Perfect Sunset

Saturday morning I got up and went to a yoga class at the gym, hoping it would help work out some of the tension that had made itself at home in my shoulders since Lauren had told me about the happenings at happy hour.  I'm not sure if it was the Yin yoga or the almost-too-hot shower I stood under for almost 20 minutes after, but when I stepped out of the shower and rolled my neck, it felt a bit better.

I pulled on sweats and grabbed some leftovers for lunch.  I looked at the clock on the microwave while I ate.  12:13.  Brody was picking me up at 1.  I ate quickly, then went back to my room to survey my closet.  What the hell does one wear on a hiking date, anyway?  I pulled out my beloved lululemon WunderUnder crops (can't buy many of those on a therapist's salary!) and found a top.  I grabbed a long sleeved shirt to throw on over it, because I knew it'd be cooler in the mountains.  I found my small hiking pack in the closet of my second bedroom and tucked a light jacket, a few bottles of water and some snacks, extra socks, and my small first aid kit into it. 

I regarded myself in my bathroom mirror.  I pulled my hair into a bun at the crown of my head and decided on just a little light makeup.  As I was applying a thin layer of BB cream, my phone vibrated.  I looked at a text from Brody: "So sorry, I'm running just a little late.  Had to pick up some things and it took longer than I expected."  I texted him back that it was no problem and finished up my makeup by adding a hint of blush, lightly lining my eyes with gel liner and applying a coat of a waterproof mascara.

I was still trying to decide between my Merrel Moab low hikers or my heavier boots that covered my ankles when the doorbell rang.  I pulled the door open and motioned Brody in, telling him I just needed to decide which hiking boots to wear and then I was ready.  He looked at my options.  "The low ones should be fine, I think," he said.  He had low hikers on too, so I grabbed them and laced them up quickly.  I grabbed my pack and we headed out the door.

Brody kept up a steady stream of chatter as we drove, telling me about some PR crisis that had happened the day before.  After about 15 minutes, he looked briefly over at me.  "Hey, are you okay?  You're awfully quiet."

I debated silently for a second if I should tell him what was on my mind.  I decided I might as well, or I'd probably be off the whole trip.  "Did you hear about Thursday's happy hour?" I asked, quietly.

Brody's jaw set, and he nodded.  "Alex told me."  He paused, and I remained silent.  He glanced at me again, and then continued.  "This probably isn't the best second date conversation, but it's a long drive and with what happened, I might as well get it out there."  I looked over at him, confused and apprehensive.  He took a breath, and then went on.  "When I first moved back here from Miami about a year and a half ago, I fell back in with some guys I had known before we moved to Seattle.  Obviously we had all grown up, and they were pretty hard partying.  They went out all the time, took home a lot of random girls.  It was pretty easy for me to get sucked into it.  I saw Kevin occasionally, but never really hung out with his group.  They seemed boring to me.  I had lived in Miami for 8 years, and was used to a faster paced party scene.

"About 6 months ago, I just realized I was too old for it.  My work was suffering and all I did was party.  I didn't have any real friends, and I hadn't gone on an actual date in almost a year.  I stopped hanging out with them and starting hanging out with Kevin more.  One night, we ran into Savannah.  Kevin knew her through a friend and we got to talking.  She seemed fun and chill.  I wasn't long divorced from the party scene, and I ended up going home with her."  At this he paused and I made a face.  He caught it and smiled grimly.  "Like I said, not the best second date conversation, but since Savannah sucked you into it, you deserve to know."  I nodded, and he continued.

"We slept together a few times.  To me, it was no big deal.  I didn't realize she wanted more from me.  If I had, I never would have slept with her.  She introduced me to a few of her friends, which is how I met Alex, Lauren, and the rest.  Alex and I really hit it off and began hanging out more.  He's the one that clued me in to Savannah's feelings.  As soon as I realized he was right, I stopped sleeping with her.  She got upset and confronted me about it, and I apologized and told her I hadn't realized she wanted a relationship.  She was furious.  I felt terrible, I really did.

"By this point, I was hanging out with the group all the time.  I wasn't going to just stop seeing friends because Savannah was upset.  I figured she'd get over it.  As you can see, I was wrong.  Christian told me that she's now upset that I 'used her' and 'stole her friends'.  Maybe I should have just stuck with Kevin and the people I'd met through him, but I didn't, and now we're here."

He stopped and took a deep breath.  I looked out the window, processing all the information.  Savannah suddenly made a lot of sense.  I even sort of felt sad for her.  But then I remembered Brody's lips on mine, and how she had almost punched Kinsley, and that feeling quickly left. 

I realized I had been silent for a long time when Brody said, "Olivia...?"

"Oh!" I said, seeing the distraught look on his face.  "I'm sorry.  I was just processing.  I didn't mean to freak you out.  I just...well, it's a lot to take in.  I'm glad you told me though.  It helps make sense out of the situation."  Brody's face relaxed a little.

"I figured if I was going to stick around, the least I could do was be a gentleman.  I was always nice to her.  I always invited her places even though I wanted nothing to do with her.  I didn't want to give her any more reason to be nasty to me and make things awkward.  No matter how she acted towards me or around me, I never let myself get angry at her.  I tried to be as nice as I could without making her think I wanted anything.  The closest I ever came to losing it with her was last weekend at the cabin when she called you a slut."

I slid my hand into his.  He glanced at me and smiled.  "I appreciate that you wanted to defend me and that you told me all of this.  You're right, it's not typical second date conversation, but for some reason, I feel better about the situation," I said.   "So what do you say we forget that Savannah exists for the rest of the day?"

"That," he said, lifting my hand to his lips and kissing my knuckles lightly, "sounds like an excellent idea."

We arrived at a little after 2.  Brody gave me a run down of the trails he was thinking about, and I choose a 6 mile loop.  We set off, enjoying the beautiful weather, the scenery, and the company.  Where the path was wide and flat enough, we walked hand in hand, ambling along in no hurry.  There was way more of the path that wasn't wide and flat though, and we spent plenty of time in comfortable silence picking our way through scree and scrambling up rocky obstacles.  We crossed a couple streams as well.  One was swollen with late high-altitude snowmelt.  The water flowed an inch or so over some of the concrete blocks sunk in the stream to help with crossings, and others were above the surface but slick with recent overflow.  We crossed carefully, and were rewarded a short way up the trail with a beautiful vista.  We paused to have some water and a snack, and Brody pointed out landmarks and peaks. 

He knew the trail and surrounding lands well, and I asked if he spent a lot of time here.  He smiled, looking out across the valley.  "This area is one of my favorite places in the world."  He paused, then looked at me.  "It's nice to share it with someone."

I stepped closer to him and he caught me around the waist, closing the rest of the distance.  We kissed for a long minute, bodies pressed together.   Finally I broke off, pulling in a shaky breath.  Brody pushed back strands of blonde hair that had worked loose of my bun, and traced his fingers over my face.  He kissed me again, short and sweet, and reluctantly stepped away.  "I guess we'd better keep going," he said.

We continued on the trail, pausing to look at scenery or birds.  As we made our way down the last mile of trail, a slight shaking in my calves reminded me that it had been a long time since I had completed such a long, steep hike.  The rest of me felt amazing though, and I didn't regret choosing the trail I did.  We made it back to the trailhead over 5 hours after we had started.  "Just in time," Brody commented, looking at his watch.

"In time for what?" I questioned.  He just smiled and ushered me towards the car.  We got in, and drove a few miles up the mountain road.  He pulled his SUV into a small turnoff and turned off the engine.  I got out while he opened the back and pulled out a cooler and a blanket.

"Dinner," he explained.  I grinned.  "Come on."  He motioned for me to follow him.  He walked up the road a way, and then pulled me onto a barely visible deer path through the trees and rocks.  After a short jaunt through the brush, we exited into a small, hidden clearing with sweeping views of the valley below and the opposite peaks.  I saw the sun sinking towards the opposite peaks and realized this was the perfect spot for sunset viewing.

Brody was spreading the blanket and opening the cooler.  He pulled out a small half bottle of sparkling wine, two bottles of water, fruit, cheese, crackers, hummus, olives, and smoked salmon.  I raised my eyebrows, completely impressed.  "This is what made me late.  I hope it's worth it," he said with a smile.  I sat down and realized how hungry I was.  He poured a glass of sparkling wine into a plastic wine glass and handed it to me.  It was amazing, and perfectly complemented the picnic spread.  We ate in silence, side by side, watching as the sun sank lower.

We finished right as the surrounding sky began turning pink and orange.  Brody quickly packed up the garbage and leftovers in the cooler and moved it to the side.  He pulled me towards him, settling me against his chest.  I leaned back and enjoyed the gorgeous sunset and his warm body behind me.  After a few minutes, I sat up and swiveled sideways, draping my legs over his right leg and turning my face to him.  Our lips met and as we kissed, his hand traveled from my neck down my arm.  It lingered for a second at my hip, pulling me closer to him, then trailed lightly down the side of my leg.  His fingertips grazed my left calf from knee to ankle before beginning to manipulate and massage the tight, sore muscles there.  I sighed into our kiss, then slid one hand up to grip the back of his neck.  I raked my nails lightly up and into his hair and he shivered.  Our kiss grew more intense, almost desperate, before he pulled back.  I sucked in a deep breath, trying to slow the racing of my heart.

"We missed most of the sunset," he teased, resting his forehead against mine.

"Worth it," I declared.  He nodded.

After a long moment just sitting there, breathing the same air, he leaned back.  "As much as I really want to stay here, we should probably get going before the animals come prowling."  I was disappointed until I realized it was quickly growing dark in the small clearing.  Suddenly the thought of mountain lions sneaking silently through the trees beat out my desire to stay in this clearing with Brody forever, and I got to my feet.  I reached a hand down to him and he took it and stood.  He pulled a flashlight out of his pack and grabbed the cooler.  I grabbed my flashlight as well and we walked quickly back down the deer path that brought us here.

We settled ourselves into the car and Brody started down the mountain.  He drove slowly and carefully.  We saw several elk and mule deer along the road and I was glad for his caution.  The drive passed quickly, all earlier thoughts of Savannah gone.  When he pulled up in front of my house, I again felt disappointed that we were here.  He grabbed my pack from the backseat and walked with me towards the door.

I turned towards him.  "Would you like to come in for awhile?" I asked, eager to continue where we had left off earlier.

He smiled, but shook his head.  "I'd better get going," he said.  I was disappointed, but I forced a smile onto my face.

"Okay," I said, tightly.  I took a deep breath and the next words came out sincerely.  "Thank you.  This was the best date I've ever been on.  It was perfect."

He touched my cheek, and kissed me lightly.  "Good," he said firmly.  "Because you deserve it.  When can I see you again?"

I mentally went through my work schedule for the next week.  It was going to be a really busy week, and I told him so.  I had a girls' night planned with Lauren, Kendra, Kinsley, and Cassie for next Saturday.  He thought for a minute and said, "Ok, how about Friday?  I don't think I can top this date, but I'll think of something."  I agreed to Friday.  He kissed me one more time, his fingers lingering at my waist, then said goodnight.