Wandering with You ✔️

Chapter 25.1

The view from the Sun Gate snatched the breath right out of Thomas' mouth. A road zig-zagged up a thickly wooded slope until it met a sprawling mass of limestone structures spread across an expanse of grass. Machu Picchu. He'd arrived. Even better, he'd her at his side.

The sun continued its approach, announcing itself by the shafts of light that poured over the ring of surrounding mountains and bathed the ruins in an unearthly haze. Higher up, around the peak crowned by Huayna Picchu, hung wisps of low-hanging clouds.

From the corner of his eye, Thomas glimpsed Nadia attempting to tuck a static mass of hair behind an ear. He smiled and squeezed her hand.

She beamed at him. "I can't believe I'm finally here, can you?"

Thomas shook his head. She shivered beneath his touch as his fingers tucked a rogue lock back in place. "It's more beautiful than I could imagine."

Her eyes widened, and his heart hammered in his chest.

The moment he'd seen her, he wanted her. Now he had her, he damned well planned to hold on. But she was skittish. The hurt in her eyes shone brightly as the emerging daylight about them. She'd been burnt, and bad, much as she tried to shrug it off with sarcastic humour. Now, he must navigate carefully if he had any chance of convincing her to stay with him. Unfortunately, she would need to give in to her pride and let him pay her way. And to trust him. He wondered if she would let him do that, or if he would in her position.

His throat tightened. The night before, he had been unable to keep his desperate hands off her, though she seemed more than willing to let him. Did she realise his actions had meant more than just sex? Probably not, he thought. After all, he hadn't exactly been gentle. He cringed.

Should have thought of that last night, Waterhouse.

Emotional expression was hard for him at the best of times, and this situation trumped anything he'd encountered in the past. He should tell her how he felt. Yes, that was it. That's what he would do. The words raced out his heart and perched on the tip of his tongue, ready to leap out of his half-opened mouth.

He froze.

"Thomas, are you alright?" Nadia's grey eyes squinted at him, her head cocked to one side.

Yes, because you're here with me and I think you're perfect.

Coward that he was he blinked and swallowed the words back down on a cough. His free hand fumbled in his pocket, and then he remembered he didn't smoke anymore. Damn!

"I ... er, I'm so glad you agreed to come."

She grasped his hand back. "Me too. Thank you, Thomas. I mean it."

One side of his mouth quirked as he leaned in and kissed her tenderly on the brow. "You are more than welcome, Nadia," he said, then released her hand, wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her against him, so her head nestled against his chest. Chin on her head, the strands of hair tickled his face, and he sneezed on a whiff of apple shampoo.

They stood for a time, soaking in the sight and tasting the mountain air while new arrivals wove about them, chattering in a variety of dialects. Soon after, Jan appeared and, huffing and puffing, took her pack with steely determination. Miguel hustled them on the final hike to the entrance.

Inside, the group spent the initial hours together. First posing for the obligatory selfies and Toyota jumps from the high terraces, and then into the citadel to listen, with the stupefaction of those who'd had too much alcohol and not enough sleep, to Miguel recount Incan and Spanish history. In an unspoken agreement, the events of the day before were put aside, and a chagrined Khai became steadily louder until Thomas' knuckles itched.

By the time Miguel finished, Thomas had needed to get away. So did Nadia.

"Come on, Thomas." She yanked on his arm and tried to tug him in the direction of the steep path up the nearby peak of Huayna Picchu.

Much as he wanted to, he hesitated. "Are you certain you can?"

Purple shadows and grazes blended with the smattering of freckles on her sun-browned face. She tugged again, but he didn't budge. Her eyes rolled toward the sun, now near its zenith, and she shook her head.

"Clearly, after yesterday, I know I can rely on you to catch me, Thomas." Despite her crossed arms, her face broke out in an infectious smile.

"But you must be tired, and I didn't catch you; I dragged you — with a substantial amount of help — up a bloody mountainside!"

Her hands flew in the air. "Drugs, Thomas, drugs." She started to walk, then skipped in a circle around him. "See, no limp either."

"You're not helping your case," he said through gritted teeth as his hand raked his hair. An older couple walked past, mouths gaping, and Thomas's cheeks heated, but her mood was too catching. Unwittingly, he snorted and grinned at her with his tongue between his teeth.

She stopped dead in her tracks and stared at him.

"Er, what?' he asked

"You know, you're bloody hot when you pull that face."

Warmth expanded in his chest, and his stomach started to flutter. He pulled her to him and pressed his lips against hers, putting everything he had into the kiss. When he moved away, her jaw hung open and her arms dangled.

"Have it your way, but don't you dare move more than a step ahead of me," he growled.

She nodded, drunkenly.

True to his word, he shadowed her up the near-vertical ascent and was rewarded with a satisfying show of how a rear end should jiggle.

Nadia struggled to the top, barely. With a face flushed red, she flopped on to one of the boulders at the pinnacle, her body shaking. When her breath returned, she stripped down to a string singlet, and rolled up her track pants, in the process revealing more cuts and bruises, some suspiciously reminiscent of fingerprints. Thomas flinched at the glares he received from passing tourists.

But Nadia was happy. A wash of beatific delight radiated across her skin and set the hairs on his arms on end. It was worth it. Even when she shuffled to the edge to peer over, and his stomach dropped through the mountain, her joy infected him and made his heart thrum. He had achieved his goal: escaped from his suffocating life and made it somewhere he'd only dreamed of visiting. The experience was a hundred times more wonderful than he had ever imagined.

Now, he had another goal, one infinitely more important, and he planned to achieve it too.

Photo by Jamie Davies on Unsplash.com