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I was definitely not drooling. Okay, maybe a little.
I tossed my bag in the trunk of the car and glanced down at my cargo pants and sleeveless top with its glittery skull print. Maybe not typical hiking gear, but it’d do.
As I turned toward Niko, I made a subtle gesture with one hand beyond his view.Stand down, it said.
Rafael would be watching, as he always was. But I didn’t want him following us on this expeditiontooclosely, not when I had high hopes about all the sorts of endurance we might explore.
He’d trail behind where he could hear a gunshot or a yell for help, but he’d give me my space. Or at least, if he didn’t, he’d have only himself to blame.
Niko motioned for me to follow him. “There’s a good trail that starts just a few blocks from the arena.”
I raised my eyebrows at him as we set off together. “I wouldn’t have taken you for a hiker.”
He beamed at me. “There’s something about being surrounded by natural beauty… It soothes the soul. I think that’s the right way to say it. You Americans don’t have the same respect, but you can always start cultivating it now.”
“Hey, I have plenty of respect for trees and lakes,” I informed him.
He chuckled. “That’s why I’ll show you my favorite spot around here.”
We set off through the streets and then veered into a patch of forest at the edge of town, not far from the road to the beach. When the ground slanted upward, I started to feel the burn in my legs with the exertion, but Niko chattered on about the various routes he’d discovered around town without any sign of flagging.
“First thing I do when I’m settling into a new place,” he said. “Find all the best hiking paths and views. That’s what helps me feel at home.”
“It is beautiful out here,” I said, dragging in a breath full of the fresh scent of fir needles.
“Wait until you see where you’re going. That’s the best part.”
The path turned rockier and steeper, and I scrambled up a few stretches accepting Niko’s hand for balance. The last time, he kept his fingers curled around mine and tugged me forward with him.
I wiped my brow, glanced up, and stalled in mid-step.
We’d come out to the crest of a hill overlooking a placid lake. I couldn’t tell if it was the same one with the town’s beach—no sand or people were visible from our vantage point.
The sunlight sparkled across the water as if it were a multi-faceted jewel. The leaves on the trees around the bank rippled with a light breeze, flashing hints of yellow and orange amid the green where the autumn colors were just starting to creep in.
“Wow,” I said. “It looks like something out of a fairy tale.”
“I told you.” Niko shot me one of his grins and sat down cross legged on the wide slab of stone along the edge of the peak.
I sank down next to him, keeping a few inches of distance between us, not sure how bold I should be. The mood didn’t feel right for suddenly jumping his bones.
“Are there places like this back in Japan?” I asked him.
“Oh, much prettier than this. But Canada can offer an acceptable temporary substitute.” He winked at me. “As long as I find one peaceful spot, I’m good.”
Somehow after all the articles and TV spots I’d perused about Niko Okabe, I’d never known he was a nature-lover. I guessed that didn’t fit the rebel narrative the reporters liked to play up.
The words tumbled out before I could think better of them. “It must be nice to get away from the whole media circus. All those people constantly judging you.”
Niko’s eyes widened, and my gut plummeted. If I’d accidentally put my foot in my mouth—
Then he shook his head with a light laugh, clearly undisturbed. “People can have their opinions. It doesn’t affect who I am. I always tell myself that if anyone shows a prejudice, it says more about them than me.”
Relief washed over me that I hadn’t offended him. “Good. That sounds like a really healthy way to look at it. I should probably work on that kind of mindset too.”
Niko’s voice took on a lightly teasing tone. “And what sort of pressures have you been dealing with, Angel?”
We were not getting into any details there.
