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I nod, the sound of birds chirping in my ear. “Like this?”
Adrian smiles. “You got it. You ready for this?”
I roll my shoulders and then square them. “I was born ready.”
“Uh-oh. Have I discovered a competitive side to you?” Adrian begins to paddle, and we settle into a rhythm, moving further and further away from our path.
The water is rushing steadily underneath us as we drift past the rows and rows of trees on either side.
When I squint, I can spot a few mountains in the distance.
“You scared, Steele? Worried about a little competition?”
Adrian laughs. “I’m not worried. I like competition.”
I give him a meaningful smile. “Good, so do I.”
Eventually, Adrian stops paddling in slow, practiced strokes and sits up straighter. His eyes dart around before moving back to me.
My arms ache, and my muscles are screaming in protest. But I like seeing him like this.
Out in the wilderness, there’s a softness to Adrian that I didn’t expect.
Like he’s connected to the earth and everything around him.
It makes me like him even more.
When he flashes me a smile, my stomach gives an odd little twinge.
I’m an idiot.
Adrian is going to lose interest in me once the novelty wears off, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.
With a sigh, I look away from him and let my eyes sweep over the terrain. “You know, I’m glad you tricked me into coming.”
“I didn’t trick you. You wanted to come.”
I swing my gaze back to him. “Well, it’s your fault. How do you expect me to say no to that smile and those abs?”
He gives me a slow and wicked grin. “There’s more where that came from.”
I point a finger at him. But I can’t stop smiling. “Aha! See, I told you that you were being unfair.”
Adrian holds his free hand up. “I regret nothing.”
My smile fades. “I’ve been dreaming of going on a retreat like this for years. But there was always something stopping me from going.”
“At least you’re here now,” Adrian offers, after a brief silence. “We can’t change the past, Danielle. All we can do is learn from it and let it go.”
I push my hair out of my eyes.
“You ever think about being a shrink?”
Adrian chokes back a laugh. “Oh, fuck no. I mean, I’ve got a lot of respect for the profession. But I couldn’t do what they do. I’d probably get too attached and end up a wreck whenever my patients came in.”
“Maybe it would be your superpower.”
Adrian offers me a half smile. “I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I couldn’t do it all the time.”
