” gesture and I nod. Not taking a couple photo would definitely look suspicious since everyone else is doing it.
We walk over near the edge, keeping a safe distance and Archer already has his phone out. He navigates to the camera app and faces it to us.
“Smile,” he says, and I do, but then I look around and notice how everyone is giving each other kisses in the photo, and even though my stomach is in literal knots at the thought of kissing Archer again, I take the chance.
He looks down at me, and I say, “Take one more.”
