I Hate You, I Love You

Chapter 13: Falling

Tossing another shirt into the dirty pile, I took stock of the two suitcases we still had to sort through. "Dinah, how did you manage to pack so much for one week?"

"Hey," Dinah defended, throwing a pair of pants into the pile of dirty clothes, "one just has shoes and the other is full of bras, panties and toiletries." We were sitting on her bedroom floor as we rummaged through her suitcase picking out the dirty clothes. Having already unpacked all of her camera equipment, these three suitcases were the only ones left. "You know what?" Dinah dumped the remainder of her clothes into the dirty pile. "I don't have time for this. It's all going to get washed." She jumped up and held out her hand. "Let's go do something."

Taking her hand, she helped me up. "Are you sure? You just got back from a long trip."

"I'm sure." Wrapping her arms around me, she placed kisses all over my face before reaching my lips. Sighing into the kiss, she said, "I missed you like crazy, Lauren."

I pressed my lips against hers. "I missed you too, big head."

With a silly smile and a quick squeeze, she released me, but took my hand, leading us into the living room where she gathered her purse and keys. "Ice cream?"

"Frozen yogurt?"

"Even better."

We headed into Irvine because Dinah got a brilliant idea but refused to tell me what it was. As she drove, she'd occasionally look over at me and smile. Turning sideways in my seat, I took my time observing her profile as she focused on the road. Her beautiful brown, almond shaped eyes were framed by thick, immaculately kept eyebrows. A defined nose sat above full, luscious lips, perfect for kissing. I sighed. Thinking about her kisses gave me butterflies. When she looked at me with questioning eyes, I smiled. "Just thinking about you," I said. "Why do you keep looking at me?"

She smirked. "I'm thinking about you too." The urge to put my mouth on her overwhelmed me and I couldn't stop myself. Leaning over the middle console to place kisses up and down her neck, running my tongue along the edge of her ear. Sucking her earlobe into my mouth, I bit down gently, raking my teeth against it as I pulled away. "Holy shit, Lauren," Dinah breathed. "Are you trying to make me crash?"

"No," I sat back in my seat, smiling at her. "But I had to do it."

She took a deep breath and exhaled heavily. "Damn."

The frozen yogurt place wasn't that busy. A family with four small kids sat near the register and a couple sat near the door, whispering to each other and sharing loving glances. I wondered if anyone saw Dinah and I like that.

Grabbing a large cup, Dinah went for the frozen yogurt dispensers. "Should we share or did you want to get your own?"

"I'd probably end up eating yours anyway so we should share." We got a chocolate and vanilla swirl and topped it with fruit, nuts, and candy. I got a spoon while Dinah picked a table near the window. She took a game from the shelf next to us and began setting it up. "Jenga?"

"Worried you'll lose?"

"No." I sat next to her and scooped up a spoonful of our frozen yogurt.

She looked at me, her jaw dropping. "You only got one spoon?"

"Here," I laughed, guiding the spoon into her mouth.

"Oh, we're feeding each other." She closed her lips around the spoon before I slowly pulled it out. "So good," she moaned.

We fed each other as we took turns trying to set the other up for failure. Dinah removed her next block, going for one of the bottom, outside blocks. Her evil laugh told me she knew exactly what she was doing.

"What are we playing for?" she asked when it was my turn.

"I didn't know we were playing for anything," I said, trying to focus.

After taking a second to think, she spoke. "I say winner gets a massage from the loser."

I placed my block on top. "You're just looking for an excuse to touch me."

"Hey, I'm the winner in that scenario," she said, pursing her lips as she decided on her next move. The next block came from the bottom as well, leaving the tower balancing only on the center block.

With the tower unstable, I carefully pushed on a center block near the middle managing to do so without having the tower topple over. I sat back triumphantly. "Will you make sure to use warm oils and hot stones for this massage?" She huffed and pulled out another block. The tower remained still. As I pushed and prodded to find my next block, the tower crashed to the table. A dozen wooden blocks fell to floor before we were able to stop them.

"Looks like I win," she smirked. "So do I get warm oils and hot stones?" My eyes rolled backwards but I smiled, a million different ideas

We cleaned up and put the game away then finished what we could of our now melted frozen yogurt, picking out our favorite toppings before throwing it away. Exiting the shop, the sun was still relatively high in the sky and the air smelled sweet but that could have been Dinah. I hooked my arm through hers as we walked back to the car, resting my head against her shoulder.

"Ready for an adventure?"

"What kind?"

"You'll see."

When she pulled into the parking at the bottom of a large hill, I looked at her, my eyes wide. "This is your idea of an adventure?"

"I thought we'd hike up to the top. The view up there is amazing and the sun should be setting by the time we reach the peak."

The prospect of seeing the sunset won me over, but I would have done anything Dinah had planned. When she was gone all I could think about was her. I wanted her back. The highlight of my days were when she'd call me before going to bed. Even if those calls were just to listen to one another breathe as we drifted off to sleep. And it dawned on me that the more time I spent with her the more I felt myself falling. That I was falling, and fast, should have scared me, but with Dinah I was safe. I knew she would catch me.

We climbed the hill in silence, Dinah leading by a few yards as I took my time, enjoying the surroundings. Every now and then Dinah would look back at me to make sure I was keeping up. As we continued along the trail, I lost sight of Dinah when she rounded a large grouping of rocks. Making my way around them, I saw Dinah standing still. She urged me over.

"What is it?" I asked, rushing over to her.

"We better hurry if we want to make it to the top before the sun sets." She took off again, her long legs propelling her forward a lot quicker than my shorter limbs.

Catching up with her, I took her hand. "Were you and your ex in love?"

She gave me a sidelong glance but shook her head. "I don't think I knew what it meant to be in love at the time. I think our relationship was more physical than emotional. Which probably had a lot do with why it ended." She paused. "Why?"

"Just thinking."

"Were you in love with the person that hurt you?"

"No," I sighed. "I could never love someone like that." She looked at me but remained silent, as if waiting for me to tell her more. "Soon," I said, needing time to prepare myself for the reliving of my past. I focused my attention on the trail and could see the top of the hill just a few hundred feet ahead of us. "We're almost there."

Dinah stopped and hunched over. "Here," she said. "Hop on."

"A piggyback ride? I'll take it." I hopped onto her back, wrapping my legs around her waist. Her hands supported me just below my ass. "Please, don't drop me."

"I got you."

When we reached the top, Dinah let me down. She wasn't lying when she said the view from the top was amazing. Rolling hills surrounded us on either side and looking towards the west provided an amazing view of the cities skyline. The sky itself resembled cotton candy the way the pinks and blues mixed. And as the sun kissed the horizon and the sky grew darker, Dinah held me in her arms. We watched the sun disappear and I wished the moment would never end.

Then Dinah spoke. "I forgot the flashlight in the car."