Page 56 of I'm Gonna Get You Back
“Why? What did she say?” he asks.
My eyebrows come together at his tone. “She said you’ve had a rough start to the year.”
I watch Reid examine the scrapes on his arms, his mouth set like it does when he’s being backed into a corner. He exhales and grips his legs, bracing.
“Oh, here.” I reach into my bag and hand him the makeshift ice pack. “Looks like you need it.”
He blinks down at the bag crinkling softly in his hands.
I don’t know if I’m imagining it, but something new and heavy crowds the air between us. Did I overstep with the ice?
“Thanks,” he says quietly.
I want to ask him what’s going on. Why he seems so stressed—why he isn’t sleeping. But he can barely look me in the eye. I remind myself it’s none of my business and accept that at least I can do this for him. I’ll have my chance to ask him questions during his interview.
“Hot springs?” I ask, trying to pull him out of his head. Trying to hold on to this fragile tether between us.
He nods. “Hot springs.”
CHAPTER FOURTEENCLARATHEN
TUCKED AWAY IN Apart of the mountain only locals know about, the hot springs were sacred, and going there with Reid for the first time felt… significant. Despite our agreement to keep it casual, in the months after that night in my room, things had definitely escalated between us.
When we got there, I started to walk toward the springs I knew well. But Reid reached for my hand, weaving our fingers together, knowing by then how easily they fit.
“C’mon, I want to show you something.”
He pulled me past even the most secluded springs. Fifteen minutes, a winding path, and a sharp incline later, I was panting and wondering where the hell he was taking me when there was finally a slight break in the trees I never would’ve noticed. Reid pulled me through it and down a small slope.
There, overlooking the pines jutting out the side of the mountain, sat a wide, natural spring that I’d never seen in my life.
The secret springs.
“How—what?” I spluttered. “I thought this was a Woodhurst myth.”
He grinned. “All the varsity teams are sworn to secrecy. It’s the perfect temp for muscle soreness.”
“On the one hand, I’ve never been more annoyed about athletic privileges. But on the other…” I trailed off and gestured toward the view. The wide sky behind the towering trees.
“I know.”
He released my hand to reach for the fabric of his navy Woodhurst High sweatshirt between his shoulder blades. He pulled it and his T-shirt off in one fluid motion. Mercifully, Reid pretended like he didn’t notice my low gasp in response to his bare back, but the self-satisfied look on his face told me he hadn’t missed it. Like he never missed anything.
I shed my clothes quickly and sank into the spring. The water feltsogood. Hot as a bath, but not as uncomfortable as a Jacuzzi. Against the cold air it was especially heavenly, and every bit of tension in my body melted away as I slid in deeper.
A sharp breeze rustled through the surrounding trees. I found a small rock to perch on, and I laid my head back a moment, surveying the cold sky. The loamy scent of the forest meant it was definitely going to rain soon.
“I love it here,” I said reverently.
“You showed me your favorite place,” he said, referring to the overlook I’d taken him to on a hike the week before. “I wanted to do the same.”
I bent my knees, settling deeper into the water until it was up to my collarbone. “This is your favorite place?”
He nodded. “But I don’t let myself come here often. I have to earn it.”
That caught me off guard. “What do you mean?”
“It’s my ultimate motivation. When I’m training, when I race. I don’t get to come here unless I win or PR or otherwise hit a new goal I’ve set.”
