Not Without You

twenty-seven

Leo

"You really think of everything, don't you?" Aria asks me as I hand her a pair of Nike sandals.

Before we jumped, I tossed two pairs down to the rocky ledge off to the side. One of them ended up landing in the water but stayed off to the side. "Mom told me she hated walking back up the hill in bare feet," I shrug. "Figured I'd save us the pain."

"Well, remind me to thank your mom," Aria says as she climbs out of the water and sits down upon a flat-surfaced rock that's directly beneath the heated rays of the sun. With her feet hanging off the edge, heels dipping in the water, she lays down upon the rock. "Ah, this is so beautiful. So relaxing."

"It is," I agree, running my hands through the ice-cold water. It feels remarkable after sweating profusely for two hours. It's also numbing the blister I have on my heel from hiking. It sucks, but I suppose I deserve it for wearing a ratty old pair of Kit's hiking boots rather than buying my own and breaking them in. "I wonder how my parents found this place. And why no one else comes up here. Mom said there was another trail on the far side."

"Not sure," Aria shrugs, sitting up. She squints at me through the harsh sunlight. "Maybe the other trail is worse than the one we hiked up. I wish your mom or Tenille would have warned us. That being said, I do feel excellent. It's been a while since I've done something that actually challenged me. Most of the time, for training, we just run or lift weights or do drills on the ice."

An amused smirk crosses my face. "So, are you saying you want to come up here every day?"

"Hell no," Aria laughs, slipping the sandals off and placing them next to my pair. "I love a good challenge and all, but my muscles are going to hurt like hell tomorrow. Thanks a lot, Leo."

"Hey," I say, splashing water in her direction. "Don't blame your future muscle soreness on me when this is, inevitably, your fault."

"My fault?" she asks, cocking an eyebrow as she submerges her feet into the water.

"You," I continue, pointing at her. "Are the crazy head who convinced me it would be a good idea for us to complete this bucket list together."

"But," she argues, slipping into the water. I watch as it dips beneath her weight and then pools around her shoulders, twinkling beneath the intense sunlight. For a brief moment, I believe she's going to swim over to me. But she doesn't; she stays there and treads water, keeping her alluring gaze locked on mine, the blue in her eyes bleeding through the usual indecision between blue or green. Her lashes look like they've been studded with delicate diamonds thanks to the reflection of the droplets of water that have adhered themselves. "You could have warned me about what we were going to be doing," she continues, running her hand through the water. "Technically, my sore muscles are your fault."

"Point taken," I reply. "But how was I supposed to know how hard this hike would be? This is the first time I've been to Whistler."

Aria bites her lip and looks away, wracking her brain for a comeback. I continue to tread water, feeling alarmingly smug. It's rare I get to catch her off-guard, to prove her wrong, and I'm kind of enjoying the fact that I've thrown her for a loop.