From deep inside of her sleeping bag, Nicole slid her hand up along the zipper until she found the pull. She counted down silently and then pulled the zipper down, allowing a rush of cold air to enter the warm confines of her makeshift bed. She folded the loose corner down and then inched herself from the sleeping bag. She wiped the sleep from her eyes and noted JC's absence from the tent. She grabbed her wadded up puffer jacket, which served as her pillow, and put it on. She walked a few paces, hunched down low, to the door of the tent. She lowered the zipper and peaked her head through. The rain fly was open, and she stuck her head out, looking for JC. A fire was going in the fire pit, but he was nowhere to be found, and the Jeep was no longer parked on the asphalt slab adjacent to their camp site.    

She stepped back inside, grabbed her water bottle and a small canvas toiletry bag, then sat down at the entrance to the tent.  With her feet stretched outside the opening, she pulled on her boots, stood up, and took her first steps into the outside world, greeting the new day. She squinted under the glare of the bright sun. Unsure where JC could possibly have driven off to, and with the coffee and breakfast in the back of the car to boot, she tried to stifle her irritation. She sighed and marched into the wooded area behind the tent. 

JC pulled the Jeep back up to the campsite only moments after Nicole's departure. He stepped out of the car and inhaled a deep, satisfying breath. He moved to open the back of the Jeep so that he could begin handling breakfast, when he noticed the tent door was open. 

"Good morning, sunshine" he drawled sarcastically, as he opened the Jeep's tailgate.

He was met with no reply, so he walked to the tent and poked his head inside. Surprised not to find her in the tent, he pulled back quickly and looked around. A slight wave of panic washed over him, but he worked to stay rational. 

"Nicole!" He called out. 

Again, no reply. 

"Nicole!" He called out, elevating his voice. "Nicole!" he called out again, still louder. 

He heard the soft crunching of leaves behind him. "What?" he heard a garbled version of Nicole's voice, and finally, she emerged from the trees with toothpaste foaming about her lips and a toothbrush in her mouth. "I was peeing."

JC laughed inwardly, more at his pang of worry than her response. He watched as she marched to the back of the Jeep. She spit out her toothpaste, took a sip from her water bottle, swished, and spit again, then bent forward into the back of the car and rustled through various items.

"Where did you go?" She asked him as she emerged from the back of the Jeep with a jar of coffee and a small metal pitcher with a rubber handle. 

"The bathroom."

"You drove to the bathroom?" She looked at him amused as she filled the metal pitcher with water, walked to the fire pit, placed the iron grate over the dying fire and proceeded to set the pitcher neatly in the center of the grill. "You couldn't just go back there?" She pointed to the treeline she had emerged from moments before. 

"I'm not sure if I'm ready for shitting in the woods," he laughed and blushed slightly. "And the entrance to this place isn't really that close of a walk. Last night, you got me all nervous about bears." 

"Are you for real?" she asked, on the verge of laughter, eyes wide with surprise. 

"No. Well, maybe. C'mon, man!" he whined.  "It was cold, that's why I drove, but also driving offers bear protection, the two aren't mutually exclusive," he shrugged and walked to the back of the car. He pulled out two plastic mugs from a box that sat next to the ice chest and walked them over to Nicole, who was still standing by the fire pit. He kissed her sweetly, and added, "Good morning, by the way." 

"Good morning," she responded. 

JC set the mugs on a large rock near the fire pit. Nicole leaned down and checked the status of the water she was heating in the pitcher. It wasn't boiling yet, but she walked to the mugs and scooped two big spoonfuls of instant coffee into each, then handed the jar to JC to put away. He inspected the label as he placed the jar back into the box in the back of the Jeep. 

"Instant coffee. Really?" He asked her, peeking from around the back of the car. 

"No cappuccino machines in mother nature. You want to pull out the bowls. I figured cereal for breakfast. I have almond milk in the ice chest."

"Almond milk?" He asked, again peeking out from around the car. 

"It keeps better and doesn't have to stay cold like dairy." She explained as she picked up the pitcher of now boiling water and began pouring it into the prepared mugs. "You're already concerned enough about shitting in the woods, imagine if you consumed spoiled milk." she called out to him. 

JC began filling two bowls with the contents of a box of Puffin cereal. He added the milk, placed a spoon in each, and walked them over to the fire pit. He exchanged one bowl of cereal for a cup of coffee, and they sat on the wool blanked Nicole had placed on the ground by the fire. 

"So, what's the plan for today?" JC asked between bites. 

"There are a few hiking trails around here, I figured we'd pick one you feel comfortable with and check it out," she explained, blowing on the surface of her coffee. 

"That I'm comfortable with?" He asked, eyeing her, offended. "I hike!" 

"Runyon Canyon doesn't count," Nicole laughed. 

JC's heart sank at the mention of Runyon Canyon. Five days earlier, Jen had walked out of his life at Runyon Canyon. He had done well to push the thought of her out of his mind, but the trigger of that memory bore a small hole in his heart, and the ache didn't go unnoticed. He wasn't in the habit of running people out of his life, but that seemed to be his pattern. He looked at Nicole suddenly, eyeing her suspiciously, wondering how long before she too walked out of his life. It was surely only a matter of time. "I hike," he mumbled again. 

"There are some really short hikes we can do, paved, and what not around here. Something called the catwalk, which is a walkway over a small canyon. Bear Creek is short too. Or we can do Mineral creek."

"Minerals sound less scary than bears," JC commented with a mouth full of cereal. 

"Mineral creek is longer, but it will take us to an old mining town called Cooney. Apparently, Cooney got ambushed and killed by an Indian chief," Nicole grew more excited as she spoke. "Anyway, his tomb is there and whatever is left of his house is there, and a bunch of ruins from the mining town. A couple of different trails break off there, so we don't have to do the whole thing, but it's longer."

"Well," JC laughed. "I know which one you want to do. How long are we talking, here? I don't run marathons like you."

"It's out and back, so six miles, maybe. Total." She looked at him hopefully. 

"That seems doable. I'm not just some stuffy city slicker, you know. I can do outdoorsy things." He turned to her and smiled widely. "I just don't do them as often as you do."

"Well, I'll make this one worth your while." She leaned in and kissed his lips quickly. "You know something?" She asked him.

"I know a lot of things," he answered, looking at her.  

"You're cute," she mentioned casually, standing up quickly, draining the excess milk from her cereal bowl, and headed to the car to rinse it and place it back into the box in the back. 

JC shook his head but smiled in spite of himself. He watched Nicole as she bent forward into the back of the car, expecting her to emerge quickly. When she didn't, he stood and walked to her. He watched her as she rifled through her travel bag, pulling out articles of clothing. He rinsed his bowl, but before placing it back in the car, he slapped Nicole's backside playfully. She straightened quickly and turned her backside away from him, eyeing with mock offense.

"I can't help myself sometimes," he explained. "If you're just gonna hang it out there like that, I'm gonna have to touch it."

****

After batting down things at the camp, Nicole loaded her day pack with water and food for the both of them, tossed her keys to JC and prompted him to drive. They took the highway south, following signs for Magollon, a town that had seen better days. The turn-off for Magollon consisted of a narrow dirt mountain road. The tree lined mountainside was dotted with rundown wood and log buildings. Everything looked closed, except for a small general store. 

Nicole prompted him to park behind the store. Before he could turn the ignition off, Nicole jumped out and ran into the store through the screened back entrance. Unsure of what to do, JC remained in the car, watching for her to reemerge. A few minutes later, she came jogging around from the front of the building, waving a paper in her hand, and motioning for him to pop the tailgate. JC slid from the driver's seat and met her around back. 

"Got a trail map, we are all set." 

She stepped away from the vehicle, allowing JC to close the tailgate and lock the doors. She took the keys from him and placed them into her day pack. She slung the heavy pack onto her shoulders, and led JC out of the parking lot, down a dirt hill and to the trailhead. 

The pair descended a short but steep, dusty hill, then entered into a tree canopy. They took a path that led them through a half mile series of switchbacks, which deposited them in a small gorge. The thickness of trees made it hard to see in the distance, but the sun was bright and shone through the leaves, lighting their path. The sound of water served as a guide, as Nicole matched up aspects of the trail with elements on her trail map. The trail wound through a mile long section of Ponderosa Pines. Nicole would stop from time to time to listen to various bird calls. JC remained a half step behind her on their trek and smiled, amused by her excitement at even the smallest new sound. 

Eventually the trees thinned, and the trail opened up, placing them out into a clearing. The water source they could only hear at first was now visible as a small creek ran alongside them. As they followed the water, they reached a series of rounded gray rocks, and the creek waters careened through the holes and grooves in their honeycomb rock formation.

It was JC's turn to be excited. "Wow!? He exclaimed, hopping over holes in the rocks and pausing from time to time to look down at the water. "This is crazy!" he announced, looking up at Nicole, who stood over a hole he was kneeling at. 

"Yeah! The water is just eating away at this tuff." 

"What's tuff?"

"This rock we are standing on. Remnants of an ancient volcanic eruption." She smiled. 

He stood looking at her, mouth slightly open, "We're on a Volcano?" 

"Kinda. I mean, why do you think we have all these mountains?" She sat down at the hole JC was inspecting, allowing her feet to dangle through. 

They had been walking for about two miles, and the scenery, along with JC's sudden excitement, created the perfect incentive for a little break. She pulled her backpack off, set it in her lap, and pulled out a water bottle. She took a few sips, then handed it to JC. He took the bottle from her, turned, and wandered to another hole, bending down, inspecting it just as carefully as the last. 

He picked his head up and looked back at her, "First there's maybe bears, and now we are kinda on a volcano, huh? You are trying to kill me, aren't you? You want to get rid of me that badly?" 

"Oh man, if you died too, I'd either be cursed or the next black widow killer," she laughed.

JC's heart sank. He wasn't being serious with his comment, but he should have known better. He stood quickly and walked back to her. He sat down next to her, eyeing her seriously. "That was a bad joke, I'm- I--"

"Holy shit!" Nicole laughed and playfully slapped his arm. "Don't apologize, I was kidding too. I thought we were joking." 

He held her gaze, eyeing her skeptically. After a beat, he cracked a small smile, "I mean, you do listen to those murder podcasts."

Nicole laughed and raised an eyebrow, "Uh oh, he's figuring it all out!"

"You're about to sacrifice me to this volcano, aren't you?" He stood up and took a few steps back from her. 

"I think volcanoes only take virgins," she mentioned casually as she stood, walking toward him with her bag open, prompting him to return the water bottle back inside.

"Well, that's definitely not me, then," He wagged his eyebrows at her and took the bag from her. "Or you," he slapped her backend playfully, something that was becoming a common occurrence. He returned the water to the backpack and slung it onto his back. "I'll carry it for a while. Where to next?" 

They continued along the honeycomb of rocks, crossing back and forth across the creek for a few feet until it dropped off onto a designated dirt trail. JC jumped down first, and before Nicole could follow, he turned around and held out his hands to help her down. Stifling the desire to roll her eyes at his chivalry, she reached out for his hands and allowed him to help her as she hopped down from the rocks. 

He was reluctant to release her hand and pulled her back to him before she could continue down the trail. He kissed her softly and whispered, "I'm having a great time, by the way." Then released her, allowing her to take the lead once again. 

"I'm glad," She smiled back at him and continued walking. "This is basically my happy place. I love just being outside, wandering around."

They followed the designated trail for another half mile. Large mountain rock formations lined one side of their path, while a new canopy of green and yellow trees lined the other side. As they walked, from time to time, Nicole would point out different trees, different rock formations, different birds, and even explained the difference between big horned sheep scat and deer scat. 

"You know the most random stuff. Where does it all come from?" JC laughed as they climbed up a series of rocks and rounded a mountain side. 

"What? You just learn as you go."

"How did you even get into this? Did you and Jason hike and camp and stuff?" He asked casually.

"No, not really. I mean we camped a few times, but that was just doing mushrooms and drinking beer in the woods, and banging in a tent," she laughed. 

"My kind of camping!" JC mumbled, carefully choosing his steps, as the trail grew rockier and more unstable. 

"He was a beach guy. You know, he and Matt were like big surfers. In 2004 the two of them surfed every single day. Rain, shine, sick, whatever. Every morning." 

"Impressive," He mused. 

"You know, I don't think Matt has surfed since Jay died." She walked a few more steps and then paused suddenly, turning to look at JC. "And he thinks I'm the one with issues!" She complained, pointing to herself for dramatic effect. 

"Projecting?"

"I think so." Nicole rolled her eyes and turned, continuing along the trail, which flattened out dramatically. 

"But seriously, how did you get into this. Girl scouts?" He asked, chuckling, keeping pace but a few steps behind. 

"Hiking isn't that strange of a thing to get into. And, I mean, look around," She stopped suddenly and looked at him intently. "It's gorgeous out here!"

"Yeah, but you go for days. If I weren't with you, I feel like you'd backpack from here to Santa Fe."

"You're probably right," she laughed, pausing, allowing him to catch up with her. "But I'm glad you're with me." 

As JC approached her, he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her in close to him. "I am too. And I needed to get away. Sometimes I get so caught up in things, and it's like I can't escape."

"Well, out here is the cure," Nicole affirmed. "You can't help but be present. Because, well, nothing else matters. The most important thing is this step, this moment, you know?" She looked up at him. "No time for those thought spirals, gotta be in the moment, because you can't afford to take the wrong step."

They walked side by side a few minutes until the trail narrowed again, forcing them to separate. The trail descended another series of switchbacks. The rocks and dirt were loose, and they had to take careful steps to avoid sliding. 

"Joel's family took us camping a lot when we were kids. Joel hates camping though, but his dad is a total mountain man. He even hunts." She stopped again, turned to JC and in her best impression of an older man's voice added, "‘Bow and arrow hunting only. Honorable kills.' And Joel's brother Marty is a big backpacker. He was teaching a wilderness basics class through REI, convinced me to take it and to hike Mount Whitney with him. He was like, ‘you do marathons, you can trek.' So, I guess, to answer your question, they were how I got into this."

"You're close with Joel and his family." 

"Yeah. We went all through school together. In second grade, his mom sorta took me in, when she found out about my dad. She forced him to invite me over after school for play dates, or whatever," Nicole laughed. "I spent a lot of time with them. I practically lived with them at certain points from like seven to seventeen. My mom struggled to hold it together. I'm grateful for Karen and Paul. I don't know where I'd be today if it weren't for them."

"Hmm." JC responded absently. 

Nicole could sense a change in him. She stopped under the guise of needing a break and some water. She eyed him questioningly, as he pulled the backpack off of his back and riffled through it for a water bottle. 

"What's the matter?" She asked him. 

"Nothing." He pulled a water bottle from the bag and handed it to her. 

"You got awfully quiet." She pressed him, taking a drink, then sat on a log a few steps off the trail. 

"I guess I can relate. I was adopted by Karen," he smiled and said her name with emphasis, "and Roy, not Paul. But my mom was having a hard time keeping it together too.  And she knew my parents, and she knew they would do a good job of taking care of me, and she was right. I know it was hard for her, but she made the right choice. Family doesn't have to be blood and bone, you know."

"Yeah," Nicole responded with a nod. "Joel and them are definitely my family." She took another sip of water, then reluctantly asked, "do you ever... get curious about your family, though?"

"About my biological family?" 

"Yeah. I ask because Candace thinks I should do an Ancestry DNA thing, see if I can't find actual relatives, but I don't know."

"I'd lie if I said the thought hadn't crossed my mind, but my family is Roy and Karen, and my brother and sister. That's all I need. And I know my biological mom. I would see her, so I don't really have questions or a curiosity." 

JC took the water back from Nicole and replaced it in the bag. Before he could sling it onto his back, Nicole took it from him and slid her arms through the straps. She dusted off the seat of her pants and again led them down the trail. 

"So, you don't know any of your extended family?" He asked suddenly.  

"No."

"No grandparents or aunts, uncles, cousins?"

"No. I mean, I probably do. But I don't remember meeting anyone or my dad talking about anyone. And I don't remember many sober times with my mother, so I don't know if I ever even asked her about it. And we lived and moved so many places, we didn't really have things like pictures or albums or whatever." 

"And you aren't even a little curious?" He asked.

"When my mom was alive, I wanted nothing more than to escape her. I would spend one, two, three months with Joel's family and I would hope she'd never come for me, but she always did, and I always hated it. When she died, I was finally free." She stopped and turned to him. "I know that is a fucked-up thing to say, but it's true. She's out of her misery, and I'm out of mine. I have truly little desire to explore anything related to her."

"Fair enough." he smiled and squeezed her arm reassuringly.  

They walked along in silence until the rocky trail turned into a grassy one, slowly the trees began to thin, and the sun grew warm on their skin. Eventually, the trail spilled them out into a small grassy valley. They paused and took inventory of their new surroundings. The perimeter of the valley had a series of large brick piles and various debris. In the center of one piles of bricks sat the remnants of a giant bank safe. It caught JC's attention immediately as he walked quickly to inspect the large metal box. Nicole continued to scan the clearing and noticed at the opposite end stood a significant brick structure built into the side of a large mound of earth. The bricks still held the form of the arched doorway, and at the opening sat a series of small metal rail cars covered with layers upon layers of rust. 

"This must be Cooney, the mining town!" Nicole announced excitedly, looking back at JC who was now standing atop of the safe.

"Imagine how many people robbed this bank!" He called out to her, jumping up and down lightly on the safe's metal frame. "What do you think they mined for?"

"Silver, or maybe gold," she answered.

"What?" JC asked in mock surprise, jumping down to her from the frame of the safe. "You don't know the answer to something?" He joked sarcastically. 

Nicole rolled her eyes and walked across the clearing. "I think this is the entrance to the mine." 

He followed her across the clearing, and together they investigated various items that both time and people had abandoned years ago. They inspected the entrance to the mine and the large boulder marking James Cooney's tomb. A historical marker told the story of his death and a plaque commemorated the Apache Chief who fought to protect the land: 

This monument celebrates the 100th anniversary of the great Apache chief Victorio's raid on the Cooney mining camp near Mogollon, New Mexico, on April 12, 1880. Victorio strove to protect these mountains from mining and other destructive activities of the white race. The present Gila Wilderness is partly a fruit of his efforts.

"Wow," JC sighed pensively as they read the plaque, "Guess it was never his to take..." Then his attention was drawn to another part of the clearing, where the remnants of a door frame to a building remained standing. "I wonder what this was?" He asked excitedly as he walked through the "door" and began kicking at rocks and tufts of grass, overturning small treasures of what remained from when this was an operational mining camp. 

Nicole sat on a patch of grass, sipping from the water bottle, and watched on as JC excitedly flitted about exploring. He was like a kid on Christmas shaking presents every time he picked up old, rusted pieces of objects and inspected them closely before dropping them and moving on. Nicole looked on, amused. She pulled a packaged peanut butter and jelly sandwich from the backpack, unwrapped it carefully, and took a bite. She offered one to JC, but he refused, too distracted by his exploration and treasure hunt to bother with eating. 

Eventually, he rejoined Nicole at her spot on the grass. He took the water from her and took sips between long exaggerated stretches. "Should we head back?" He asked and then added, "This was actually really fun!" 

Nicole smiled and stood. She stepped up on a small rock, allowing her to meet him at eye level. "Fun's not over. The guy at the general store told me to look for a knee-high cairn behind the mine. Said it marked a 300-yard trail up to a secret surprise." She smiled and held open the backpack, silently requesting that he return the water bottle. 

"That sounds like the start of a horror film." He eyed her skeptically before taking a final drink and returned the water bottle to the backpack. "And what's a Karen?"

"A cairn is a stack of rocks. They mark trails." 

"Oh. Well, good news... I found a stack of rocks over there," he pointed over her head,  past the entrance to the mine.

He took Nicole's hand, again, chivalrously helping her step down from the rock, then turned and led her to the cairn he had found during his earlier investigation. The rocks marked the start of an almost missable trail. They followed the path of tamped down grass, as it led them up another rocky incline to a flatland with more patchy grass. The remnants of the foundation of another old building sat in front of them, and just past that was a small rocky pool of water that extended a short distance to the edge of the clearing and stopped at the edge of a steep drop-off. The faintest sound of flowing water could be heard, and a slight steam rose up from the surface of the water. 

Nicole walked through what would have been the building toward the rocky pool of water, but JC remained stationary. When she noticed he was not following her, she turned and looked back at him questioningly. 

"What is that?" He asked her.

"A hot spring!" she answered excitedly.

"No," he smiled widely and took a few steps toward her but diverted to the right. He knelt down and picked up a rusted metal object with a handle. "What is this?" he asked, popping back upright, and smiling widely. 

"I don't know, Josh. What is it?" She asked, confused. 

He walked the object closer to her and held it up right in front of her nose. "Well, I do believe this is a coffee percolator, much like the one found in the kitchen of Nicole Madison  Bell." With some effort, he pulled it apart and showed her the inside. "You, honey, make coffee like the pioneers!" His eyes squinted and crinkled in the corners as he threw his head back and laughed loudly.  

Nicole watched as he recovered from his laughing spell. 

"You make coffee like they did on the Oregon Trail!" He added and then threw back his head in laughter again. He calmed temporarily, then burst into a third fit of laughter while adding, "Uh-oh, you made your coffee wrong, you died of dysentery!" 

"And you think I'm into some nerdy shit. Look at you with your nerdy-ass, Oregon Trail, dad jokes." She turned and continued to the hot spring. She stepped up onto the rocks bordering the pool, knelt down and touched the warm water. 

"But you got it!" he beamed.

JC followed behind her. The rusted pieces of the percolator still in hand. He watched as she slid the backpack from her shoulders, placed it into the dirt and rested it against the rocks. She bent down and untied her boots, kicked them from her feet, and carefully placed them and her socks on the ground next to the bag. She turned toward him and smiled as she unbuttoned her shorts and slid them down her legs, stepping out of them. 

"What are you doing?" JC asked suddenly, looking over his shoulder as if they were being watched. 

"Getting in!" She smiled and pulled her shirt up and over her head. Then folded it neatly and rested it on top of her shorts. She stood up and reached back behind her to unfasten her bra. 

"Naked?" JC asked, wide-eyed. "Not in your bra and panties?"

"I don't want soggy underwear when we hike out of here," she explained, successfully unfastening her bra. 

"Wait!" He walked toward her quickly. "What if someone sees?"

Nicole shrugged and slid her bra down her arms and placed it on the pile of clothes. "No one was on the trail with us." She slid her panties down her legs and stepped out of them. She stood up straight, only a few feet away from JC, eyeing him seductively.

JC allowed his eyes to wander down her body. Her tan lines highlighted her breasts, and he wanted more than anything to touch her. He nervously turned and looked back behind him again, ensuring the coast was clear.  

"You're not going to join me?"  She asked him.

"Not naked. What if people come?"

"She stepped down from the rock and walked toward him, reaching for the waist of his track pants. 

He stepped back quickly, shaking his head. "Nicole, we... I can't do this. Eric would shit!" He watched as her face fell in disappointment. "Nicole, believe me, I want to do this." He looked back behind him again. 

"Josh! No one was even on the trail," she sighed and turned back toward the pool of water. She stepped up on the rocky ledge. "I'm getting in, with or without you," she explained as she took a careful step into the water. She turned to face him again, watching him as she slowly submerged herself below the surface of the water.

He walked to the pool of water and stepped up on to the rocky ledge, looking down through the ring of ripples, waiting for her to resurface. She popped back up, pushing the hair out of her face, and smiled up at him. 

"The water is so warm, you're really missing out," she teased, leaning back, and kicking the water up at him with her feet. 

He looked back behind him again, scanning his surroundings for people, before resting his gaze back on her. She was absolutely gorgeous, utterly naked, and completely wet. Why was he still standing on the ledge? He stepped down. He carefully placed the rusted coffee percolator pieces that he still held in his hands on the rocky ledge of the spring. "Don't want to lose this," he winked at her. He reached his left hand back behind his neck and pulled his shirt up and over his head, pushing it down his arms and allowing it to drop on top of Nicole's clothes and backpack. His shoes and socks were next. He looked around one more time before removing his track pants and boxers. Nicole cat-called him as he stepped back up on the rocks. His face exploded into a goofy smile, and he flexed his arms jokingly before stepping into the water and wading out to join Nicole. 

"It's so warm!" He announced, surprised. 

"Nature's jacuzzi" Nicole responded, from her place across from him, relaxed and reclined in a corner of the spring.

He dunked his head under the water, but resurfaced quickly, flinging his long hair back. He waded up to her and gripped her hips in his hands beneath the surface. "Did you know this was here when you picked this place to hike to?" He asked her, pulling her body closer to his. 

"No." Her cheeks flushed slightly. A regular occurrence when he touched her, even when they weren't submerged in 100-degree water. She shifted awkwardly, trying to maintain her casual facade, but JC knew better. He released his hold on one of her hips and reached up, pinching her chin between his thumb and knuckle of his forefinger. He angled her face up towards his and leaned in, pressing his lips softly to hers. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to melt into him as the kiss intensified. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down closer to her. After a few moments, he ended the kiss, but only pulled away from her lips slightly. 

He smiled at her. "You taste like peanut butter," he explained with a soft chuckle. "I dig it!" 

Slightly embarrassed, Nicole attempted to pull away from him, but he pulled her back toward him. Sliding his hands below the surface of the water, and pulling her legs up, and wrapping them around his waist. "You know what else I dig?" He asked her softly, pressing his forehead downtown to hers. 

"Hmm?" She asked. 

"You." 

"I should hope so, I'm naked and wrapped around you." she laughed, shaking her head. 

"No, no. I do. I dig you. Even when you're not naked and wrapped around me. But I mean, this here is a bonus." He wagged his eyebrows a few times. "And I dig this, you know? I would never do this. Camp, hike, understand the many facets of bighorn sheep shit." He laughed but grew serious again. "Quit my job." He squeezed her hips lightly. "You got me writing songs." 

Nicole averted her gaze and lowered her head. Her pulse raced, and she feared the endless possibilities of what she was capable of doing or saying to ruin this moment. JC could feel her legs loosen around his waist in an effort to move away from him, but he held her legs in place. "Hey," he nudged her cheek with his nose, prompting her to look at him again. "The other night, you told me the more time you spend with me, the more time you want to spend with me." He rubbed his hands back and forth on her legs, beneath the surface of the water. "Remember that?" 

She nodded, trying to hide her embarrassment. Why had she been so forthcoming with her feelings? 

"Well, I'm there too, Nicole.  Every time we're together, you got me doing something new. Look at me. I'm naked in a lake on the side of a mountain," he announced.

"It's a hot spring, not a lake." Nicole smiled shyly.

"Whatever. Point is," he raised his hands above the surface of the water and pushed back the wet hair that clung to her cheeks and forehead, "clearly, I'm very down to see where this goes. Because apparently," he interrupted his sentence to kiss her lips softly, "I'm very willing..." kiss, "to go basically..." kiss, "anywhere with you." He pressed his lips to hers a final time, gently pulling her closer to him, intensifying the kiss. After a beat, he pulled back slightly, their lips still gently touching. He added with a smirk, "Even if it means I'm naked in a hot spring on the side of a mountain." He pulled them away from the side of the spring closer to the center of the small pool and kissed yet her again, quickly. "Even if it means I have to make coffee in the most ridiculous coffee maker," he laughed and turned his head toward the percolator pieces still resting on the rocky edge. 

Nicole rolled her eyes, and splashed water at him. He pulled back instinctually at the splash, and Nicole unwrapped her legs from his waist, splashing at him again and again, laughing loudly. 

"Hey! Hey!" He held up his hands in self-defense. Be careful, we don't want this to get this bad boy all wet and rusty. He swam to the edge of the spring and picked up the small, antiquated appliance. Trying to protect it from her splashing. "This is coming back with us. Yours is all old and lonely and needs company."

"It's not even mine!" She half whispered and stopped her splashing. 

"What?" He asked her, not hearing her initial remark.

"It's not mine. It's Jason's." She shrugged. "He made the coffee, that's what he used. I never even thought to make it differently." 

The levity of the moment suddenly ended, and JC looked at the percolator in his hands and then back to her. He took a breath, then turned and threw the mental pieces as hard as he could, and watched it land in the dirty a few yards away. He turned back to her. "Well, it's not as funny then," he said innocently with a shrug. He swam closer to her and pulled her back against his chest. "I guess..." he leaned down and spoke softly into her left ear, "it's a good thing you met me." He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck below her ear. "I'm definitely into more sophisticated coffee, than Jason," he emphasized Jason's name with a sarcastic tone. 

"Sophisticated, huh?" she asked. JC could feel her body shake with her silent laughter.  

"Yeah! I mean, have you used that coffee maker I got you? Fresh coffee and espresso in no time!" He kissed her neck again. 

"I have not." She whispered. 

"No?" he questioned, turning her to face him.

"Guess I'm feeling some kind of way about changing up my coffee game," she smiled with a slight shrug of her shoulders.  

"Well, it's a new day, honey." He leaned his head, facing skyward. "You hear that, Jason!" he shouted suddenly. "It's a new day, and there's a new coffee maker in town!" he added.

A laugh bubbled from deep inside of Nicole. Her body shook, but the laugh was silent. JC looked down at her with a grin. "Too much?" he asked. Nicole smiled wide and shook her head, no. "Did I overstep? Is he going to haunt me in my sleep?"

"I really hope so!" she laughed. 

He leaned down and kissed her again.