“The trail starts just ahead,” he says, pointing up a gravel road toward a sign that leads into the woods. “It’s a part of the Pacific Crest Trail, but we’re only going to hike a small portion of it.”
I huff out a breath, acting like my heart isn’t already pounding and I’m not already sweating. I try to surreptitiously check the Fitbit to see how far we’ve walked. Oh great, one fifth of a mile. And we’ve only got … five and four-fifths miles to go, roundtrip.
Damn you, Maxine, I think as I contemplate the idea of spending the next several hours in the heat, sweating and choking on my own spit, walking for fun. Like, who does that? Only crazy people and Pacific Northwest natives.
“If you get tired or you just want to turn around for whatever reason, let me know. No judgement.” He looks back at me, smiling still, looking stupid handsome and athletic and confident, like he’s done this a million times before. “But, if you tough it out, you’ll get to see an awesome waterfall at the end.”
“Is it worth it?” I ask skeptically, and Maxx laughs, the sound echoing around the empty road.
“It’s worth it, I promise,” he says, and then he takes my hand again and I know for a fact that if he didn’t belong to Maxine—the most important person in the world to me—that I would’ve fallen for him. Hard. Irreversibly. Inextricably.
Alas, some things are just not meant to be.
Two miles into the hike and I’m hating it as much as I knew I would. I’d much rather be back at Danyella’s, lounging in her hot tub and drinking a bottle of stolen champagne from her parents’ extensive selection of alcohol.
Then again, it’s giving me a chance to get to know Maxx which is interesting.
“So, do you ever call Chasm by his real name?” I ask, just as Maxx wraps up a tale about how he, as a fourteen-year-old asshole, got twelve-year-old Parrish and Chasm to help him steal his father’s credit card so they could buy a bunch of a pay-to-win crap on a stupid app. Needless to say, it didn’t go well for any of them.
“Kwang-seon?” he queries, and then grins again. He grins a lot, Maxx does. He’s always smiling, and when he talks, he gets animated. Also, even though we’re slowly climbing in altitude, he isn’t panting or sweating. Me, on the other hand, I feel like I’ve gone swimming in a sweat bath. My bangs are plastered to my forehead and I’m sure I don’t smell great. “Nah, not much. Unless his dad’s around. If he even gets a whiff of the word Chasm, he practically shits himself.”
Chasm’s dad … I have yet to meet the man, but I’m curious. Who leaves their son in another country for nine years and barely visits him? He sounds like a dick.
“What about your parents?” I ask, huffing and puffing as we come around a corner and I groan at the sight of yet another incline. To be fair, the scenery is stunning. The trees keep us shaded from the sun, and every now and again, I get a peek between them at the valley below. I’ve already seen three garter snakes and more birds than I can count.
“My parents?” Maxx replies, glancing over his shoulder and then pausing when he sees how hard I’m struggling to keep up. He waits for me to catch up and then keeps pace with me which, for him, means slowing down drastically. “They’re alright. A little single-minded sometimes, but who isn’t when they’ve got a passion?”
“For motocross?” I clarify, wondering if he’s ever taken Maxine out on a bike. I bet she’d like that. To be honest, I’m pretty sure Maxx and Maxine are a match made in heaven. Hell, they even have the same damn name.
“If they had their way, I’d skip out on college and work on my motocross career instead, be the next Chad Reed or Ricky Carmichael. Be more like my sister, really.” Even though I can tell this is a bit of a sore spot for Maxx, he doesn’t whine or complain; it’s more like he’s stating basic facts. “They were excited to hear I decided on athletic training for my major though.”
“Athletic training?” I echo, realizing now more than ever that Maxx Wright is essentially the opposite of me. Parrish is basically me with a penis (and an entitled rich boy mantle) while Chasm is a little of both. In academics, Chas is my opposite; in emotions and experience, we’re fairly similar. Aaaand why, exactly, am I comparing the three boys? Either to each other or to myself … It’s a fruitless exercise.
“Just a gateway degree for my career in sports medicine.” Maxx flashes another one of those pretty smiles at me. “How about you? Any career plans in mind yet? I know you’re only a sophomore, but it’s never too early to start planning.”
“Are you sure you’re only nineteen?” I grumble, and he chuckles at me, this deep, warm masculine chuckle that’s annoyingly charming. Seriously, my sister won the lottery here. I manage to steer the conversation away from future career plans. When I told Tess that I wanted to create things, I meant it. It’s just … I have no clue what I want to create or how to make money doing it.
Just when I’ve decided that imminent death is upon me—Gamer Girl needs water badly; Gamer Girl is about to die—we come to a crossroads in the trail, and I hear the first sound of running water.
If I had cat ears, they’d have perked up at the sound.
“We’re here?” I choke out between breaths and Maxx nods, giving this dramatic flourish of his hand to show me which of the three paths to take.
“After you, milady,” he says, and we make quick work of the remaining quarter mile, coming around a bend to find a massive waterfall and a picturesque creek. For a moment, I just stop and stand there, my hands curled around the straps of my backpack, my heartbeat racing from the trek, sweat pouring down my spine. “Was I right?” Maxx whispers, leaning down from behind me, so close that his breath seems to tickle my ear. “Was it worth it?”
“So worth it,” I breathe, making my way across a small cement ‘bridge’ that looks like some leftover remnant from a dam or … something. It’s just wide enough for a single person to cross and only about six feet long. I plop down right in the center of it and start by taking my shoes off. With a deep groan, I drop my hot and achy feet into the cool water and let my head fall back. “This is heaven.”
Maxx joins me, taking his shoes off, too, and then unzipping my backpack for me.
“Drink,” he commands, handing over my water bottle. For a good twenty minutes, we sit in near silence, catching our breaths, drinking water, and munching down on some hippie-as-hell granola bars that Maxine packed. Mine has a note wrapped around it with a rubber band. Eat every bite to refuel! Love you fierce, and I knew you could do it—you’re at the waterfall, aren’t you? A smile takes over my lips unbidden; only an older sister could know you this well. A real sister, which is what Maxine will always be.
Kimber would’ve sent me with a death wish.
“I’m afraid Tess will never feel like a mother to me.” The words come out, even though I don’t mean them to. There’s something about sitting here alone with Maxx after a long-ass hike, in front of this beautiful waterfall, that makes me want to talk. “I’m afraid I’ll be stuck here for two years and then, once I’m eighteen and I’m free, I won’t know where I belong anymore. I’m not even sure that if I went back to New York now, that I’d fit in there. So, I guess what I’m saying is, I don’t feel like I fit in anywhere now.”