The Bookworm's Guide to Dating

by Hart, Emma

  At least it wasn’t windy.

  I clicked on my little flashlight and began the mile-long trek up to Peak Place. It wasn’t actually the peak of this mini mountain, but it was the only place that was flat enough where you could sit and hang out. It was also one of the safest because the fall wasn’t steep or rocky.

  Actually, calling it a fall was somewhat of an exaggeration, too.

  It was more of a… slip. Eight feet down, where you could easily access the trail.

  Either way, I wanted to be in bed.

  I couldn’t deny the thrill of this, though. I wouldn’t be here unless I really wanted to be, and there was a gentle buzz of excitement that only increased with every step I took up the trail. Knowing that Josh was meeting me at the top made the pitch-black hike worth it, even when I stumbled on a tree root that was sticking out of the ground.

  It was a good thing I knew this track like the back of my hand, or I’d have ended up on my ass.

  I shook all my feelings out of my head and focused on the uneven path. It wound through the fir trees and bushes, and it felt as though it took forever until I saw the wooden sign that said Peak Point was just ahead.

  I paused for a moment to check my phone. I was five minutes late and had no reception on my phone, so I tucked it back into my coat pocket and redirected my flashlight to the end of the trail. The entrance to the peak was overgrown, but an orange haze was visible through the branches as they parted.

  Sometimes, it was a little like Narnia up here.

  I pushed through the last of the branches and stilled. A small fire was burning in a pit surrounded by rocks, and Josh was sitting in front of it. His features were illuminated by the dancing flames when he turned his face toward me. A smile spread across his face the moment our eyes met.

  I felt like I was the only person in the entire universe who mattered to him.

  And that feeling was worth the hike.

  “Hi,” I said softly, stepping into the clearing.

  “Hey.” He got up on his knees as if he were going to stand for me, but I waved a hand, so he patted the blankets next to him instead.

  Two large picnic blankets were laid out on the ground with a couple of cushions, and I eyed the duffel bag next to him as I joined him. “Are we camping?”

  “Did you want to camp?”

  “God no. I hate camping.”

  “Thank God. I don’t own a tent.”

  Laughing, I accepted the fluffy blanket he gave me and put it over my legs, grateful for the warmth of the small fire. It was letting off a surprising level of heat, and it warmed my chilled fingers.

  “I do, however, have hot chocolate.” He pulled a large thermos out from the duffel bag that was, actually, a large hiking backpack. Two travel mugs followed, and so did a packet of marshmallows, graham crackers, and a bar of chocolate.

  “S’mores!” I gasped, clapping my hands to my cheeks.

  Josh looked at me. “Shit. If I knew it was that easy to get you excited, I’d have made you s’mores years ago.”

  “Shut up.” I nudged him and grabbed the huge flask of hot chocolate. Using my legs as cup holders, I carefully poured the steaming liquid into each one and secured all the necessary lids.

  Josh pulled skewers from his bag and gave me one. “You know these things stabbed me like ten times in the back on the way up here, right?”

  “Then you need a new backpack because yours is crap,” I retorted, taking the skewer he offered. “A good hiking backpack is made for skewers. S’mores are a vital part of hiking.”

  “Since when?”

  “Since we live in Montana and it’s cold all the time.”

  “It’s not cold all the time.”

  “Most of the time.”

  He paused. “That’s fair.” He opened the marshmallows and handed me one with a grin. “Pretty good date, huh?”

  I peered at him. I really didn’t want to admit it, but it was. It was pretty perfect, actually. “It’s not too bad.”

  “If you weren’t grinning, I’d think you were trying to hold out on me.”

  “Shut up.” I looked down because, yep, my dumbass was grinning. “Although a fire up here is pretty risky. What if someone sees and comes up? Or calls the fire department?”

  He pressed a finger to my lips and pulled his toasted marshmallow from the fire. “I hiked up here last night. You can’t actually see this specific spot from the ground because of the tree cover. And nobody will be hiking up here.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Because it’s due to rain.”

  “You brought me up here knowing it’s going to rain?”

  A hiss filled the air, and I turned to see my marshmallow splatted on the edge of the firepit.

  Aw. Damn it.

  “Here.” Josh’s lips curled up, and he pointed his skewer at me. He’d already made the s’more, and his smile only widened as I pulled it off and took a bite.

  “Thank you.” I wiped some goo from the corner of my mouth. “But it doesn’t excuse you bringing me up here when you know it’s going to rain.”

  “Oh, it’s not for like an hour. Chill out.” He put another marshmallow over the fire. “I just gave you my s’more. You’re not allowed to shout at me.”

  “Like that’s a rule.”

  “I’m making it a rule. Anytime I give you food, you can’t yell.”

  “I didn’t yell. Technically.”

  “Semantics, Kinsley. God.”

  I laughed, taking another bite of the sweet treat he’d given up for me.

  I don’t know about anyone else, but that right there was a true sign he was a keeper.

  I mean, I wasn’t about to give up my food for him.

  I didn’t play that game.

  My food was my food.

  “How was your day?” He put his s’more together as I reached for another marshmallow.

  “Could have been worse,” I said, putting the skewer over the fire. “Sold a bunch of books, found out Saylor could befriend her own murderer, and didn’t get yelled at by Holley. Yours?”

  He snorted, almost choking on the food in his mouth. “Didn’t get punched by your brother, so I’ll call it a win.”

  My lips twisted into a wry smile. “I texted him earlier, but he didn’t respond. What happened?”

  “He had his offer accepted on the house. He was at Amber’s when the realtor called before work, and she listened in on the call, meaning he couldn’t tell her. I know we joke about them not breaking up, but I think this could be the real thing this time.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “Was it that bad?”

  Josh nodded solemnly, flicking away a burned bit of marshmallow. “Huge fight. Me and Kai took him to my place after work and finally got it out of him after three shots of vodka.”

  “Wow.” I put together my own s’more. “That explains why I didn’t get a text back.”

  “Yeah. He’s passed out in my spare room. He’s gonna feel rough in the morning.” He chuckled. “Seriously, though, I think they’re over. She’s pissed he bought the house without her saying yes.”

  “But he told her he was going to.”

  Josh shrugged and sipped his hot chocolate. “I don’t know, Kins, but it makes me feel bad for him. All he wants is to settle down, but Amber is so against everything he wants. I don’t know how they’ve actually made it this long without imploding the way they did this morning.”

  “I don’t know why she doesn’t want a house. Your house is amazing, and I’m sure Colt’s is, too. Why wouldn’t you want to raise a family there instead of in her apartment? It’s not like she has a huge one.”

  “I don’t know. That’s why I bought my house. I’m thirty next year—I need some security in my life, and Colt feels the same.” He leaned back and looked at the fire. The light from the flames danced over his features, and for some reason, he looked more handsome than I’d ever seen him.

  The sharp line of his stubbled jaw, his full lips. His enviable
cheekbones and long, dark eyelashes that framed eyes that shone in the firelight.

  God, he was unfairly, ridiculously, stupidly, romance-novel level handsome.

  Worry fizzled in my stomach. If, after ten years, Amber and Colt couldn’t get their shit together, what did that say about us?

  I loved my house, and now Colt was buying his, Grandpa’s would likely go to me. It was large enough to raise a family in, but Josh loved his house, too.

  What if we ever reached a point where we wanted to get serious like that?

  What would we do?

  “Hey.” Josh cupped my chin and met my eyes. “Why are you frowning?”

  “You own your house,” I said softly. “And now that Colt is buying his house, Grandpa’s will probably be mine when he dies. What if we make it through all this secret stuff and eventually, we need to decide this stuff, then what happens?”

  “Stop it.” He moved everything from between us and shuffled over the blanket to be right in front of me, then rested his hands either side of my face. His palms were warm against my cold cheeks, and the look in his eyes was nothing but earnest. “For one thing, this between us is still new. Not that I have any doubts about how I feel about you, but that’s absolutely not anything you need to worry about, you hear me?”

  I nodded.

  “And for another thing, I don’t care where I live, Kinsley. If it meant I’d get to live with you, I’d live wherever you wanted, however you wanted.” He dipped his face to mine until the tip of his nose kissed mine. “Because I would never ask you to give up a house that means as much to you as your grandpa’s does.”

  Warmth rose in my cheeks, but I couldn’t tell if it was a blush or just a general effect of being near him when he was saying the things he was.

  And I didn’t know what it was.

  Maybe it was the fire. Maybe it was the darkness that made me feel safe or maybe it was the feeling of his hands either side of my face, but it finally hit me.

  He really, really cared about me.

  Butterflies exploded in my stomach as I leaned into his kiss. My hands crept up to grasp his jacket, the zippers cutting into my palms as the overwhelming sensation of falling hit me.

  Not literally.

  Emotionally.

  It was a wave. Nothing extravagant like a tsunami. It didn’t hit me with a sudden wash of understanding that changed everything I knew in a minute.

  No, it was a gentle wave. One that crawled up and covered my toes, breaking as soon as it hit my ankles before dissipating. It came again, this one with a little more power, and the awareness of how I truly felt for Josh spread through my body.

  Each wave accompanied a kiss. One after another they spread through me, pushing my feelings for Josh deeper into my bones, into my very soul, until I had no choice but to admit the truth to myself.

  I was absolutely, definitely, wholly, undeniably, teetering on the edge of falling in love with Joshua Carter.

  Irrevocably so.

  Because if I fell, if I was pushed, if I crossed the line, there would be no coming back from it.

  If I fell, there would be no way back from loving him.

  And I had no choice but to admit to myself that being loved by him would be nothing short of amazing.

  A big, fat drop of cold wetness hit me on the cheek, and I jerked back with a squeal. Josh’s alarm quickly turned to bemusement as it kept coming, and it took me far too long to realize it was the rain he’d told me was forecast.

  Sizzling filled the air as the rain hit the fire, and the hot wood hissed with every drop that made contact. I understood how the fire felt—my coat wasn’t waterproof, and if I stayed up here any longer, I was going to be a drowned rat by the time we reached halfway down the hike path.

  “We have to go!” I squealed, trying to escape his hold.

  Laughing, Josh grabbed me harder and, using his body weight, pushed me back. I fell onto the blanket with an ‘oof’ that I felt through my entire being, but it was short-lived. Josh was so much bigger than I was, and he covered my body with his, acting like a human umbrella.

  The last thing I saw before he kissed me was his grin.

  It split his face and danced in his eyes, and I felt that smile in every single touch we shared. His fingers slid into my hair and around the back of my head. His kiss was heady and consuming, and it was almost enough to make me forget that it was raining.

  Almost.

  My jeans were soaked through, after all.

  Not that it stopped me from kissing him back. I wasn’t sure there was anything that could stop me from kissing him back. It was almost a compulsion. I was beginning to crave the way I felt when his lips were against mine, and it was absolutely terrifying.

  Especially when my heart was hammering against my chest the way it was now.

  “Josh,” I whispered.

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m wet.”

  He pulled back to look down at me, his lips curving into a smile. “Oh, yeah.”

  I ran my tongue over my dry lips. “My clothes. My clothes are wet.”

  He wiggled his eyebrows.

  “From the rain, Joshua.”

  With a laugh, he got up and rummaged in his duffel bag. As I sat up, I saw the tell-tale sight of an umbrella being undone and opened, and I glared at him.

  “Are you kidding? What? You couldn’t make out with me under that instead?”

  He positioned it so it was over my head. “I thought women liked to be kissed in the rain.”

  “We do, but if there’s an umbrella available, we’ll take it.”

  “You say it like you’re speaking for all women.”

  “I am.” I nodded and took the umbrella. “Trust me, I am.”

  “Well, sue me for trying to book-woo you.”

  “Book-woo me? What on Earth is book-wooing?”

  He moved the umbrella so we were both covered by it. “Book-wooing: the art of applying fictional romantic notions to real life to woo someone.”

  I blinked at him, fighting back a smile. “You made that up, didn’t you?”

  “Yeah. It’s cute, huh?”

  “Yes,” I muttered. Begrudgingly. The last thing I needed was for him to start swiping random scenes from books or, worse, scenes he’d read about on the Internet.

  If he walked into my bedroom with a flogger and nipple clamps, we were going to need a come-to-Jesus moment.

  “So what is this so-called art?” I leaned against the huge log behind us and nestled into Josh’s side when he wrapped his arm around me. Despite the fact we were now cloaked in darkness aside from the dying embers of the fire and it was raining, it was weirdly cozy up here.

  “I just told you.” His shoulders shook with his laugh. “Putting fictional things that make you love romance so much into action so I look like a nice romance hero.”

  “Oh, yeah. I can just see you on the cover of some historical novel, shirtless, with long hair flowing like a majestic highlander.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I’d be on one of those sex books on Amazon.”

  “If you refer to romance novels as sex books again, we’re breaking up.”

  “What should I call them?”

  “Romance novels,” I said dryly. “You know, their name. What they are, instead of a derogatory term designed to diminish their place in society and the women who read them.”

  “But they have sex in them.” I could almost hear his frown.

  “It’s also a billion-dollar industry, and arguably the only one that truly empowers female writers. Usually, they’re dismissed as wannabe authors with no credibility and left to write under an alias with initials so nobody knows they’re female. Ironically, it’s also the most viciously attacked, and that’s probably because of the fact it’s primarily female led. If sex in a fictional novel bothers you, I’d like to introduce you to the porn industry which is far more questionable than novels about two consenting parties.”

  Josh paused, shifting almost uncomfortab
ly. “Well, that’s the last time I call them sex books.”

  “Thank you. If you’d like a sex book, I’m sure I can find some in the non-fiction section in the store. Or, you know. Buy you a Playboy.”

  “I haven’t used Playboy since—well, never.”

  “Liar.”

  He laughed again. “Okay, we’re off topic.”

  “You got us there.”

  “Anyway,” he said, steering the conversation back to where we were before our little detour. “I did some research about romance novels and the most popular scenes. And, I’ll have you know, rain kisses were one of the most popular kiss scenes.”

  “Look at you, Mr. Romance.”

  He dipped his head to meet my eyes, grinning. “I’m trying.”

  My lips pulled to one side. “Shall we go?”

  CHAPTER TWENTY – JOSH

  rule twenty: sometimes, the best conversations are the ones where you don’t say a word.

  “Why? This is nice.”

  Kinsley pouted a little. “Because it’s wet and getting cold.”

  I sighed. I wasn’t really ready to go back to the world just yet, but she clearly was. “All right, let’s go. I just have to pick this all up.” I shuffled out from under the umbrella and stood up.

  Kins didn’t move. “We don’t have to. The rain seems like it’s stopping.”

  It wasn’t a lie. It was getting lighter all the time, and it did look as though it was about to stop any moment.

  “No, you’re cold. You don’t need to get sick. Come on.” I held out my hand for her to take so I could pull her up. She slipped her hand in mine, and as soon as I tightened my grip on her, she yanked me back down.

  “What are you doing? You just said you wanted to go.”

  “Well, you don’t want to, so we don’t have to. And it’s nearly stopped raining. We can relight the fire if it does. There’ll be dry wood around here somewhere.”

  I blinked at her. “You sure?”

  “I’m sure.” She smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear, only for it to fall back free. “Besides, it’s nice to be up here alone. Kinda feels like nothing else exists, huh?”

  My lips pulled to the side. I felt exactly the same, which was why I didn’t want to go back down the trail yet. Up here, in the dark, where there was nobody and nothing else, there was just me and Kinsley.