Week three, we went on a hiking adventure in the neighboring town and ended up on a dual waterfall hike. “This is such a beautiful place,” Christina mentioned as we worked our way down the incline. Once or twice I glanced back up from where we’d come, and I groaned at the thought of heading back up to where we left the Jeep. Once we managed to get near the first falls another couple was coming out completely drenched but smiling. It was fucking wintertime, so I didn’t know what the hell they had been thinking.
“If you haven’t been to High Shoal Falls yet, you should keep going and do that first,” the woman managed to get out through chattering teeth.
“She’s not wrong. Once you see Blue Hole, you’re going to want to take a dip,” the man with her announced.
“Not fucking likely,” a stunned Christina told them. “I think you’re turning blue,” she told the woman, who just waved off her concern.
“I’ll be fine. We have to climb that damn incline to get back to the car. I’ll be thankful for being cooled down when I start burning up the trail.”
“That’s one way to look at it,” I muttered as we moved on down to High Shoal Falls. It wasn’t that either of us were planning on swimming, we just figured we might as well hit them in order on the way back up the trail. The first waterfall we had seen together didn’t disappoint.
“Wow!” Christina said as we stood there on the observation deck taking it all in. “That is just gorgeous. I can’t wait to come back here when it gets warmer. I want to go explore all over that thing,” she told me.
“I’m betting all of those rocks are pretty fucking slippery.”
She shrugged within my hold. “We can be careful.”
I leaned in, with my hands wrapped around her waist and her back to my front, to plant a kiss on her neck. “Anything you want, pretty girl.”
She turned her head slightly and smiled at me, her radiant face glowing with a hint of redness from exertion or maybe the slight chill in the air. “You ready to go see this other waterfall?”
“Do you think it can even compete with this one?” She asked.
“Only one way to find out,” I told her as I took hold of her hand and we started up the trail. Once we got up the little path that led from the waterfall to the main trail Christina was huffing and puffing behind me. I chuckled, having anticipated the uphill climb already.
“Holy shit, I think you might have to carry me back to the car,” she informed me.
“Yeah? Then who the hell is going to carry me?” I was in excellent shape so there really wasn’t a concern about me making it to the top, but I wouldn’t be able to do it without difficulty if I had to haul another person up. It was a mile and a half back to the car, all uphill.
“Okay, so maybe we should tame a bear, and ride out of this here forest in style.” I laughed at her suggestion.
“I’m putting you in charge of the bear taming then.”
“Oh, I could totally do it. I’m a charming person. I bet I could get an entire bear family to help us out. The little ones could take our day packs for us.”
“Jesus,” I huffed out as we came to the path that shot off to the right and down to Blue Hole.
“Oh, thank God!” Christina whined. “We get to go downhill for a while!”
I hated to burst her bubble, but I did anyway. “Just remember, that only means we have to climb back up when we’re done sightseeing.”
“You suck!”
“I didn’t make the mountain!”
“Well, we should buy all this land and put in a sky lift type thing so out of shape people can have access without succumbing to a heart attack.”
“I’ll check into that,” I joked. By the time we got down to the waterfall the temperature had dropped a few degrees again. It always happened the closer we got to the water sources on hikes, but it was especially noticeable near the falls.
“Wow! Look at that!”
It was a sight to behold. We stood on yet another observation deck, though it was obvious plenty of people went down below to partake of the giant pond-like swimming hole. On the other side of the body of water was a magnificent waterfall. It was probably only about 25 or 30 feet tall, but the way it spilled over the edge into the pool below was gorgeous.
“Look, there’s a rope swing up there,” Christina pointed out what I had failed to notice on first glance.
“That means the water there is a lot deeper than it looks from here.”
“Let’s get closer and check it out,” she insisted. That’s what we did. We carefully made our way underneath the observation deck and out onto the rock outcropping that dropped off swiftly into the pool. Christina picked up a rather lengthy branch that had fallen and got close enough to the edge to stick it in the water. “Looks like it’s about four feet deep right here,” she mentioned after she pulled the branch back out and checked the waterline in relation to where it came to on her body.
“I bet it gets plenty deep out there.”
Christina pulled one of her hiking guides from her backpack and quickly found the information she wanted. “It says that it’s about ten feet deep, but look,” she pointed with her finger. “It stays in the 40-degree range even in the summer months.”
I shivered at the thought of getting into water that cold. “Those idiots were just swimming in there? It’s only 42 degrees outside right now,” I reminded her. “That’s insane!” Of course, leave it to my little adventurer to be the one taking off her sweatshirt and sweatpants as I made mention of this.
“Come on, how many times can we say we really lived and dove in headfirst toward an adventure?”
“Plenty that don’t end in hypothermia,” I suggested. She grinned wickedly at me and then jumped right off the rock face into the water, sinking beneath the surface only to spring back up a moment later sucking in a shocked breath.
“It’s so cold that my body is on fire!” She yelped before splashing me. I quickly pulled her clothes back out of the way so they wouldn’t get wet and then proceeded to strip down to my boxer briefs. I couldn’t live with myself if my girl was able to tell everyone what a pussy I was.
Once I was stripped down and shivering, I glared at my woman, and then took off in a running jump from the rocks, soared right over her head, and landed in the coldest water I’d ever been submerged in. My muscles immediately tensed with the sensation. “Holy fuck!” I shouted when I surfaced again. I heard Christina giggling somewhere behind me and turned to see the crazy woman swimming straight for the waterfall. In for a penny, in for a pound, I supposed. I followed along, like the love-sick puppy I was becoming. We both managed to get to the waterfall at the same time thanks to her head start and my lengthier strokes.
“This is amazing,” she told me as she turned, treading water while mist from the waterfall made her sparkle and shine like the jewel she was. Her lips had taken on a bluish tint while her teeth were beginning to chatter.
“Come here,” I told her as I reached out and pulled her through the water, into my arms. I ran my hands up and down her arms to create some friction and heat. “We should get you out, now. It’s too cold for this. A quick dip in the winter is all we can do, but I promise to bring you back in the summertime so we can try out that rope swing!”
“That will be so awesome!” We both swam back to the rock outcropping on the other side of the Blue Hole albeit somewhat slower than we managed to get to the other side. The cold was starting to take its toll on both of us. We quickly boosted up out of the water and ran to get into our clothes. “I’m taking these off first,” Christina told me as she reached behind her back to discard her soaking wet bra.
“Wait, let me check to make sure no one else is around.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t care who sees. I’m freezing!” She should have cared, because I’d never be able to get the sight of her shivering, naked body out of my mind after that.
“Well, no judging when I do the same. I’m pretty sure my cock is hiding inside my
body, looking for warmth right now.” Her immediate burst of laughter had her tits shaking and me groaning at the sight. I really hoped we could move things forward with our relationship soon. She was driving me absolutely insane with need.
By the time we got dressed and huffed and puffed our way through the climb back up to the Jeep we understood what the other couple had meant by being cool for the climb up. It was a workout for sure, and I managed to sweat a little on the way up. Though, I stopped for Christina to catch her breath several times, so it wasn’t as strenuous as if I had gone all the way without stopping.
Once we were at the Jeep and deposited our packs and wet undergarments in the back, I turned to find Christina right there, wrapping her arms around my waist and hugging the shit out of me. “Thanks for bringing me here,” she murmured into my chest.
“We can come back any time.”
“No, I mean thanks for bringing me here with you. I’ve never been so happy.” Bam! My heart was suddenly beating harder than it ever had during the climb up.
“I could say the same. It wouldn’t have been the best move for me if I couldn’t share it with you, sweetheart.” I wrapped my arms around her too, and we just held on to one another like that for a bit. “I’m glad you came.”
Christina leaned up on her tip toes and kissed me then. It wasn’t like all the quick pecks she had left me with before. It was heated, sensual, and if I were a chick, it totally would have been a foot-popper. Don’t ask how I know what that means. I had a female best friend growing up. She was always going on about why women in the movies popped their foot up behind them when they were kissed passionately. It stuck in my head all these years later. I’d have to remember to give Ever a piece of my mind for planting that particular thought in my head.
The kiss she initiated, I quickly took over and gave her every bit of what I’d been feeling. All the pent-up sexual frustration, the lust, and the stronger feelings I’d had for her moved through me and into the woman who had quickly become the most important person in my life.
I pulled away then and looked her in the eyes. “I have something to ask you.”
“Do you want to go steady?” She teased, trying to beat me to the punch.
I couldn’t help laughing in response. “Well, that too, but I had something else in mind. “What would you say if I told you that one of the security guys on tour with a big-name rock band had been injured and was coming home to recuperate?”
“I’d say, poor guy, I hope he gets better soon.” The more time we spent in the mountains, the more her sarcastic sense of humor reared its head and I loved it.
“Okay, so what if I then told you that I was tapped to fill his place?” Her bottom lip poked out in a pout.
“I’d say, I guess I knew this was bound to happen eventually. I’m not ready, but I’ll get there.”
Damn, she was killing me. “Okay, so what if you could come with me? It will only be for a couple weeks. Their tour is almost over, and I have permission for a plus one.”
“Are you serious?” She asked excitedly.
“As a rock show waiting for more security,” I answered, making her laugh at me this time.
She bit her lip, thinking it through. “Which band is it?”
“Dusty Rose,” I answered, knowing they were one of her favorites. Her eyes widened and she started bouncing up and down in my arms like an overeager fangirl.
“Are you shitting me right now?”
“Nope. Totally serious.”
“Yes! Oh my God! How was this even a question? Of course, I’ll go. Let’s go!” She let go of me and ran around to her side of the Jeep. “We have to go pack!” And that was how my girl ended up on a rock concert tour with me.
Chapter 29
Bump in the Road
Christina
It was the night of the first concert since Jay and I had arrived on tour. I had yet to see the bands because we were ushered straight away to the security bus. The security bus was a misnomer, if ever there was one. Redemption, Inc. had spared no expense in making sure their staff were comfortable on tour. The bus that house the security staff who were not tasked with being on the band busses, was incredible. It was a fully decked out recreational vehicle complete with bathroom, kitchen, living area, one bedroom on one side of the vehicle with a queen size bed in it and some storage. The other side of the vehicle contained a bunkhouse bedroom that housed four separate beds. They were a little larger than the standard three stack bunk bed situation most band busses had for their members.
“The guys agreed to give up their rotation of the single bedroom so that we could share it,” Jay informed me as I stood staring at the opulence, we would be living in for the next three weeks. We had not shared a bedroom together yet. I had a small single bed in my art studio where I slept to avoid temptation until I felt Jay and I were ready to cross over that line. When I didn’t say anything, he must have thought I was apprehensive about the arrangements. “Sorry, it was the best that I could…” I turned and shut him up by slamming my lips against his. We kissed until someone from the living area started a slow clap, and then we broke away as my face heated in embarrassment.
“It’s perfect. This is amazing. Thank you for bringing me along for the ride,” I told him. By the time we got all of our things settled in on the RV, it was time for Jay to get to work. He handed me a set of credentials to wear around my neck and took me to go wait in one of the greenrooms until the show started. He had informed me that he would be sending a roadie to come collect me to bring me side stage for the show once the bands were in place. I couldn’t wait. I’d never seen Dusty Rose live so this was about to be a dream come true for me.
Unfortunately, someone had taken up residence in the bathroom located inside of the greenroom where Jay had planted me, so I left to go find other facilities. I did, and managed to do so without being stopped, harassed, or bothered in any way as I did. That is, right up until I noticed Jay was perched outside of the greenroom I was trying to get back to when the door to the room opened and a familiar woman walked out, took one look at Jay, and jumped straight into his arms like she belonged there. My heart plummeted straight into my stomach at the sight. Neither of them had noticed me standing there, basically hugging the wall for support at that point. He caught her though, and before he could do anything with her, she rammed her face straight into his, stealing a kiss from the man who I had unofficially claimed as my own.
“I heard they were sending you! Thank fuck! I haven’t been able to scratch this itch since you’ve been gone,” Maci told him loudly enough that I didn’t miss the fact that they had been together previously. Why the hell wouldn’t he warn me that he’d slept with one of the band members before we showed up and I was faced with this sort of awkward situation?
My heart took another fall as I realized that maybe I’d waited too long, and he only saw us as friends or roommates despite the amazing kiss we had shared at the waterfalls only days before. I wondered if Maci had been his girlfriend or fuck buddy, or for that matter, if she still was. Judging by the way she was clinging to him, I thought it might be true. Once more, I wondered why he would bring me along to witness this. Was it punishment for making him wait on me? My mind went bat-shit crazy thinking of all sorts of scenarios as I watched him move her back away from his body after he put her down.
“That’s not happening,” he told her in a rather stern manner.
“Why? Is it that country girl you met at the end of the last tour? I figured you burned through her already. She was never enough to keep your interest anyway. Everyone here knew it too. They were taking bets on how long she would last.”
“No, but someone else is,” Jay informed her.
“Well, she’s not here and doesn’t have to know,” Maci cooed.
“She’s in the greenroom, actually. Even if she wasn’t, I’d know what I had done. I’m not doing that to her, or myself. What’s gotten into you? I didn’t think you were the type to ever suggest som
ething like that.”
Maci pouted then and said something I couldn’t hear before she caught sight of me and with furrowed brows angrily yelled, “What the fuck are you looking at? Move along!”
That was when Jay turned to see me standing there too.
“Tina!” He called out. I waved him off, scooted right by them both, and went back into the greenroom. I’d heard everything he had to say. I knew he had just turned her down, and it was pretty obvious he’d been talking about me since he’d left me in the greenroom to begin with. Still, I wondered where that left us. It also made me regret my decision to keep waiting on becoming intimate with him. I don’t know what in the hell I was waiting for at this point. I knew I was falling in love with Jay. I knew he cared about me too. It was obvious, despite the worries and hang ups I sometimes had because of what Steven and Lindsay had done to me.
The funny thing was, I knew he could possibly be called up to work some of these events, many of them would be for a longer time frame. I had never been concerned about how he might behave while on the road, and suddenly I was a tad bit worried and feeling more than a little naïve.
Chapter 30
Making It Right
Jay
I knew I had fucked up as soon as I saw Christina standing there. Not that I had just done anything wrong, but because I failed to tell her about my past relationship with Maci. If you could even call it that. She’d been blindsided just now by what Maci had hinted at and now I wasn’t sure if all the time in the world spent getting to know one another would be enough.
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