I never imagined after losing Cane that I’d meet a man who makes me feel alive again. The last few weeks have been truly amazing. I haven’t laughed this much since Cane was alive. For the first time in eight years, I actually look forward to waking up in the morning just so I can see Jordon.
So today, I’m going to push aside my thoughts of Cane, and focus on enjoying the day with Jordon. I can’t wait to see what he has in store for us.
I’m excited to make some new memories.
I feel the car come to a stop, and the roar of the engine quiet as Jordon turns it off. I hear the sound of my security team pulling up beside us.
“Can I remove my hands yet?” I ask with excitement in my voice.
I hear the sound of the driver door opening and closing followed by Jordon’s sneakers on the paved parking lot as he makes his way around the car and to my door. I feel his body shading me from the sun as he finally speaks, “You can now.”
Opening my eyes I blink a few times to adjust to the bright sunlight shining through the windshield. I glance to my right peering up at Jordon who’s resting with his arms propped up on the roof of my car and his forehead resting against my car.
I immediately recognize the parking area. This is my favorite place to hike, Devil’s Backbone Trail at Mt. Baldy. It’s a hard trail and only experienced hikers, and runners use it.
I give Jordon an impish grin, “Devil’s Backbone? Are you sure you can handle this? My idea of a fun Valentine’s Day is not sitting in the ER with my date because he collapsed while trying to keep up with me.”
The trail is 6.6 miles of incline to the peak of the mountain. One section of the trail is only wide enough to walk through with drop offs on both sides. If you have a fear of heights, this is not the hike for you.
Jordon furrows his brows, “Psshhh; I think it’ll be the other way around. For your information, I’m an avid runner and this place will be like a walk in the park for me. So if you can, please try to keep up and don’t collapse before we reach the top.”
Ignoring him I flip onto my knees and grab our hoodies we threw in the backseat. The higher up in altitude we get, the cooler it’ll be and we’ll definitely want an extra layer of clothing.
“Ouch!” I scream spinning back around and glaring at Jordon, who has a cocky grin plastered on his face.
Men. They can’t resist slapping an ass in tight spandex.
“Hey, you wiggle that thing around in my face I’m going to slap it.” He tells me bluntly as I climb out of the car and chuck his hoodie at his chest.
With our water bottles in tow and two of my security guards a few feet behind us, we begin the trek up the trail. We stop and take pics with the San Antonio Falls behind us. We are about two hours into the hike we’re now going at a full on jog.
Glancing over my shoulder, I keep smiling back at Jordon who’s trying so hard to keep up, but failing miserably.
Avid runner my ass.
“You want to turn around?” I ask stopping and jogging in place.
Jordon stops and gripping his thighs he leans over trying to catch his breath. “No. I’m good. Just need to rest a second then we can continue.” He says in between gasps of air.
“Okay, let’s sit over here.” Walking off of the trail, I find a spot under a tree with some shade and sit down. I squeeze my water bottle filling my mouth with water, and watch as Jordon does the same as he sits down beside me.
My body guard’s stay standing at the edge of the trail to make sure no one bothers us. Luckily for us, it’s not very busy today.
Jordon brushes a strand of hair out of my face that has fallen out of my ponytail and tucks it behind my ear as he slides his gaze over my face. The feeling of his hands on my face sends a jolt of electricity straight to my chest, causing me to momentarily lose my breath.
I imagine my face is redder than a cherry, and my skin is misted in sweat from running for over two hours.
Definitely not very glamorous at the moment.
“So, how am I doing so far?” He asks, never taking his eyes off of mine.
I don’t know if he’s asking me about his running skills or choice of Valentine’s Day activities, but I’m assuming it’s the latter.
Deciding to bust his balls I answer, “Well, I was expecting more stellar running skills, but hey you made it almost five miles in two hours, that’s pretty awesome.”
Jordon tries to look offended, but I see through his act, “No, you smart ass, what do you think of your first surprise so far today?” Pausing a moment he glares at me trying to hide the smile creeping up on his lips and failing miserably, “And for your information, I’m a very good runner; the change in elevation is more difficult to run in than I thought it would be. I’m used to running in parks not mountains, unlike you Miss. Professional All Terrain Runner.”