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IARA
Iwake up to an orange glow flapping around me.Is that wind?Everything seems blurry, and I don’t remember passing out, but I must have. The last thing that I remember…
I shoot up, causing an instant headache and blackness to shroud my vision.
“Ugh,” I groan as I try to steady myself.
“What are you doing? Lay back down,” I hear as hands are instantly on my shoulders, laying me back down on my sack.
“Rylan?”
“Who else?” He puts his hand on my head and stretches open my eyes. “You’re dilating okay. How do you feel?”
“Groggy.” I flex my fingers as I remember the cold of the mountain. “You carried me all the way off and set up camp?”
Rylan moves back over to the small fire he has going at the mouth of the cave we’re in. “I did. It helps that you didn’t truly pass out until we got off of the face. That would have been a little harder to maneuver. Even for me.” He smirks before turning his attention away and grabbing a tin of food.
“Glad that I could make it so easy for you,” I remark, sitting back up despite Rylan’s recommendations.
He knows better than to say anything to me. Instead, he gives me an irritated look but continues with his current task. “It’s nightfall, and we need this fire for the extra warmth. There’s a hole for ventilation before you freak out. Also, I made you food.” He slides a warm tin towards me with what looks like a twig inside.
I smell the warmed beans, and my stomach growls. I take it eagerly. “Thanks.”
He nods.
“I don’t just mean for the food. For coming to get me. You didn’t have to.” I glance up and notice his movements falter for a moment.
“It’s really nothing.” He brushes off the gratitude. “I’ve been around these mountains a thousand times. Besides, no challenge is worth winning over someone’s life.”
I’m confused at his energy of acting like I irritate him yet doing unnecessary things for me. Like saving my life. No matter how he brushes it off, I know it took a lot for him to do that, especially with how competitive he clearly is. Saving me and setting up camp has definitely cost him time.
There isn’t much room in the small cave, especially with the fire, so Rylan has no choice but to sit near me where our sleeping bags are pushed together for extra padding against the stone floor. I’m not complaining.
I finish my food and slide the tin into a bag for trash. I scoot closer to the fire and hold out my hands. The warmth is circulating well, but my joints can use the extra heat.
“Are you warm enough?” he asks, discarding his own empty tin.
“Oh, yeah. I just like the feeling before falling asleep. Maybe it’ll help keep me warmer throughout the night.”
“Skin-to-skin is always effective.” He chuckles. I feel my skin tingle at his remark, but notice his face quickly changes as if he caught himself making a mistake.
I quickly add something so he doesn’t think he’s offended me. “You’re not wrong. Since you’re offering, just being close helps as well.” I want him closer to me. For warmth, but also out of curiosity. If we are going to be stuck here together, it’s going to be hard to resist this pull I have towards him.
He scoots closer to me after a moment of hesitation. Again, he almost seems as if he is fighting his own affections towards me, but maybe I’m just reaching. Yet, his eyes seem to give something away. Something more.
In any case, it doesn’t take long for his body to relax. “You’re right. It is a lot nicer right here.”
I want to have just a casual conversation with him, but when he looks at me with the glow of the fire dancing off of his inked skin, the strange pull to him becomes unbearable.
Before I realize what I’m doing, I lean in and catch Rylan's unsuspecting lips with mine.
He’s startled at first, but then quickly responds to my kiss. It’s soft and gentle, but there’s a hunger behind it that I can feel. Rylan's hands take hold of my waist as he deepens the kiss, his tongue teasing mine as our bodies press together.
It’s like all the tension between us has finally been released, and I’m drowning in the feeling of his lips on mine. I’ve never felt so alive.
As we break apart for air, I look into his eyes. There’s so much emotion there - desire, confusion, and something more that I can't quite place.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, breaking the silence. “I didn’t mean to do that.”
