Respite

Chapter 4

The week had flown by with Gray and the weekend was looming ahead in only a few short hours. Gray had convinced me that this weekend we would be hiking and doing a camping trip to welcome me into town. He said any good townsman was an avid hiker and that this trip was obligatory for me to retain my citizenship. I had laughed at his joke and simply agreed with him to keep from continuing with his speeches. We had settled into a friendly and flirty relationship as the week had progressed, and as much as I had wanted to avoid him, I just couldn't help it. It had been a big change from the first day that I had met him.

"Want me to pick you up tomorrow morning or do you want to spend the night at my house? It's up to you, but it's probably best we get to the trail head around seven AM." He spoke as he swept up some shavings near his workstation. I was busy tiding up some paperwork at my desk as he had been sanding the shelves for that couple we had helped earlier in the week.

"Um, why don't you pick me up tomorrow morning? How far is the trail head from mine?" I still hadn't packed for the trip as I kept thinking he would cancel on me for something more fun. I also needed to tell Connor that I was going on this mandatory work trip.

"About an hour and a half or more." He paused from his sweeping to complete his mental math and I found it amusing.

"Geez, that far. I thought we were doing this locally." I had always loved being outdoors and some of my best memories were hiking with my family, but I knew that I was no longer that in shape girl that I had been. My ex had made sure that I knew when I gained weight and when I was huffing up the stairs just a little more than I should be. I grimaced at the thought of Gray noticing how completely inapt I was at doing something he enjoyed, and sat back further in my office chair.

"Don't get me wrong, there's some beautiful trails around here, but I figured it would be more fun if we met up with some of my friends and then hiked up to a bigger waterfall." He was hesitant and chose his words carefully as if in choosing the wrong word I would unravel some hidden meaning that I wasn't supposed to know.

"Friends?" Again, I grimaced. Other souls were going to witness me at an all-time low. They'd know me as the bright faced, huffing, hippo that slowed down their adventures.

Suddenly, Gray was kneeled beside my office chair and reaching out to put a hand on my forearm. I flinched at the action which only made his brows crinkle in concern, "No, no, don't be feeling like that." He all but whispered besides me. I cocked my head to the side and looked at him questionably, "We are not these big mountain climbers that scaffold off cliffs. It'll be my two cousins and their girlfriends and we genuinely like going to the mountains, drinking, and doing some swimming after a slow walk up the mountains. The other girls are just like you, I promise." I glanced up into his eyes and got lost in the gray torrents that were his ocean eyes. I wasn't sure how he knew what I was feeling, but it did give me courage to nod my head. A wide smile graced his face and without an ounce of awkwardness he reached over and hugged me quickly before letting go. His embrace hadn't given me the same sense of dread and fear, surprisingly, "I promise, you'll have fun. We're grilling and drinking, and the group is just a big family. They'll like you." I gulped at the idea of meeting people in the woods.

One more look into Gray's eyes and it was all the encouragement I needed to suck in a breath and let out a small smile. I had to keep pushing and moving forward. There was no way that I was going to let my past stop me from meeting new people and experience new things. If I had to leave this town abruptly, I know that I'll think fondly on this trip. I would go for future me to have a happy memory to focus on.

"I don't exactly have a sleeping bag or a tent, should I go get one?" I wasn't sure how I would go get one, but I was moving money around in my head trying to adjust for the expense. Gray had given me a great weekly stipend this week, but most of it was already eaten up with bills and groceries that I needed to keep me going.