air."
Stella huffs, causing both Gabe and Zach to laugh.
"You really don't like nature, do you?" Gabe asks.
"I like nature just fine, thank you very much. I just happen to prefer it to be on the TV screen."
"Okay, city girl. Think you can handle a hike?"
Stella tilts her chin defiantly. "Of course I can!"
"All right, let's go."
The three of them immediately set off toward one of the trails while Sterling and I hang back a little. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asks, his voice strained. God love him, while Stella has grown on him, he's still getting used to spending time with Gabe and Zach. But he’s friendly…for the most part.
"I'm sure everything will be fine."
"Remind me why your friends came with us?"
"Because I wanted to do this, and those three are the best friends a girl could ever ask for. Simple as that. Plus, I don't think you get to complain, Ster. You bullied me just because your friend wanted you to. My friends, on the other hand, come camping with me."
A resigned sigh leaves his lips. "Touché, little mouse, touché."
"Now, let's go." I start walking after the others.
"Okay, but first—" He snags my hand and pulls me back into him, pressing his lips to mine in a sudden but passionate kiss.
But before it can heat up too much, Gabe interrupts us. "Come on, lovebirds!” he shouts from the tree line.
"So," Sterling hedges, drawing out the word. "Are we gonna talk about that nickname you just called me?"
"What nickname?"
"You called me Ster."
"Oh. It just slipped out."
"I like it."
I link my arm with his and rest my head on his shoulder as we approach my friends. "Good."
"I've camped here before," Gabe says, "and if we take this path, there's a really beautiful waterfall."
We all nod our agreement, and Gabe leads the way. We talk and bicker collectively as a group, generally just having a good time as we traipse down the trail.
The nature all around us is so serene and beautiful, so untouched and untroubled by the modern world, that it gives me pause. It makes me really stop and think about where I am and who I am...and who I want to be.
As always, Sterling is totally tuned into me and notices the change in my attitude. "What's on your mind, little mouse?"
"Just thinking about life." I shrug.
"Talk to me," he urges, his voice low, meant only for me.
"Just thinking about the future, I guess."
He grins. "Am I a part of that future?"
My heart soars in my chest, as it does every time he mentions a future between the two of us. "I hope so," I tell him honestly.
"I do, too, because, Emmalyn, you're mine."
I bite my lip to stop myself from smiling at his cocky alpha tendencies. "I am yours, for as long as you'll have me."
"Settle in for the long haul, baby."
"It should be just up here on the left!” Gabe hollers, bringing both Sterling and me back into the moment.
We hear the waterfall before we see it; the sound of rushing water is louder than I ever could have imagined.
"Oh, wow! It's beautiful," Stella murmurs, awe evident in her voice.
Zach wraps an arm around her slim shoulders. "Better than television?"
"Holy shit, one hundred percent. I would literally get married here if I could."
"There's an idea," Gabe says. "Who knows, maybe I'll get ordained just so I can officiate."
She laughs. "You're just extra enough to do it."
"Birds of a feather..."
"Are you calling me extra?"
"Babe, you're the definition," I say, coming to stand beside her.
Together, we peer over the rail, to where the fall crashes into a pool below, sending spray into the air.
She smiles. "Yeah, I am. Now, let's take a selfie."
We take turns snapping pictures in front of the waterfall before finally heading back toward camp.
"Were you a Boy Scout?" Stella asks, teasing Gabe as we all stand around the fire roasting our hot dogs.
"For fifteen years."
She giggles. "That explains so much."
"Not quite sure what you're trying to insinuate, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with being a scout. They taught me a lot of invaluable lessons.”
"Don't get your panties in a bunch, Gabriel. I'm only teasing."
"I'll show you teasing." He tosses his roasting stick down, hot dog and all, and charges toward her.
Stella screeches and throws her stick to the ground as well, breaking out into a run. She squeals as he gains on her, the two of them playing their own demented game of duck-duck-goose.
"You take it back!" he shouts.
"Take what back?"