Falling for My Old High School Bully (Complete)

Chapter 26 - Axel the Hero

The bear was really large, way bigger and scarier than they looked on TV. Emma was frozen in fear like a statue. Axel moved fast and got in front of her, pushing her behind him. He lifted his arms over his head trying to look as big and intimidating as he could and started shouting loudly at it. The bear growled in a low rumble giving her a chill up her spine and she had never felt so scared in her life. It looked like it wanted to rip them apart and have them for breakfast.

"Whatever you do. Don't run," he told her. "That will make it want to chase you. Give me those rocks in your hand."

He took a large rock and shouted, "Get outta here!" throwing it fast and hard, hitting the bear right in the face and making it growl loudly. He threw another rock and then another one, hitting it in the face every time before taking the walking sticks from her and beating them together with his arms over his head, shouting loudly and making as much noise as he could. Finally the large bear slowly turned around and trotted off, back into the trees.

He dropped his arms with a relieved exhale and turned around to face her, breathing hard and she could practically see his heart beating through his tank top.

"Are you okay?" he asked, sounding concerned.

Her heart was racing with adrenaline and fear.

"That was the craziest thing that's ever happened to me," she panted, still not believing it was real. She stood there, shaking like a leaf, trying to process what just happened.

"Yeah," he agreed, stepping forward and wrapping his arms around her, pulling her into a hug and holding her tight. "You're shaking like crazy," he said, rubbing her back. "It's gonna be okay Em. It's gone now," he whispered into her hair, holding her tight. 

He held her for a minute and feeling safe in his arms made her heart rate start to slow down and she eventually felt more calm.

"That was so scary. It might be beautiful here but at least we don't have to worry about bears back in Chicago," she whispered, with her head pressed against his chest, feeling calmed by the thumping sound of his heartbeat.

He pulled her back and looked down into her eyes for a few seconds before leaning in and pressing his lips gently against hers. It wasn't a passionate kiss. It was the kiss of someone who cared and was relieved she was okay.

He slipped his hand into hers and started walking up the trail again and she followed close behind him. It gradually started getting a little steeper and more rocky and she lost her footing one time but he had her hand protectively grasped in his, keeping her from falling down. 

When they finally reached the very top of the hill the view was breathtaking. She had never seen anything so beautiful or awe-inspiring in her life.

"It was definitely worth almost being attacked by a bear to see this," she said in awe.

He put his hands on his hips and looked around. "Wow. This is incredible," he said with a smile.

"Let's take a picture together so we can always remember this moment," she suggested. She stood next to him and he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. He leaned in and covered her mouth with his, taking a selfie of them kissing with that beautiful background.

She smiled up at him afterwards and studied his eyes, thinking. She had never been able to put her trust in a man her entire life because every time she did, she had been hurt or disappointed but she felt a nagging voice telling her that maybe she should trust Axel and let go of the past.

He looked down into her eyes and brushed the hair away from her face, his gaze starting to make her face feel flushed. He pulled in at her waist, bringing her body against his and gave her a soft kiss before sitting his forehead against hers and closing his eyes. She closed hers too, letting out the breath she had been holding in and felt a calm come over her that she didn't feel very often.

When she opened her eyes back up and looked into his it gave her butterflies in her stomach. In that moment, she felt something inside and that was when she knew she was hopelessly, head-over-heels, madly in love with this man and she was definitely going to end up with a broken heart again. She  just wished she could stay like that in his arms forever, but she reminded herself he didn't believe in locking himself down to one woman forever. 

They ended up hiking back down the mountain, exploring the trail and finding a few sparkling rocks she could bring home for souvenirs. Luckily they didn't see any more bears but they did come across a rocky waterfall and it was so beautiful that they took turns making silly poses in front of it while the other took pictures  and they both laughed and had a great time. 

He was actually way more laid back and fun to be with than she thought he would be. She realized she really loved his smile. It was so much nicer than the angry scowl he usually wore on his face back in high school.

When they got back to the resort Imani and Dante were out front, just getting down off of some horses and tying them to a post. Imani rushed to the van and opened the door as soon as it stopped. They got out and Imani hooked her arm into Emma's.

"Axel you don't mind if I steal your girl away for a couple hours do you? I booked us a manicure, pedicure and facial at the spa. I know I could use it."

Emma looked over at him and he seemed a little disappointed but said, "That's fine. I'm sure Dante and I can find something to do. Do you like to fish?"

"Yeah man. I love to fish but I've been so busy I haven't gotten to do it in a while," Dante said with his bright white smile.

"Perfect then. I guess it's settled," Imani said excitedly.

As Axel walked away with Dante he looked back at Emma and the look her gave her made her stomach flutter.

Imani asked, "You ready?"

"Yeah," she said, breaking away from her Axel trance and focusing on Imani's face. "Let's go."

The spa was over in a separate log cabin building behind the lodge. It was nice and bright inside and there was cheerful music playing and women chattering and laughing when they came in. The woman at the desk walked them over to the changing area where they put on white bathrobes and then they sat down at two stalls beside each other to get pedicures.

"So I couldn't help but notice at breakfast you looked a little sad. Is something going on?" Imani asked.

Emma took a deep breath in and let it out.

"It was just, seeing the way you and Dante look at each other and how perfect and happy and in love you guys are after so many years. I just hope Axel and I will be that way," she sighed, taking a sip of the hot green tea the spa director had given her.

"Oh honey, we haven't always been perfect, you know? There was a time before we got married that I thought about leaving him."

"Really? Why? You two seem so perfect for each other."

"I just felt like he wasn't as invested in the relationship as I was. I felt like I loved him more than he loved me and I didn't feel appreciated."

"So what happened? How did you fix it?" Emma asked.

"I confronted him and told him how I was feeling and he told me I couldn't be more wrong. I told him what I wanted and needed from him so I would feel loved and appreciated."

"So doing that helped?"

"Yeah. That made all the difference for us. It's like we're in a totally different relationship now than we were back then. We made a promise that if something's upsetting us we'll tell the other one right away instead of holding it inside so we can work it out. You and Axel just need to learn to communicate with each other. You don't have to worry about whether or not he loves you though."

"What do you mean?"

"I can just tell, that man is crazy about you. It's all in the eyes, the way he looks at you. That boy is smitten honey."

"Really? You think so?"

"Of for sure," Imani laughed. "I can't believe you can't tell. It's so obvious he's got it bad."

Hearing that made Emma smile. She really wished she was right but she was afraid to get her hopes up.

After the spa she went back to her cabin and got out a notebook and started working on the assignment from the love guru. She took a deep breath in and racked her brain. What did she need to be able to trust him again? That was a really hard question to answer because she didn't even know herself.