Bax lets me get somewhat decent like brushing my hair and changing into something more presentable of course with a bathing suit under it but he still refuses to tell me where we're going.
I lock up the house and the two of us hop in his Bronco. Bax passes me the aux cord but when I grab my phone I realize it's at 1%. "Can I just play music off your phone?" I ask "yeah, 6969" he says with an embarrassed but ultimately authentic smile, I can't help but turn away and giggle.
Our drive is only silent from the windows being down and the music cranked, Bax still looks over at me every once in a while and points at random things with a small chuckle which makes the silence even more comfortable.
Bax takes a gravel path up towards a mountain, he finally parks his car and takes the keys out of the ignition. I sit quietly in the passenger seat "cmon" he gestures for me to get out of the car with him.
Bax opens his trunk to reveal a cooler backpack filled with water and snacks, after looking at all of the supplies I look up to him "what-" I don't even know what to say "we're hiking" Bax says with a smooth smile "I gathered that, when did you have time to grab all of this? Was this the plan all along?" I ask "yeah I was going to go alone but then you texted me so I packed a few extra things and here we are" he slings the backpack over his shoulder and shuts the trunk.
The two of us walk towards a small opening in the tree line where a long windy path hides "i've never been hiking here before" I tell him "I think you'll be amused" the boy grabs my hand to help me climb a steep rock.
We're walking for about 20 minutes when Bax starts walking straight into the bush, no path even in front of him "where are you going?" I stare at him through the bushes "trust me just come this way" he rolls his eyes "did you take me here to kill me?" I chuckle as I take a large step over a bush "guess you'll find out" he continues walking straight.
I ramble about random things while we walk, Baxter just listens and nods every once in a while. I can't tell if he's uninterested, he seems busy trying to bring us to the destination. Eventually I stop talking to see if he'll say anything but instead he stops dead in his tracks and turns around "keep talking" he rolls his wrist in a circular motion "sorry I thought you were getting annoyed" I widen my eyes back at him "I don't think i'll ever be annoyed with you" he smirks and to that I continue rambling, this time about old comps and my friends stupid drama that's accumulated over the past year.
Bax cuts me off mid sentence and turns around "alright cmere" he comes up behind me and puts his hands over my eyes "walk straight" he instructs "Bax how can I walk if I can't see?" I giggle "just trust me, i'll tell you what to do" I can feel the cockiness in his tone. With a few steps and a few branches being thrown in my face, Bax finally brings me to a stop "okay ready?" He asks "ready" I say back, he finally takes his hands away from my eyes and when he does, i'm met with the most beautiful waterfall i've ever seen. I lift my head up to see Bax standing tall behind me with a shimmer in his eyes "so?" He makes his way in front of me "it's gorgeous" I say honestly.
We walk towards the waterfall, Bax putting his backpack down on a rock and then taking off his shirt. "Don't you have a bathing suit on?" Bax asks once he realizes i'm standing still just looking at him "yeah of course I do... sorry" I take my shirt and shorts off, throwing them towards the rock hoping they land somewhere near the rest of our stuff.
I slowly walk into the water, allowing myself to cool off after our long, hot walk. Bax isn't too far behind me, he grabs me by the waist and lifts me into the air, holding me bridal style as he walks deeper into the water and closer to the water falling. As we get closer I'm getting splashed by the surprisingly cold water, I squirm a bit and hold onto the back of his neck tightly "we're going under, you aren't getting out of this" it's like he's posing a challenge and so I take that as my chance to try to get out of his grip but i'm quickly shut down by his strength. We finally make it under the waterfall and laughs start to escape my lips, he stays under the cold water for at least 10 seconds just to get on my nerves.
Finally Bax drops me and when he does I go straight under the water not expecting to be dropped so suddenly. When I resurface I charge towards Bax with a smile brewing on my face, Bax easily gets out of the way and turns around to lift me up again, he drops me more gently this time, my hands around his neck and his trailing up and down the curves of my waist. He looks down at me with a smile but it quickly turns more serious as he looks deeper into my eyes. I can tell he's studying my face but I'm not sure what for. My mind is giving me many possibilities until finally it lands on he probably wants to kiss me and once I realize that's definitely what it is, I back away from him in a playful matter and spin around to look at the waterfall "i'm so happy you brought me here, it's so beautiful" I say as I keep my eyes on the water fall. I feel Bax coming closer to me and finally he's standing next to me "yeah, it's quite nice here" he says with a disappointed tone in his voice "can I get some water?" I ask the boy "yeah go for it".
It's not that i don't want to kiss Bax but he is a breath of fresh air, no love triangles, no arguing, no comp stress. It's just us. I love it too much to ruin it. Everything about our friendship is perfect, I mean it's early to tell but so far he's just a cocky and rebellious. Two things I can deal with and have grown to love about him.
I look back to Bax and feel a wave of guilt, I want to tell him why I can't kiss him but I'd feel crazy if I brought it up and maybe he'd even think I was crazy.
I grab a water and sip on it slowly, hoping to get a bit of time away from Bax. The boy eventually makes his way back over to me "let's go get some lunch" Bax shakes his wet hair and throws his shirt back on. I struggle to put my clothes on quickly, but eventually am ready to hike back to the car. Bax doesn't allow the walk to be quiet, he talks about how he loves hiking to clear his mind and I just listen in awe. I'd never expect Bax to be the kind of person to talk about something like this. When I don't give any input I can tell he feels a bit embarrassed "honestly I've never used hiking to clear my head but I might now that you've taken me" I shrug my shoulders and to that he continues talking which makes a smile form on my face.
Bax opens my door for me and allows me to sit and wait until he's done putting his backpack in the trunk. Once he sits in the drivers seat he lets out a loud sigh, I look at him with a curious look telling him to tell me more "you're so nice to be around" he looks over to me as his head still rests on his head rest "Baxie" I pucker out my bottom lip "I'm just saying, I haven't exactly made the best impression on the other kids here in Shorehaven and you've been nothing but nice to me" he continues to keep eye contact but I look away "you've never given me reason not to" I shrug and look back at him "well thank you" he makes a flat smile before putting the key in the ignition and starting the car.
The ride once again is only silent from the other noises like the wind and music being blasted. Once we start pulling into a parking lot, Bax respectfully turns the music down.
The two of us get out of the car and head into 'The Sandbar'. They have really good food here but Jonas and I never really go out to eat anymore.
We're seated at a booth and we're each given a menu, I sift through the menu and realize the prices are quite high "what are you thinkin?" Bax asks looking over his menu "probably just chicken fingers and chips" I continue looking at the other items "it's on me, get whatever you want girl" my eyes light up at his words and to that he can only smile back.
I end up getting their classic burger which I'm super excited about because frozen burgers are no where near as good as restaurant burgers, plus The Sandbar's house sauce is to die for. Once our food arrives, I swear I can feel myself drooling. I pick at my chips, not wanting to embarrass myself in front of a cute boy but I'm quickly brought out of my thoughts and realize, we're friends and I can't hide from him just because he's cute. I pick up my burger and take a huge bite, sauce dripping from the corners of my lips and down my chin, Bax looks at me with an amused smile and sarcastically wipes his own chin. I roll my eyes in response and continue eating my burger although it is a quite messy burger.
The both of us finish our food quickly and Bax pays for it just like he said he would. When he reads the price he doesn't have the slightest bit of a bad reaction on his face but me on the other hand, i'm looking at him with guilt. I feel bad he's paying for my food and I think he realizes my feelings towards it so he gives me a reassuring smile and throws his hand towards me as if he's saying 'don't worry about it'.
We exit the restaurant with smiles on our faces, Bax once again opens my door for me but this time I bow at his gesture which earns an eye roll and smile from Bax. Once we're in the car he turns his body towards me "where to?" He asks "I think I should head home" I say honestly "wow" Bax scoffs sarcastically and drives off in a rush. I can't help but smile, I smack his bicep a few times when he ignores me until finally he breaks out into a smile and our drive back to mine consists of smiles and laughs.
Bax pulls into the driveway and immediately the front door swings open and Jonas is standing on the small front porch with what seems like welled up red eyes. I look to Bax with a worried look on my face "I have to go, I had so much fun i'll text you!" I say quickly before getting out of the car and running towards my brother.