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“No, I never got into any real trouble.”
“Ah,” he says. “So, you’re still the same too.”
“In a way, yes,” I admit, focusing. “But some things have changed.”
“Like what?”
He genuinely wants to know, and I want to tell him.
I think back to my childhood, and it seems like so long ago. “You won’t believe this, but I used to be timid. I wasnevera rule breaker. On the first day of my senior year of high school, I told myself I’d start saying yes to things I didn’t want to do. The main one was moving to New York for college. I broke up with Beau and moved away. That’s when things changed for me.”
He rests his arm on the door. “You dated him in high school?”
“Yep. And after college graduation, I returned home for the summer and believed we’d have our second chance.” I sigh. “Going forward, if I break it off with someone, I’ll never givethem another chance. When it’s over, it’s over for a reason. Lesson learned.”
“The more I hear about this stupid fuck …” Easton shakes his head.
My mouth tilts up. “But I should thank him because without that, I wouldn’t be here right now.”
“Is the pessimist looking on the bright side for once?”
“Pfft.” But he’s right.
The grade grows steeper the higher we travel. He’s right about the roughness of the trail though. It’s not for newbies.
“Grand Teton was a bucket list item for me.”
“Yeah? What else is on that list?”
“To name a few, skinny-dipping, making love under the stars, dancing at Stonehenge, taking a train ride across America, getting my first tattoo, joining the Mile-High Club, visiting the Empire State Building at night, and ice-skating at Rockefeller Center. I never got to do the touristy things before. I also want to see aurora borealis and a penguin in the wild,notone at a zoo.”
“Life experiences,” he confirms.
“Aren’t most people’s?”
He shakes his head. “No. Some have materialistic items listed. Buy this, buy that, own this.”
I take a switchback, rolling across a gigantic rock. I notice the straight climb upward as we kick up dust. “Do you have a bucket list?”
“I do now. I added some of yours to it.”
I glance at him. “You can’t have the same ones as me.”
“Says who? Did you make the rules?”
“Tell me the ones you added,” I urge.
“Skinny-dipping. Making love under the stars. Dancing at Stonehenge. Taking a train ride across America, joining the Mile-High Club, and visiting the Empire State Building at night .”
“You do realize some of those aren’t one-person tasks?”
He laughs. “Well aware.”
Before we take the next switchback, I pull off to the side and place it in neutral to shake out my wrists. Off-roading can get like this sometimes.
“I know you’re determined, but do you want to trade for a while?” he asks, glancing at his GPS. We’ve only driven three miles.
“Fine,” I playfully groan, but I’m thankful for the break. We’re not even halfway up the mountainside.