The Trail Rules

by Melanie Hooyenga

  “Have you been here?”

  I shake my head and he looks worried, but I quickly smile. “I’ve wanted to try it forever. E—” I stop. He doesn’t need to know that Evan preferred pasta and pizza so would never go anywhere he considered exotic. “Excellent choice.”

  His face relaxes and we head inside.

  Once we’re seated, he holds up his menu. “It’s all small plates, so the idea is you share.” An image of him feeding me flashes through my mind and I shake it off. That’s not what he means. “I’ve tried almost everything, so we’ll start with a few and keep ordering if we’re still hungry.”

  I study the menu. The combinations are stranger than what I’m used to eating, but once I get over that, I realize most of the dishes are either meat or vegetarian—like any other restaurant—they’re just cooked differently. “How many do we start with?”

  “Four or five. Does anything sound good?” For the first time since we’ve met, he sounds uncertain.

  I smile. “All of it.”

  A bubbly server arrives to take our order, and Mica has me choose.

  “Are you sure?”

  He nods. “I’m telling you. I love it all.”

  I pick three meats and two veggies, and the server bounces off to the kitchen. I expect more banter about the food, but he dives right into Getting to Know Mike.

  “Did you grow up here?” he asks.

  “I’ve lived in Louisville since sixth grade. We were an hour south of Denver before that.” I take a sip of water. “What about you?”

  “Born and raised in Longmont. These mountains have been my backyard my whole life. When my parents split up I freaked because I thought that meant we had to move to a crappy apartment over railroad tracks, far away from everything I knew.”

  I laugh, then quickly bite my lip. “Sorry. I don’t mean to laugh, but where did you get that idea?”

  He shrugs. “I blame all the Lifetime movies Mom used to watch. But we didn’t move—Dad moved out. He’s got a new family half an hour away so we still see him, but…” he trails off.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It is what it is. They were always fighting and now things are better.” He clenches his jaw and I have the urge to cover his hand with mine.

  “What is it?”

  He levels his gaze with mine. “This is my senior year. I’m supposed to go off to college next year.”

  “And you don’t want to leave them?”

  “Is that stupid?”

  “That’s the complete opposite of stupid.”

  He smiles, but it’s full of sadness. “Topher thinks it’s stupid.”

  “Let me guess, Topher’s the youngest and his parents are still married?”

  He snorts. “How can you tell?”

  Yes, that also describes me, but Topher and I are not alike. “He’s got that carefree reckless abandonment that you only have when you haven’t had to worry about much.”

  He rests his hand on the table between us. I’m not sure if it’s an invitation so I clutch my water glass. I wouldn’t know where to begin with making a move. “So what do you worry about?” he asks.

  His question startles me, but before I can contemplate how to answer, our server sets three plates on the table. “The rest will be here shortly. Enjoy!”

  I look from the food—garlic shrimp, a small steak with blue cheese, and sautéed mushrooms—to the stack of round plates on the edge of the table. “Is there a proper way to do this?”

  He hands me the top plate. “Take a little of each, or try one at a time. The extra plates are so you can have a clean plate for each thing.” He scoops all three onto one plate. “I’m not afraid of mixing.”

  His casual approach to everything relaxes me, but I don’t think I’m off the hook from his question. Once I’ve sampled everything— including the other two dishes the server brought—he leans forward. “I didn’t mean to put you on the spot. But what you said about worrying about things… I can see that in you, too.”

  Where to begin?

  I end up telling him all of it. Being new at school and becoming best friends with Brianna, then her mission to become the most popular girl in school and making up the stupid nicknames. I skim over Evan, only mentioning that we dated, and focus on Cally’s arrival and how my life’s been flipped upside-down since then. “And since school started, my parents are coming down on me to figure out my future.” I pick up a piece of bread and set it back on my plate. “Is it horrible that I have no idea what I want to do with my life?”

  He spears a mushroom from the cast-iron dish and pops it in his mouth. “There’s lots of time to figure that out. What do you like to do?”

  “Be outside.” The words escape me before I have time to think about them. “Super helpful, I know. But school just isn’t my thing.” I start to look away but the look on his face is so earnest, so caring, that I keep my eyes on his. “What about you? Do you know what you want to be when you grow up?”

  He smiles and my stomach flutters. “I’m thinking about something with forestry. Maybe be a park ranger.”

  “You would be perfect at that!” I know a lot of people who like being outdoors, but Mica never seems more at home than when he’s in the woods.

  He ducks his head. His cheeks redden and he flips his knife over and over. “CU has a program so I could go there and still be close to home.”

  “Have you applied?”

  He smiles, still not looking at me. “Got my early acceptance this week.”

  “What?!” The people around us stare at me, but I don’t care. “Mica, that’s awesome!”

  He shrugs, a move I’m realizing he does when he’s nervous. “I’m really excited, but part of me feels like I should want to go away to school. Like staying here is limiting me or something.”

  I shake my head. “You love it here, they have the program, and you can be close to home. Sounds to me like the perfect solution.”

  He reaches for my hand. “Thank you.”

  My pulse pounds in my ears. “For what?”

  “For being a voice of reason.”

  “I can’t be the only person who’s told you this.”

  He squeezes my hand. “Nah. Alex and Kurt flipped out when I told them. And my mom and sisters.”

  “So it’s just Topher?”

  “Pretty much.”

  I rub my thumb over the back of his hand. “I’m really happy for you.”

  He smiles at me, sending my pulse into overdrive, and that’s when the server returns.

  “Need anything else?”

  We order another seafood dish and two more veggies—I let him choose this time—and he turns the conversation to riding. “So what got you riding?”

  I push a piece of potato around my plate, not wanting to answer.

  He dips his head to meet my gaze. “It can’t be that bad.”

  “It’s not. It’s fine. I just don’t want to talk about my ex and he keeps coming up.”

  He gives me a lopsided smile. “I get that. But I met you together so it’s not like it’s a big secret.”

  “True.” I exhale. “Okay. This summer is the first time I’ve ridden on trails. Evan and his friends have for as long as I’ve known them but it never intrigued me before this year. Maybe it’s because I didn’t have Brianna telling me what to do—I don’t know. But I asked Evan to teach me and now I love it.”

  Mica’s smile grows broader as I talk. “So he was just the conduit to get you there.”

  “The conduit?”

  “You know,” he motions with his hands. “You would have found your way to the trails one way or another.”

  I sit back. “Huh. I never thought of it that way.” Maybe I’m not as much of a follower as I thought. Evan’s always talked about riding but didn’t pressure me to go with him. After seeing how much fun Blake and Cally have challenging each other to competitions, it seemed like a fun thing for Evan and I to do together. I didn’t expect to fall in love with it.


  “And now you’re hooked.”

  I smile. “I guess you could say that.” I’m hooked on more than just riding. “Do you think there’ll really be snow for the Pow Cross?”

  He glances out the window. “Hard to say. If this keeps up, maybe, but one hot day and it’s all gone.” His smile fades, and I laugh.

  “You want the snow?”

  “It’s the perfect end to summer and start to winter.”

  “Most people call that fall.”

  He shakes his head. “Not me. Riding, then boarding. No in between.”

  Something about his enthusiasm sends a flurry of butterflies loose in my belly. He has a passion that simmers underneath everything he does and it makes me want to reach out and capture it for myself. I stretch my hand across the table and he meets me halfway. He’s lacing his fingers through mine, setting my skin on fire, when he gets a text. He doesn’t even glance at his pocket.

  “Do you need to check that?”

  His eyes don’t leave mine. “Absolutely not.”

  Several more dings sound from his pocket.

  “That sounds important.”

  “It’s probably Topher being a dick.”

  I tilt my head and flutter my eyelashes. “Is that your rescue text?” I’m teasing, but once I say the words a tiny part of me worries it is.

  He shakes his head. “Absolutely not.”

  Our server reappears and he asks for the check, and only when we’re putting on our coats does he pull out his phone. I expect him to roll his eyes, but he stops walking, his face pale.

  I grab his arm. “What is it?”

  He stares at his phone a moment later before looking out the window. “There’s a fire at Crestpoint.”

  Chapter 25

  “Do you want to go check it out?” I ask. General fire safety says to run in the opposite direction of a fire, but this isn’t just any forest. This is Crestpoint. It’s where I fell in love with riding and everything that comes with it. And it’s where we met.

  He looks at me, but it’s like he’s not seeing or hearing me.

  “Mica?” I grip his arm a little tighter. “Did he say how bad it is?”

  “No.” He touches my hand that’s on his arm like he’s just noticing it. “Do you mind if we go there? I need to see this for myself.”

  I nod. “Yes, yes. Of course.”

  He leads me outside and we both pause on the sidewalk. It snowed while we were in the restaurant and a couple inches cover the ground, blanketing everything in soft white. “It’s hard to believe anything bad can happen when it’s so beautiful out,” he says.

  “The snow will help, right?”

  “Hopefully.”

  When we get to the Cherokee he opens my door, then we ride in silence to Crestpoint. For as much as we talk about forest fires, I’ve never seen one in action and I’m more than a little scared of getting too close. Fire is unpredictable. It doesn’t care whose house or car or memories it destroys—it just eats until it’s satisfied. Or until it can be stopped.

  Mica turns onto the road leading to the parking lot and we’re stopped by a wall of fire trucks and flashing lights. Official-looking people are everywhere, pointing at the forest and shouting into walkie-talkies. Above them the sky glows an eerie orange, like a sunset on steroids.

  Except the sun’s been set for hours.

  Several cars are stopped in the road and Mica parks behind the last one. “They must be hiking in.”

  “On foot?!” God, I’m such an idiot. “I mean, don’t they have helicopters or something to dump water?”

  “Not always. Depends on how big the fire is and if it’s near houses or businesses.” His eyes haven’t left the tree line since we’ve stopped. We can’t see flames but thick smoke dances across the orange sky. “Since this is all trails, they won’t jeopardize crews to put it out.”

  “They’re just gonna let it burn?”

  “Most fires, it’s better to let nature do its thing. It gets worse when we try to get in the way.” He grips the steering wheel and slowly shakes his head. “This is like my backyard. I spent every summer here since my parents let me ride on my own.”

  I remember the charred area Kurt pointed out. “There’s been fires here before right?”

  “Not like this.” He rubs his hands over his face but doesn’t take his eyes off the flashing lights. I want to comfort him somehow, to take away the horrified look on his face, but we barely know each other and I don’t want to accidentally say something to belittle what he’s feeling.

  “Are you sure you want to be here?”

  He reaches for my hand in the darkness. “Do you want to leave?”

  I shake my head. “No. I’ll stay here as long as you want, I just wasn’t sure—”

  A knock on his window makes us both jump. A fireman stands in the road and makes a rolling motion with his hand. Mica lowers the window. “You kids gotta get outta here. With the winds the way they are we got no idea where it’s headed.”

  “But—but you’re trying, right?” Mica’s voice cracks and I squeeze his hand.

  “We’re doin’ our best, but you gotta move along.”

  Mica nods and the man moves to the car in front of us. “I guess I’ll take you home.” He puts the car in reverse and turns around in the road. “I’m sorry this is ending this way but—”

  A fireball explodes in the sky, shaking the car. Flames dance along the trees, orange and red tendrils winding through the branches, brightening the sky. Mica slams on the brakes but the fireman waves his arms at us. “Move! Move! Move!” Mica hits the gas, sending the Cherokee lurching up the road, away from the growing flames that look like they’re ready to devour everything in its path. Headlights bounce in the rearview mirror as the other bystanders flee behind us. We don’t speak until we reach the main road.

  Mica pulls into a fast food restaurant parking lot and puts the car in park.

  “I’m not really hungry yet…” I hope my voice is light enough so he knows I’m teasing, but when he doesn’t look up I worry I’ve finally put my foot in my mouth. “Hey.” I touch his hand, which is still on the gearshift. It trembles beneath mine. “I was kidding.”

  He gives me a weak smile. “I know. Sorry. I just—I’ve never seen anything like that. A month ago I was on that trail around this time, when it was still light out. We could have been up there when it started.”

  I rub my thumb over the back of his hand, and he turns it so we’re palm to palm. “It’s a good thing you asked me out then.”

  This time his smile is a little bigger, but it still doesn’t reach his eyes. “Good thing.” He looks down at our hands, then back at me. “I was planning to hang out longer, but do you mind if I take you home? I don’t think I’ll be good company.”

  I want to tell him that any time with him is fine by me, but my attempts at humor are falling flat. “Only if you promise we’ll do this again. Minus the fire.”

  His smile fades, and the look in his eyes shifts from sadness to something more intense. He leans toward me and brushes a kiss across my cheek. “You got it.” Then he’s back on his side of the car and driving down the road before I’ve caught my breath.

  When he pulls into my driveway, the heat hasn’t left his gaze. “Mike?” he asks.

  “Mm-hmm?”

  “Is it okay if I kiss you?”

  People still ask that? I nod as I reply, “You could have kissed me an hour—”

  He closes the space between us and presses his lips to mine before I can say another word. One hand rests on the side of my seat and the other slides up the back of my neck, tangling in my hair and pulling me closer. I reach for him, touching his arm, his shoulder, and finally his neck as his lips move gently against mine. I’d kissed a couple guys before Evan—passionless moments that barely register in my memory—so Evan is really all I know. And while I’d never been left wanting after a make-out session with him, this—THIS—is a whole new level. Mica’s lips move confidently over mine,
parting slightly in an invitation. Which I accept eagerly. I’d never peg him as a ladies’ man, but there’s a confidence to his movements that I’ve never experienced before.

  When his tongue touches mine, I melt into him. Those muscular arms that I’ve admired from a distance wrap around me and I run my fingers through his hair. His mouth drifts along my jawline, trailing kisses across my skin until he settles at the spot where my neck meets my shoulder. A sigh escapes me, and his embrace tightens. Heat flares in my belly, warming me and making me want more, but he never pushes it beyond kissing.

  “We’re definitely doing this again,” he murmurs against my neck.

  I laugh softly, curling my fingers in his hair. “Oh yeah?”

  He pulls back to look in my eyes, and nods. The intensity in his gaze makes my breath hitch, and I’m sure I look just as dazed. “Yeah.”

  This time I kiss him.

  Because we only went to dinner, I have plenty of time before curfew and a feeling of freedom sweeps over me. We don’t have to rush our goodnight kiss or worry about getting in trouble. My parents aren’t expecting me for another hour so they’re probably on the couch, halfway through a movie. Which means we have time to explore each other—and we do. His hands roam over me without pushing. Brushing my thigh, following the contour of my hip up my side, grazing the side of my breast. I run my hand against his chest, discovering muscles I hadn’t noticed, and allow my hand to drop to those strong legs. His thigh tenses beneath my touch and our kiss grows more passionate.

  Eventually, finally, he breaks the kiss and rests his forehead against mine. We stay like that for several minutes, catching our breath, marveling at this thing we’ve discovered between us.

  “Thank you for dinner,” I whisper, not wanting to break the spell.

  He smiles. “Just dinner?”

  I shrug. “This was cool, too.”

  He laughs, a soft puff of air from his nose. “I should let you go before the neighbors start to complain.”

  I wave a hand in the direction of the street. “Meh.”

  He smiles and his eyes crinkle at the corners. “I’ll text you tomorrow.”

  I press another kiss to his lips. “Okay.” But I don’t want to go. I want to stay in the warm car with this boy who two months ago I never could have imagined would stir all the emotions swirling through me now. I kiss him again, this time less chastely, and fall back into his arms. Words like boyfriend and love and happily-ever-after dance through my mind, but I chase them away, unwilling to worry about the future right now. I just want to live here, in this moment. And if this turns into more, I’ll be the happiest girl alive.