Page 83 of The Illicit Play

My pigeon shoulders can manage this thing. I’m determined to make it so.

“Okay, then.” Grady locks up the Jeep, then turns to glance down at me. “Time to show you my favorite place on earth.” His lips stretch into a genuine smile, and I drink it in, grinning right back at him before spinning in my hiking boots and marching into the forest.

He sets a fair pace, and after twenty minutes, I’m struggling to keep up.

I don’t want to complain and come across like some weak city girl, so I grit my teeth and keep going, totally understanding why my parents never introduced me to this activity.

Picturing my classy mother sweating it out on a dirty trail with insects buzzing about and nothing but the sight of endless tress nearly makes me laugh out loud. I may have grown up in Colorado, but my life has consisted of one luxury after another.

Mom’s idea of a vacation is a two-story “cottage” by the lake or a three-bedroom suite on a cruise ship.

We’ve seen the world in style, and any vacation time we’ve spent in this fine state has been surrounded by country club pricks on the edge of a golf course with all the modern luxuries one could ask for.

This right here is new to me.

And although I’m already sweating and my muscles are asking me what the fuck I’m playing at… I’m loving it.

“You good?” Grady’s stopped up ahead, waiting for me to catch up.

“Uh-huh.” I reach him as fast as I can, and he narrows his eyes at me. “What?”

“You have to be honest with me when we’re out here.If you’re struggling, you gotta tell me; otherwise, I don’t know to adjust.”

I make a face and reluctantly admit, “We’re going a little fast. I want to keep up with you, but you’re like… like the Flash.”

He snickers.

“And I feel like a freaking princess who’s never even broken a nail.”

“You’re not that precious.” He gives my shoulder a playful nudge, then spins and starts walking a lot more slowly.

We meander along the trail for a while, and I tune in to the sounds of nature around me. Birds twitter; a woodpecker taps in the distance.

Wow. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a woodpecker in real life before. That sounds so cool!

My boots crunch along packed dirt, dead pine needles, and rocks scattered before me.

“This trail seems pretty unused. Where are we?”

“We’re on the Itsá Trail. It’s not a very popular one, and I love it for that very reason.”

“Why don’t people like it?”

“Not sure. I think it’s kind of out of the way, harder to find. Not too many people know about it.”

“So how do you know about it, then?”

He glances back to flash me a smile. “My dad’s been taking me out since before I can remember. We’ve hiked most of the state. Every vacation, he’d always take me someplace different. I think I was about fourteen or fifteen when he found this spot for us, and I fell in love with it. I don’t even know what makes this place different to all the others. I guess it just speaks to my soul.”

Okay, wow.

My insides tremble, and I gaze around the forest and instantly get it.

This place has a very special vibe. I can feel it too. There’s an ancient type of magic or spirituality here. Its energy surrounds us, an invisible swirling mass that makes my heart pulse and my insides sing.

“It’s really beautiful. I get why you love it.”

He stops, turning to look at me, like he’s double-checking that I actually mean it.