Little Leaps

Chapter Eighteen

Blake releases my hand in favour of resting it on my thigh. I set the air conditioner to a lower temperature and relax against the chair.

"How long until we get there?"

"An hour or so. Maybe you should nap? You look exhausted."

"Yeah, that's a great suggestion."

I close my eyes and angle my body towards Blake in an attempt to get comfortable. The position isn't any better but the fact I have Blake with me and we're driving to a stunning location makes it worth it.

The radio goes silent, then I hear a song from Twenty-One Pilots come through the speakers. It's an upbeat temp which has me smiling.

"Not the best song for a nap, but I like it."

"Shh . . ." Blake laughs.

"Thank you," I whisper.

Despite the upbeat song, the sound of Tyler's voice carries me into a state of relaxed sleep.

* * * * *

Blake takes the bags from the backseat and manages to grab them all. There's one slung over each shoulder, then a small easy and two canvas tote bags balanced on top.

"Are you sure you don't want help?" I ask.

"No, I'm more than capable of dragging these bags up a hill."

"Doesn't mean I can't help you with a bag."

Blake shakes his head as he begins ascending the hill. Whilst he's doing the heavy work, I double check we have everything before locking up the car.

The wooden cabins are sprinkled along the side of a hill, and there's wood pieces dug into the earth to create stairs leading up. From the bottom of the hill, I can see that the stairs venture into different directions. I hope Blake knows where he's going.

I take the steps by two until the back of my legs begin to hurt and I'm out of breath. Blake's already so far away – maybe he should come back and carry me up there.

Thankfully, he veers off to the side and towards a cabin. This gives me the strength to move a little faster. I bounce up the stairs and follow Blake down the worn out pathway.

He places the esky on the ground and grabs the key from his pocket. As I get closer, I watch as Blake throws the bags into the cabin.

"Ah shit," he grumbles.

Blake races inside, so I dash to the doorway. I rest my hand on the doorframe as I attempt to catch my breath. My cheeks burn and it suddenly feels really warm despite the cool breeze drifting around me.

"Please tell me you haven't broken something already?" I cringe when I hear my voice echoing through the distance.

Blake holds up and olive coloured telephone and laughs. The speaker part slightly bounces as it sways through the air.

"It's an old phone, I don't think it can be broken."

"It probably doesn't work anymore." I chuckle.

"Apparently, you can order room service with it."

"Right." I shake my head. "They probably don't want people calling the front desk. Otherwise, why have an ancient phone in here?"

"It's a good thing we packed snacks." Blake grins.

"Good thinking, Blake. Now, are you going to shuffle to the side or do I have to crawl through your legs to get inside? I need some water after the vigorous exercise . . . maybe another nap too."