Mrs. Matched | Complete

Chapter Twenty-Seven

As it turned out, I could not pretend it never happened. It was the only thing that occupied my mind all evening as I drank hot chocolate and ate my extremely cold roasted hotdog. And it was still on my mind when he walked me to my bedroom and kissed my cheek at the door.

Somehow, even when I woke up in the early morning the next day, I could not stop thinking about how terrible I was for kissing him just to leave him.

I also couldn't stop replaying the whole thing over in my head. There was no denying the facts of the matter. I had enjoyed it.

Fortunately for my overthinking, hiking was really, really hard. So by the time we were halfway up the side of the mountain in shoes made for sidewalks, it was almost impossible to think about anything. It was definitely impossible to think about kissing him while my lungs burned hotter than last night's marshmallows.

"It's just a bit further," Chris encouraged me when I paused to catch my breath. "Do you need to rest first? I brought snacks."

"How much is 'just a bit' further?" I was gasping for breath and my throat burned, making it difficult to swallow the water I was trying to drink.

"Probably fifteen or twenty minutes. Maybe thirty at our current pace."

I shot him a glare and he put his hands up in defeat. "I'm just answering your question."

"Yeah, yeah." I plunked myself down on the ground. "Snacks, please."

His sweater lifted to reveal just a sliver of his stomach as he reached behind him into the backpack to grab a granola bar without even taking it off. "Thank you. How can you possibly like this?"

"The granola bar? I can find something else if you want."

"No. Food, I understand. I meant the hiking."

"Well, you haven't seen the top yet."

"That makes it worth it?"

"I think so, yes."

And it turned out he was right. Forty-five minutes later when we finally emerged from the thick trees onto the summit of the mountain, I could almost forget the difficulty of getting there.

Almost.

The bright orange sunshine bounced off the cloud cover creating a warm glow everywhere I looked. The great expanse of the earth seemed to open up beneath me and several small towns emerged from their hiding spots nestled in the mountainsides below. A river wound its way through, providing life-sustaining water to all the small communities hidden away from our bustling city by the imposing mountain structures. I took a deep breath of the crisp mountain air.

It's peaceful here. I can see why he likes it.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Chris walked up behind me and gently rested his hand around my waist. Inadvertently I leaned into his side.

"Yes, it is. Amazing how close we are to the city and I can't see it. It's like it doesn't exist."

"Trying to get away from the city? I know it well. I really think I could live in this spot forever."

"Well, maybe not forever. You'd definitely run out of food."

"Always focused on the practical things. I respect that. But fortunately, today I came prepared. It is time for a feast."

As usual, the man pulled out a full-on restaurant quality meal out of his bag and set it out just for us. Though something about doing it at the top of a mountain after probably cooking while I slept made it just a little more impressive. My heart filled and my cheeks warmed, but he was so focused on getting everything perfect that I'm certain he didn't even notice.

We sat in silence, staring out over the scenery as we ate. I have to admit I risked a glance or two over at him, too, occasionally finding him staring back at me and smiling.

The roar of the wind took the place of our usual small talk and we just sat, relishing the freedom of the outdoors and the sensational flavours of the meal.

When we had finished eating, Christopher pulled dessert out of his backpack and placed it on the rock-turned-table between us. Somehow, it was unharmed despite our trek through the bumpy forest.

"Did you make this?" I asked a question I knew the answer to while my face was full of cake.

"Not that, no. But the rest of it, yes."

I'm definitely going to miss his cooking. "You're a really good cook. You ever thought about opening a restaurant or something?"

He smiled and his eyes focused on something very far away -- perhaps another mountaintop. "Yeah, I've thought about it. Maybe in another life." He shifted his focus to his hands and I noticed him wringing them together so I reached over and placed my hands over his.

"Well, it's a pretty time intensive career and I always..." He trailed off without continuing, though I was certain he wanted to say he wanted to spend more time with his family than at work.

All the more reason to free him from this marriage sooner rather than later, right? It's selfish of me to want to keep him around when I'm not 100% sure what I want, right?

But, oh, how I want to be selfish!

And there it was. No longer hiding from myself. I wanted to be selfish. I wanted time to see where this went. I wanted to kiss him again and not run away. What is wrong with me? Why can't I make up my mind and stick to anything?

"Aubrey?"

"Hmm?"

"I asked if you were finished."

I just nodded, pulling my hands back from his and taking a turn wringing them in my lap. What am I going to do?

Despite being finished eating, neither of us made a move to pack up the remains of our dinner. Instead, we sat less than six inches away from each other staring out over the valley below. The beauty of the moment, and the fact that there was no one around to see it, made me want to stay there forever, so I let my hand wander closer to him until I felt his fingers wrap around mine.

The sigh he let out emboldened me and I let my head rest on his shoulder. The light around us shifted slowly from a bright orange to a deep pink and I couldn't feel my toes when Chris finally kissed the top of my head and released my hand to stand up and pack up our dinner. We must have been sitting there for almost an hour and the silence hadn't phased me. That's a first.

"Do we have to go?" I was still staring out over the setting sun. "I don't want to leave this."

I turned to face Chris just in time to see his nod. "Yeah. I think we have to or we won't make it back to the cabin before we lose the light. Do you want me to carry anything for you? I have a lot of room in my pack now that we ate half of it."

I accepted the hand he offered and pulled myself up off the damp ground. "Not unless you just want to carry my pack," I joked before adding, "or just carry me."

That one elicited a small laugh, but he still took a few things out of my bag and put them into his before swinging it over his shoulder. "There, good compromise?"

"Well, it's not a compromise because I still have to walk, but I guess I'll take it. Let's go."

"You want to lead the way?"

I stopped and looked around me, not even sure where the path was that would lead us back down the mountain. "No, maybe you should. I have no idea where we're going."

And then I took his hand and followed him blindly into the forest, unafraid.