Chapter Eight James

"Itold you," I laughed as Rowan plopped down at the top of the massive sand dune and kicked off his boots. He turned them over, pouring out an astounding amount of sand. "Bare feet is the way to go."

"It"s gonna be so much lighter walking back," he sighed, watching the sand stream out of his boots. He pulled off his sock too, wiggling his toes into the sand. "You could"ve warned me how steep it was."

"I figured you"d already seen the dunes from town. They"re huge."

"I did, I just didn"t know we"d be climbing them."

"What"s a good hike without breaking a sweat?" I grinned widely. "It feels good!"

"You"re one of those types aren"t you? The kind that gets some sort of sick thrill out of being in pain."

"I mean, being smacked around isn"t the worst." I felt the heat flush to my cheeks. "That was probably TMI…"

"It"s fine," he sighed. "My girlfriend was into that shit too." He suddenly froze up. "Uh… ex girlfriend I mean."

That"s what was going on! At last he gave me some sort of clue as to why he was such a grump all the time. But I contained my excitement at this new revelation. I didn"t want him to think I was enjoying his pain. On the contrary, I wished I could take it away.

"Can I ask what happened?" I paused for a moment. "You said was… did she die?"

"No," he grumbled. "Although that might"ve made things easier. At least I could"ve pretended she still liked me instead of seeing her getting railed by another dude in our bed."

"Oh wow…" This was something I couldn"t find a silver lining in. Not this time. "I"m sorry that happened to you."

"Eh, whatever," he scoffed. "It doesn"t matter, anyway."

"It sounds like it matters a lot."

Rowan glanced over at me, the sadness in his eyes plain to see. But there was something else there too, a look that begged me to change the subject. I had a feeling he"s never wanted to talk about his ex girlfriend to begin with. It must have just slipped out.

"We can talk about my love life if you prefer," I offered. "It"s pretty bad too."

"You get cheated on too?"

"No. But I"m pretty sure my literal ass is cursed."

He lifted an eyebrow.

"Every time I let a man take me to bed, he never comes back." I couldn"t help a pitiful laugh. "I must be really bad in bed."

I saw that attempted grin again. At least that cheered in up a little. I plopped down in the sand beside him, stretching out and leaning back on my elbows. I pushed the bag between us and pulled it open.

"I brought water and snacks," I smiled. "Help yourself."

"You think of everything."

"I do what I can."

I grabbed a water bottle and downed half of it before dropping it back in the bag. When I leaned back, I noticed my shift had ridden up and my shorts were pulled tight over my junk. Rowan's eyes were already glued to the patch of skin just above my waistband and I did nothing to remove his temptation. After all, I kind of liked the attention. And now that I knew he was single, I was feeling a bit flirty. Considering how depressed he was, it might not have been the most ethical choice, but at least the eye candy would help him feel better, right? If that wasn"t philanthropy, I didn"t know what was.

"This is my favorite place in all of town," I said, staring out at the horizon as the sun sank lower. "The sunsets here are the most beautiful thing I"ve ever seen." I glanced up, giving him a wink. "Present company excluded of course."

"Right," he said, clearly not believing me. "I"m sure a thirty something with emotional baggage really drives you crazy."

I gave him a light shove. "You should be kinder to yourself. You"re extremely handsome."

"I don"t know about that…"

Was this straight man fishing for compliments? I wasn"t sure. But he didn"t seem uncomfortable, so I wasn"t going to stop.

"I"m serious! Those brown eyes and that messy blond hair. You must have everyone drooling over you."

"Not as much as you might think." His gaze flicked in my direction before going back to the sand. "I"m sure you can have any guy you want."

"Yeah," I nodded. "But not because they like me or care about me. I"m just a fantasy to them."

"A fantasy?"

"Yep." I could see his confusion. "I"m a twink to guys and nothing more. Just another square on their gay bingo card."

"Adam has said that word before," he replied. "I never understood it though."

"It just means I"m young, skinny, and fairly hairless. It"s just gay lingo for a body type."

"And that"s a fantasy?"

"Yep."

Rowan looked over himself. "What am I?"

"Well, I"ve seen you shirtless and I wouldn"t call you a bear or an otter. But you"re too muscular to be a twink and you don"t really have the attitude for a twunk." I paused looking him over. "You"ve got sort of a jock build but a boy next door sort of vibe."

"Those were all words I"ve heard before," he nodded. "But in a new order I don"t understand."

"Eh, labels aren"t important," I smiled. "You"re handsome and kind, that"s what matters."

?"I'm not that kind." He crossed his arms, staring out toward the horizon. "And I hate everything."

?I placed a hand on his shoulder gently. "Being hurt and upset doesn't mean you're unkind. It just means you're going through stuff."

?He shrugged my hand off. "Whatever."

?I took his meaning. He was done talking about feelings. Time to move on to a less serious topic. I'd already pushed the poor guy enough as it was.

?"What a granola bar?" I asked, rooting around through my bag. "I've got an apple in here, a soft chocolate bar, and some beef jerky as well."

?"You have jerky?" he asked incredulously.

?I laughed. "Why? Do I not look like the type?"

?"Not really. You don't wear enough camo for that."

?"It's tasty," I smiled. "And I buy the all-natural kind that's not full of preservatives so I can share it with the pups at work."

?"So… you're offering me dog treats?"

?"It's human food!" I scoffed. "It's just also happens to be good for dogs."

?He lifted an eyebrow, reaching in and taking a granola bar. "I think I'll pass on the dog treats."

?"Suit yourself," I replied, taking out a piece of jerky and popping it into my mouth. "You're missing out."

?A comfortable silence fell over us as we munched away. Both of us stared toward the western horizon as the sun got lower and lower in the sky. The clouds overhead went from blue to purple to stunning golds and pinks all at once. The lake looked like it was on fire as the sunlight danced off the waves. I couldn't help a few sighs as I watched. There was just something so beautiful about being out there at that time of day. I never got tired of it.

?Out of the corner of my eye I saw Rowan glance my way more than once. His eyes always went to my exposed midriff then down to my bulge before he snapped them back toward the horizon. I heard him gulp audibly a couple of times and it took everything I had to bite back my laughter.

?For a straight man, he seemed to be going through it. Maybe it was my confidence that surprised him or maybe he'd just never been around another guy who didn't care about that sort of thing. But I had a feeling it was because he liked what he saw. The more he looked, the closer he pulled his knees to his chest, and I had a sneaking suspicion that he might've been hiding something.

?Had I given this poor man a boner? And if I had, did I really care? No, I didn't. Actually I found it kind of hot. I mean, it was a bit stereotypical that I had the straight guy fantasy like every other gay guy. And I'd also just got done telling Rowan how I didn't like being a fantasy to other guys. But that didn't stop me from liking the attention. Besides, he'd called me cute last time we hung out. That had to mean something, right?

?After the sun had finally set and the color started to fade from the sky, I realized it was time to go. We had a long trek back to the car, and it was going to be dark by the time we got there. Thankfully I had a flashlight in my bag as well, but I still didn't like being in the woods after dark. Last year someone had spotted a wolf in the park and I wasn't keen to run into one myself.

?"We should probably get going," I said, stretching and pushing myself back to my feet. "I don't want to keep you out all night and it's gonna get cold fast out here."

?Rowan nodded. "Alright." I went to grab the backpack, but Rowan took it before me, throwing it over his shoulder. "You carried it up here so I'll take it back. It's only fair."

?I nodded with a smile. "Okay."

?He was such a gentleman.

?We started back down the dune, slipping and sliding our way to the base. I was fairly certain Rowan's boots were already full of sand again, but he didn't say anything. Leading the way, I took us through the wood via the most direct path back to the parking lot. The moment we were under the trees, everything got a lot darker. Nighttime came on much faster under the canopy and it took a moment for my eyes to adjust. There wasn't enough light to see detail, but I could still make out the path just fine.

?"It's another half mile," I said, waving Rowan on. "Not too far–"

?A searing pain shot through the bottom of my foot and I cried out. I fell forward, heading for the dirt when a pair of hands caught me from behind, bringing me back to my feet. But I could already feel the hot wetness of blood flowing across the bottom of my foot.

?"Are you okay?!" Rowan asked, panic clear in his voice. "What's wrong?!"

?"Something got me," I replied, managing a weak smile. I spotted a fallen tree only a few yards away. "Help me. We need to see what it is."

?Rowan helped me limp over to the tree and sat me down. I pulled out my phone and flipped on the flashlight. I didn't flinch when I saw the mix of blood and dirt plastered to the bottom of my foot. However, even in the dark I could see the color leave Rowan's face.

?"It doesn't look that bad," I said, leaning down to get a better look. I hissed through my teeth as I poked at it. "But it hurts like a motherfucker and it'll need stitches."

?"Should I call an ambulance? What if it gets infected?!" I could hear the panic in his voice. "Are there predators around here that can smell blood?"

?"Rowan," I said gently. "Calm down. It's going to be fine. Take a deep breath."

?He did.

?"There's no need to call an ambulance and I'll get it cleaned out so we don't have to worry about infection." I couldn't help a small chuckle. "And last time I checked, there are no sharks in these woods, so I think we're fine." I pulled him down to sit on the log next to me. "Hold my phone while I clean this, okay?"

?Rowan did as he was told. I rummaged through my bag, finding the small first aid kit I always kept in there. Working in a vet clinic taught me that life favored the prepared, so I made sure to have one on me all the time.

?Using what was left of our water, I washed the wound free of dirt and grime. The cut was deep, but clean, telling me I'd probably stepped on a piece of glass. Thankfully there was none lodged inside. That made things easier.

?I dabbed a fair amount of iodine on the wound, turning it a gross brown color in the process. But I knew that would take care of any infection issues for the most part. After that I put on a few gauze pads and wrapped it up tight to staunch the bleeding. Meanwhile, Rowan looked like he was about to pass out.

?"Okay," I said at last, packing everything away again. "I'm gonna need your help to get back to the car. I can't walk on this."

?"I'll carry you."

?I shook my head. "It's okay, I can just lean on you."

?"No." He got up, threw the backpack over his shoulders, and scooped me up like I weighed nothing. "I don't want to take a chance of you getting hurt again."

?Despite the pain, I felt myself swoon a bit as he hefted me into his arms easily. "O-Okay," I stammered, biting my lower lip. "If you say so."

?He started back down the path once more. "Maybe you should consider shoes next time."

?"Yeah," I sighed, leaning my head on his shoulder.

?But secretly, I was almost glad I'd stepped on the glass. I never would've gotten to ride in his arms any other way.

?Talk about a good way to end a hike with a beautiful man.