"Fuck!"
The rain started. We still had hours to go before we'd reach the bottom of the mountain. It was a tough climb. We had gone off trail and ended up going straight down the face of quite a formidable mountain. Studded with nasty cacti and other thorny things, jagged rocks, the possibility of coming across an unpleasant critter, and steep drop offs, it was already a challenge without the onset of a classic Arizona monsoon storm.
"I just knew this was going to happen! We should have known better," I yelled down to Gregg.
"Well stop complaining and let's find ourselves a place for shelter. This is only going to get worse. Hold on, stay there."
A flash of lightning was followed immediately by a breathtaking crash of the thunder. We were right in the middle of the blasted thing. I always liked lightning storms, but being in the middle of one was another matter.
Gregg had climbed back up to where I was. "I remember a place a little while back that had a nice covered ledge, we should be fine there. But be careful, these rocks are loose and will fall right out from under you. They're slippery and soft from the rain."
"What kind of idiot do you think I am Gregg? I've only lived here all my life." I was mad because he always insisted on doing something dangerous and I should have stopped him, knowing the rain was coming. Gregg was the sort of man who had no sense when to play things safe. He was known for his dangerous antics, and it was one of the things I liked about him, but I should have insisted on taking the same route today.
"Calm down April, I just wanted to remind you. These things have a way of floating out of our heads under these sorts of circumstances."
The next thing I knew, Gregg was right next to me, and I looked up to him. I could see in his eyes that he had said it as much for himself as he had me. He knew how dangerous the situation was that we were in and he was mad at himself for getting me into it. Our eyes locked for a moment before he broke away to find that ledge.
"Follow my movements, I don't want you falling out from under me because you make a bad footing and have a rock fall out from under you."
Our progress back up the mountain was painfully slow, and it was near impossible to get a grip in the rain that was only falling harder by the minute. Thankfully Gregg's memory served him correctly and we reached the ledge in about 15 minutes. It was a tough maneuver up to the ledge, so he climbed in then took my hand to pull me up with him.
I looked around at my new surroundings. We were beyond lucky to have come across the little alcove in the mountain. It was big enough for us to feel quite safe from the storm. I looked out. The rain was coming down in sheets and made the world outside look like a white blanket of wetness.
"God, I'm soaked, and so are you," Gregg pointed out, and indeed it was true.
He took off his shirt and rung it out to the side so the water from it joined the deluge outside.
"Well, thankfully it isn't cold," I returned, not being able to help myself from eyeing his muscular chest, glistening from the rain.
I had always found Gregg attractive, but had never done anything about it. We were friends through an ex-boyfriend of mine. They had been best friends at the time, but my ex had moved away quite some time ago and I wondered if it would be wrong of me to let something happen.
Gregg really was striking. He had dark brown hair that looked even sexier now that it was wet; a lock of it fell across his dark brown eyes. He had strong masculine features and sensual lips that would part to reveal a pearly smile that I knew was responsible for disarming many a girl. He was tall and tanned from all of his time out in the Arizona sun.
"It's going to be hell climbing down after this," I said, peering out into the downpour." I was exhausted from the climb so far, and it was daunting to think of what was to lie ahead.
Gregg could see my unease and he said, "Look, it's going to be fine. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."
