I shake my head. “This is my first time out here.”
The guard quirks a brow. “Three hour runs? That’s intense.”
“Yeah, she has this crazy training regimen.”
“Muscles like that, she must.”
“Yeah… Anyway, I guess we’ll be camping out. Do you know of a good place to kill a couple hours? And pee, Ireallyhave to pee.”
The guard hesitates. “You know what, don’t worry about it. Tell Christine that Julio says hi.”
“Really?” Haley’s eyes shine in that absolutely irresistible puppy-dog way of hers. “Oh, you’rethe best!”
Julio blushes, waving a hand. “Yeah, yeah, no problem. She give you directions?”
Haley laughs. “No, how’d you guess?”
Julio gives us a brief rundown and warns us to keep an eye out for wandering cows.
“Thank youso much. I’m gonna bring you cookies or something on the way out. You’re alifesaver.”
“You two have a good day.”
“Will do! Thank you again!”
Julio opens the gate, and we drive on through.
As soon as we round a bend that puts us out of sight, Haley and I dissolve into nervous laughter.
“Well fucking done,” I say.
“You came up with the lines; I just delivered them.”
“We make a great team.” I hold up my hand, and Haley gives an enthusiastic high-five as she takes the first turn Julio described.
I roll my window down, letting in that distinctive sage and oak aroma along with flickers of Christine’s scent. Each time I catch that particular edge of sea salt, my chest vibrates, beckoning me forward.
Julio wasn’t kidding about the cows, and the meandering bovines force us to stop and wait more than once. It’s torture. The calves are kinda cute though, I guess.
The day tilts warmer as we rise through the hills, getting that much closer to the sun. I wish I could enjoy the vistas, oddly similar to those we just left in New Zealand, but restlessness prickles along my skin.
Seeing Christine again is going to be… a lot. But if I detoxed once, I can detox again. Probably.
I’ve been doing a very good job of not thinking about exactly why I’m here, and I continue that streak as I swear at another group of cows blocking the road.
Even without Julio’s directions, I’d know that we’re close. The shifting breeze crackles with her scent.
My heart thumps in my chest, and I force deep breaths as Haley turns off the main road and onto an even narrower stretch. We descend amidst twisting oaks, then sweep around a corner to a glistening ocean view and a small, rustic-looking house.
Her scent wraps me, sliding along my skin, pulling me out of the car even before Haley has entirely stopped.
Spurred by my urgency, Haley hastily throws the car into park, leaving the engine running as she follows.
I jog around the side of the house, hardly seeing where my feet fall, tripping around agave landscaped in gravel.
Then there’s a flash of brilliant platinum in the sun: Christine as she climbs an almost invisible path, surfboard under her arm. For as much as she commands a movie set, here with her hair damp and wavy from the ocean, floral print rashguard and shorts clinging to her muscles, she looks like she truly belongs.
My alpha.
