Chapter Seven Rowan

Ithought the coffee date went well. Not that it was a date of course, but just a completely platonic meeting between two men who definitely weren't interested in one another.

?Ahem.

?Anyway, the meeting went well. James and I parted with the beginning stages of friendship under our belts. I wouldn't say we were best friends, but I couldn't deny the fact that I wanted to hang out with him again, even if he was grossly positive all the time.

?I'd never met someone who could see a bright side to everything. The guy was impossible to bring down. It was kind of weird to be around, considering how completely fucking depressed I felt at the moment, but I figured it might be good for me. After all, I wasn't going to get any positivity from myself, so getting it from someone else seemed like the next best option. Granted, it didn't make me feel any better, but I couldn't just wallow in self-pity all the time, right?

?Our coffee date had been three days ago and now that the weekend was coming on again, I was feeling the need to see him. I'd had a little more time to grapple with the feelings I was having and had yet to come to any conclusions other than the fact that there were definitely some sexual urges there.

?Every time I looked at James, I couldn't see past how hot he was. I never thought I'd be thinking that another man was hot, but there it was. I wasn't sure if it was his lithe form, the beautiful blue eyes, or the way his shirt rode up when he stretched that made me drool like a dog.

?Of course, he caught me looking the first time he did it. After that, he did it at least three more times, confirming that I couldn't stop myself from staring. That was after I called him cute, which might have given him a little bit of a hint as to what I was after. I couldn't tell if he was just toying with me or interested. Either way, I was like a fish on a hook and I couldn't fight where James was concerned. I was swimming toward him willingly, knowing full well that this entire experiment could bring my entire self-image crashing down around me.

?But even with all that risk, the way he smiled at me gave my heart the tiniest lift out of the darkness. When those bright blue eyes looked my way, I forgot how depressed I was for half a second and the world seemed brighter. It only took a couple of those before I was hooked. Now I needed it like I needed air and no matter what I did, I couldn't get him off my mind.

?With a sigh, I pulled out my phone and flipped open the texting app. Sitting around torturing myself about texting him wasn't going to help me accomplish anything. I wanted to see him again, I knew that. I just hoped I wasn't making another huge mistake that would cost me dearly.

Me: Hey James, what's up?

James: Howdy stranger! I was wondering when you were going to reach out! I was starting to think I'd scared you off! :P

Me: You didn't. Just a busy week.

James: I get that. Hopefully you're less busy now?

Me: Yeah. Happy for the weekend I guess. But kinda bored. Not sure what to do around here.

James: So you texted me?

Me: Yes?

James: I'm honored :) What would you like to do?

Me: I don't know. Something I guess. What's there to do?

James: Well, there's lots of nature around here if that's your thing. Or there's a pretty decent bowling alley that does glow-bowl on Friday nights.

Me: Glow-bowl? Are you in middle school?

James: No, I just like to have fun! :) Besides, you're not exactly geriatric you goof

Me: I'm a helluva lot older than twelve though.

James: Age is just a number! But if you don't want to do that, we could go on a hike through the dunes. It's a great place to watch the sunset.

Me: That seems more my speed. Lots of noisy people and bowling balls is… meh.

James: What have you got against balls?

Me: Haha. Very funny. I can see why you like glow-bowl night. You've got that middle school humor.

James: I can't help it I have good taste in comedy :P I'll meet you at the state park in an hour?

Me: Sounds good.

?I slipped my phone in my pocket and got up from the couch. If I was going hiking, I'd need to find something appropriate to wear. Considering I'd only grabbed my flip-flops and junky tennis shoes on the way out of my old life, I needed to make a trip to the store.

◆◆◆

?"Ooh," James cooed the moment I stepped out of my SUV. "Nice boots."

?"Thanks," I grimaced. I was hoping he wouldn't notice. But I didn't have enough time to scuff them up before going to the park. "I didn't have any hiking shoes."

?"You should've asked," James said, glancing down at his bare feet and wiggling his toes. "You won't need any."

?"Uh… you aren't worried about glass or anything?"

?"Nope! I've been hiking out here a million times without shoes and I never have any issues." He smiled wide, his bright eyes catching the sunlight. "People around here are really good about taking care of the environment. They just know how special this place is."

?I couldn't help lifting an eyebrow in his direction. People? Good? I doubted it.

?"And besides, I don't want to end up with three pounds of sand in my boots."

?Yeah, I didn't believe him. Positivity was one thing but blind trust? That was gonna be a no from me dawg.

?"I'll take my chances," I replied. "Besides, I need to break them in anyway."

?"Oh? Do you hike a lot?"

?"Not at all."

?He cocked his head to the side in confusion. "You bought boots just for this outing?"

?"I guess?" I glanced down at them, suddenly nervous. "Is that wrong?"

?"No. Just seems expensive."

?"I guess I'll just have to start hiking then." I looked around at the woods surrounding us. "Don't they say nature is good for your mood or some dumb shit like that?"

?James burst out laughing. "Yeah. I guess they say that."

?"Probably about time I start exercising again, anyway."

?"You look like that and you don't exercise?!" He pointed at my arms and to my chest. "You're kinda fucking built."

?"You think so?" I glanced down at myself, not really seeing anything impressive. "I do some push-ups sometimes when I'm stressed out at work, but nothing crazy."

?"Fuck." James shook his head. "You must be really stressed out then. I didn't realize it was so bad."

?A grin threatened to spread over my face, but I forced it back. However, James noticed and a big smile filled his face instead.

?"It's okay to smile," he said gently. He was looking at me that way again, like there was something besides just friendship bouncing around in that brain of his. It shouldn't have turned me on as much as it did. "I don't mind."

?"I'll try to remember that." I waved him on as I started toward the woods. "Come on. I want to see if this place was worth the boots."

?"Have you ever seen a sunset on Lake Michigan," James asked, hiking a backpack onto his shoulders.

?"No."

?"Then don't worry. This is gonna be the best hike you've ever been on. I guarantee it."

?He strode ahead, his bare feet digging into the dirt as we started up the trail. I let myself fall back a few steps, a grin pulling at my lips again. From this position I could not only hide my amusement, but it also gave me a view of the nicest ass I'd ever seen.

?I doubted a sunset was gonna be better than that.