I nod my head, close my eyes, and concentrate on my breathing. I feel embarrassed, and attempt to force out the thoughts that are creeping through my head. I just want to have fun today. I need to have fun today. For the remainder of the drive, I sit in the comfort of Jase's arms.
When we get to the turnoff, we have to drive about twenty minutes on a pot-holed gravel road to get to the Wonderland Trail that will lead us to Tolmie Peak. When we finally arrive and park the car, Mark opens the hatch, and I sit on the bumper while I tie up my hiking boots. It is lightly raining, and I pop the hood on my raincoat up and over my head. This time of year, the lower trails can become extremely muddy with the increase in rain. Ryan hands me an extra bottle of water to throw into my backpack before I sling it onto my back and wait for everyone else.
Once the guys are ready, we start making our way over to the trailhead. Mark told me the hike should be around four hours. The terrain isn't too difficult to navigate as we start on the trail. We are all keeping a pretty decent pace and Mark is talking about the last show they played at Ryan's bar. I have never been to Blur. Jase has invited me a few times to go watch the band play, but has never pushed too hard.
A couple hours into our hike, the clouds open and it begins to rain. As we continue to trek on, the ground becomes marshy beneath our feet. I start to fall behind a little, but I yell to Jase to keep going and I'll catch up. I pull the hood on my jacket further over my head, so I don't realize that Ryan has stayed back until I almost pass him. Stopping, I look up at him, and he doesn't have his hood over his head. Rain is dripping off the ends of his hair, and it reminds me of the first night he came into the coffee shop with his rain soaked hair.
"You don't have to hang back. You can hike on ahead."
"Don't worry about it," he says as we continue to make out way through the trail. "I would hate for you to fall and hurt yourself and nobody be around."
Turning to look at him, I give him a grin and say, "Thanks."
"This shit's freezing."
I start laughing and agree with him. The rain is really cold.
After about a half hour, the rain finally lets up, and at this point, I am soaked from head to toe. I stop for a moment, take the hair tie that is around my wrist, and pull up my stringy wet hair on top of my head. Ryan walks closer to me. Laughing, he swipes his hand across my cheek, and the gesture makes me a little uncomfortable, until I see the brown mud on his fingers, and I laugh with him.
"You are covered in this shit," he chuckles, and all I can do is shrug my shoulders. You can't expect to not get dirty when you are hiking in the rain.
"Yeah, well, you're covered in it too," I say as we keep moving forward.
We manage to catch up with Jase and Mark near the incline to the peak. It's a mile hike up, and there is a light dusting of snow throughout the trek. When we reach the top, I climb the stairs to the lookout house and take in the view. I look out at the Sound and just stare. It's a breathtaking view. I walk back around the lookout, sit on the stairs, and grab a protein bar out of my backpack. Jase sits down behind me and kisses the top of my head. I look down to Mark and Ryan who are standing down below and catch Ryan looking up at us before he walks around to the other side of the lookout.
"Having fun?"
Turning my head to look at Jase, I say, "I actually am."
"Good." He wraps his arms around my shoulders, and I lean back into him as I eat my snack and rest.
"We should start heading back," he says after ten minutes or so.
"Okay."
We walk back down the stairs and find the other two.
"You guys ready to head back?" Jase asks them.
Everyone agrees, and we start the trek back down after we have all taken in the spectacular views. The walk down the peak is a slippery one from all the rain earlier. It isn't long before my feet slide out from underneath me, and I fall back into the mud.
"Crap!"
Reaching out both of his hands, I grab tightly onto Ryan's wrists as he pulls me out of the soggy mud.
"You're a complete mess."
"Yeah, I know," I say with a muddy face and now a muddy ass. I feel absolutely disgusting.
I keep ahold of Ryan's arm until we finally reach the bottom and let go. Jase and Mark are several steps in front of us, apparently lost in their own conversation, and it's not long before Ryan and I start talking about his job.
"So, how did you come about owning a bar?" I ask.
"Just kind of fell into it. When I graduated college, the economy was starting to decline, and I couldn't find a job. So, when I found out that the previous owner of that bar was about to shut the place down, I worked out a deal with him and was able to do a slow buyout."
"You went to U-Dub?"
"Yeah, I graduated back in 2007."
"So, that makes you...?"
Laughing at me, he says, "Twenty-eight."
"What did you study?"
"Business Finance. So, it wasn't too far out of reach that I would come to own my own business."
"You enjoy it?"
"I do. When I did the buyout, I changed the whole place out and created a new vibe for it. It wasn't before long that the business was taking off quicker than I expected. At this point, the staff pretty much runs the place, and I have a trustworthy manager, so my schedule is very flexible."
"Sounds like the perfect job."
"You ever been there?"