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He was human. That sucked.

“Let’s get the camp packed up,” he said.

“Are you saying...?”

“I’m not saying anything just yet. We’ve got a mountain to climb.”

THEYGOTCAMPpacked up, and headed back down. Rory didn’t have time to be shocked and embarrassed by her own behavior because she was nervous about the narrow section of the trail again. She did try to make it as much as possible without actually physically clinging to him.

She couldn’t decide then, after they got on the wide portion of the trail that didn’t scare her, whether or not she was proud of herself or horrified.

She had gone for what she wanted. She had woken up with the burning need to kiss him like she hadn’t done last night. And when he had tightened his hold on her, and taken the kiss deeper, she’d been lost.

And she’d known exactly what she wanted.

Gideon needed to be her first.

Her only.

She ignored that whispered thing inside her.

She wasn’t going to be naive. Or that silly. She wasn’t thirteen. She knew that kissing somebody, sleeping with them, didn’t mean it was going to be forever.

But she wanted him.

And it felt something like fate that they’d been brought here together. That he’d helped her climb that mountain, and shared everything he’d been through.

And maybe they were here for a reason. To help each other through the things that life had done to them.

Just maybe.

But now she was a little embarrassed. Also. In addition to being proud. Becoming a legend in your own mind was complicated. She had meant what she said.

She didn’t need anybody to know. It could always be a secret between the two of them, and it would be lovely.

Wonderful.

She wasn’t going to beg, though. There were lines. She couldn’t beg him. She had too much pride for that. She thought that maybe he wanted her.

There was just too much other stuff.

The way down was easier in some regards, a little bit harder in others, and she winced every time her toes hit the front of her boots. Especially when her brain decided to add a word to that little rhythm. When her foot hit the ground, then her toe hit the boot.

Stupid.

Stupid.

Stupid.

Stupid for kissing him. Stupid for revealing herself that way.

She wanted to hide.

He had rejected her. And she had taken most of the hike to really, fully take that on board.

He didn’t want her.

Stupid.