favorite back roads. But the best moments were when the highway widened and we could ride side by side.
It felt different, riding with Priest. Felt even better than riding alone—and that surprised me. I savored my alone time, craved it even. But having Priest at my side didn’t feel like an invasion of my private time at all. We just… fit.
I shook away that thought. We fit because we’d been friends for such a long time, and the sex had made our friendship even closer. Of course, I enjoyed his company. These feelings weren’t anything more than that—just gratitude for his friendship and thoughtfulness. I didn’t need to get greedy and start wanting more than Priest was able to give me—and I didn’t need to risk ruining this friendship, either.
And it wouldn’t just potentially ruin our friendship, either. Was I ready to want more, only to have it taken away later? Was I ready to risk that kind of pain again?
Ahead, Priest whistled and nodded toward an exit. I followed him as he led us back toward Elkin lake, to the familiar highways that led to the lake itself. But instead of taking me to the lake, we went up. And up. And up. We pushed our bikes up the narrow, switchbacking highway, with Priest in the lead. It’d been a long time since I’d gone this high up in the mountains, despite having lived near Elkin Lake for so many years. Priest led us onto a narrow gravel road with no signage. The road ended abruptly, and the tree line opened up, and we were at…
An overlook. One I’d never been to before. We were so high in the mountain, the air felt a little thin. The overlook was a small, grassy area, with a view of the dark blue, still lake and the open sky dotted with clouds. It was gorgeous. I thought I’d seen all that Elkin Lake had to offer, and yet this view took my breath away with its beauty.
Just when I thought I had everything understood and sorted out—something new to surprise me. The same lake, from a different vantage point, looked completely different. Inspired new feeling in me. And when I looked at Priest, I felt something similar.
“Come on,” Priest said, pulling out the sandwiches and chilled beers from Pepper’s. “Let’s enjoy the privacy while we’ve got it.”
I spread out a blanket on the grass and we sat together on the overlook. Before eating, I sighed heavily and leaned back onto my elbows, tilting my head back to enjoy the crisp air and the sunshine. God, it was nice to sit here and not feel the eyes of the enforcers on my back the entire time.
Priest’s phone dinged in his pocket. He fished it out and then grinned at the screen.
“Who is it?” I asked, opening my eyes just enough to see him.
“Raven,” he said. “He’s probably on tracker duty. He’s just checking in to make sure we’re okay.” Priest tapped out a quick response, then set his phone on the blanket beside him. “Sometimes that boy makes me wonder who the parent is in the relationship, with how overprotective he gets.”
“Dante’s the same way,” I said with a chuckle. “You’d think I wasn’t the one to change his diapers all those years. Gotta admit, though, he’s grown up pretty smart.”
“Course he did. He’s like his dad.”
I scoffed and knocked my foot against Priest’s. “Watch out, you’re gonna inflate my ego even more.” Then my phone dinged with a notification, startling me.
Priest laughed. “Who’s on your back, now?”
“Probably Dante,” I said as I unlocked my phone. “Oh,” I said with some surprise when I looked at the screen, “not Dante, my other child.”
“Tru?”
“The one and only.” I shook my head fondly. “He’s being nosy but trying to play it off like professional sergeant-in-arms interest.”
“Funny how that’s happened,” Priest said. “It’s like I woke up one day and had twenty children.”
“I know,” I said with a shake of my head. “Glad I didn’t have to change all those diapers.”
Priest barked a laugh. “Good point.” He smiled and scooted a little closer. “The older I get, the more protective I feel of all of them, though. And proud. Even though Blade’s the president, I can’t help but see him as my son. I just try not to come off as condescending when I offer advice.”
“You don’t, don’t worry,” I said. And it was true—Priest had the most experience out of anyone in the Elkin Lake