The Invitation
You
"Do any of you hike?" you asked. The question was addressed to the table but you were looking at her when you spoke. The immediate flurry of responses from everyone making it clear that not one of them has realised who your question is really aimed at.
"My fingers do all the exercising I'll ever need thank you very much!" one laughs.
"You wouldn't catch me dead anywhere near that much nature on purpose!" another exclaims.
"Urghhh, I used to a long time ago but I just can't with the early mornings," says a third regretfully.
"You'd have to bribe me with a trail of snacks and alcohol I think, Hansel and Gretel style," another states, taking a swig of their drink.
"I think anyone who hikes is possessed and needs to get their head checked," another voice, sounding slightly horrified. The sentiment is echoed by most of the others as they all jokingly tried to outdo each other with the claims about how much they dislike anything to do with hiking.
You barely listen to them, waiting for the only answer you really care about. She meets your look over the top of her glass as she takes a sip of her drink, the corner of her mouth quirking up into an almost smile before her eyes slide with exaggerated slowness towards the bag you'd seen her fishing a wallet out of earlier.
You keep your expression innocently neutral as she shakes her head slightly, knowing she is fully aware that you'd recognised the pins it was decorated with for what they were - commemorations of hikes and trails all around the country.
She stays quiet and you can't help the cocked eyebrow that reveals your impatience, her equally innocent expression that dissolves into silent laughter making it clear she knows exactly what she is doing. She waits a few more beats before answering and her quiet "I hike" seems to drown out every other sound, leaving just the two of you in this moment.
You'd volleyed the ball into her court, seeking an opening. And she had granted it with a spectacular return that would have left you floundering if you hadn't been half expecting it. Because she'd been throwing you off balance since the moment you'd met just a few hours before, when your table and hers had decided they'd had enough of trying to talk across the gap between you and pushed them together.
You'd held onto her hand just a little longer than necessary when you'd introduced yourself, let her see the flare of interest in your eyes when she'd turned a querying look at you. She'd tilted her head slightly, not breaking the look, clearly considering.
She'd pulled her hand away, but you would swear by the little smile that had curved her lips that the brush of fingertips across your palm had not been an accident. And the she had gotten up to help carry a round of drinks back to the table and sat down in the chair across from you instead of the one next to you were she'd been originally.
You'd raised an eyebrow at her and she'd shrugged lightly, the smile she'd given you all innocence while the look in her eyes was a clear challenge. You'd hummed softly to yourself in appreciation. She'd been interesting before, but now that she'd thrown down the gauntlet so to speak...she was pure temptation.
And the hunt has always been your favourite part of any encounter. What did or didn't come after was just a delicious reward.
Her
She has been wondering for a while now whether you had any intention of taking this mutual flirtation between the two of you any further. The brief touches that had lasted just a little bit too long to be purely casual, shared looks and fleeting smiles that said a thousand different things without a word being exchanged, your subtle double entendres and her seemingly innocent innuendos lacing conversations between and within earshot of each other.
It has been a slow racking up of tension that has her shifting restlessly in her chair, trying to find a position that would relieve the slowly throbbing ache between her legs. And she wasn't going to lie that she had been sorely disappointed when she realised the evening would soon be coming to a close, with her returning to her hotel and you returning to somewhere else...somewhere that she wasn't.
But this. This was an interesting twist. "So you hike," you say and she is lost for a moment in the sound of it. God your voice. It was what had drawn her attention to you in the first place. That silken sound drifting towards her during a brief lull in the hubbub around her.
She'd found herself losing focus on the conversation around her while she tried to describe it to herself. Warm, just a hint of velvet, smooth and sultry. The type of voice that crooned soulfully into the microphone at some smoky hole in the wall while it's owner strummed along on a beat up guitar.
She reaches for her drink to cover her moment of distracted day dreaming. "Yes, I do." She turns to you, placing her glass on the table but keeping her hand wrapped loosely around it, her thumb brushing away the condensation gathered on the outside. Trying to keep her hands busy so she wouldn't reach for your hand, your arm, your leg.
Feel the soft warmth of your skin instead of the cold glass under her fingers. It was why she had moved across the table from you in the beginning. Because if she'd stayed sitting next to you she would never have been able to resist giving into the urge to feel whether your skin was and warm and soft and smooth as your voice.
It was. She knew that now. Because her hands had a mind of their own and had found a way to drift over to you ever since you'd managed to find your way back to the seat next to her. God. You were dangerous for her self-control. Thank goodness she's switched to something non-alcoholic ages ago.
Because then she didn't know if she wouldn't be able to give in to the urge to find out if your lips matched you voice and your skin. She finds her gaze drifting to them every time you speak. You're wearing a shade of red lipstick that is daring her to kiss it off. And she has never been one to back away from a dare.
But not now. Not...yet.
You
She swallows, her eyes closing for a moment as she takes a breath and you can't help being a little disappointed for a moment. The way she had focused on your lips, her aquamarine eyes darkening to a mossier shade. You knew exactly what she'd been imagining.
You had felt the pressure of that look as though it was her lips on yours, had felt yourself leaning into the kiss that hadn't happened. Felt your body responding to the way her eyes had darkened, your nipples tightening, the curl of heat she'd been feeding all night clenching tighter.
"Yes I hike. Why do you ask?" You curse silently, shift back in your chair, reach for your own glass. This woman was doing her best to be the death of you through the slowest and most exquisite torture you had ever endured. And damn her if you didn't want more.
"Well I am going on a hike tomorrow. My usual partner had to bail on me, work thing. So..." you let the sentence drag out, trail into silence.
"Sooo...what?" she's wearing that innocent expression again and you have to laugh, shaking your head. She wasn't going to give a single inch.
"So I need a partner and I'm going to assume you've never done any of the trails around here because you said you'd never been here before," you say.
"You assume right," she states. She's going to make you spell it out the little witch.
"So how would you feel about going on a hike tomorrow morning, with me as your personal guide?" There. You've asked. You can feel yourself holding your breath a little as you wait for her answer. If you had your way, you wouldn't be waiting so long to get her on her own.
But one of the friends you were here with was crashing at your place tonight, you already knew she was sharing a room with someone in her group and you had a good feeling that even the hint of an audience would be an instant 'thanks for the memories' as she headed out of the door, never to be seen again.
But it was one thing to spend a night flirting with someone in a bar, and maybe go home with them if the flirting went well. Quite another to agree to meet them hours later. And for a hike no less. Not exactly the sexiest of invitations. And so you held your breath.
She does that little head tilt thing that you find absolutely adorable. Bites her lip, which you've noticed she does when she's thinking. And which you find incredibly distracting. "Alright," she says softly. You can't help the triumphant smile you flash at her.
"Perfect! Can I pick you up at your hotel in the morning, say around 6am?"
"Yes that will be fine. I don't have my usual gear with me though. Wasn't really expecting to go for a hike."
You assure her that it's fine, glance at your watch and groan a little inside. This was going to be the longest 8 hours of your life.
Eight Hours
Her
She is staring at the hotel closet, trying to decide which of her unsuitable for hiking outfits she is going to wear. Jeans might be a good idea, but she hadn't asked you how long a hike you were planning. And if you were still out there once the sun got fully up all you'd be able to think about is taking them off.
Although maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing she thinks to herself, grinning a little. Maybe she'd even ask you to help her get them off. She shakes her head firmly. I need to stop thinking like this she tells herself silently. Need to stop thinking about you taking her clothes off.
