Come Here Often?
Peter went to sleep early Monday night in anticipation of the next day. He was in such a state of excitement that he’d forgotten to tell Scott that he was going out early. He wasn’t trying to keep it a secret or anything, but it was too late to tell him anyway. At least that’s what Peter told himself to justify it.
He woke up way too early on Tuesday morning. Scott was snoring away so Peter quietly gathered some clothes and went to take a shower. If he was going to meet up with Steve, he wanted to smell as best as he could. He even sprayed some cologne his Aunt May had gotten him on his clothes. By the time he got out of the bathroom, it was still dark outside. Peter grabbed his phone to check the time and saw that Steve had messaged.
“You awake?” it said.
“Yeah, woke up a little too early,” Peter replied. He sat on his bed and put some socks on before he remembered he had meant to check the time. It was 5:04am.
Steve messaged back, “Want to head out a little early? Or do you need time to get ready?”
“I’m ready,” Peter replied quickly. The sooner he could meet up with Steve, the better. Then he’d be able to spend more time with him.
“Cool, I’ll be there in five to ten,” Steve replied. Peter rushed to make sure he was ready. He was wearing a striped tank top, some black gym shorts, and an MCU cap that he’d gotten at the student store. He put on his socks and shoes, grabbed his phone, his wallet, and his keys, and went out the door.
Once he arrived at the location Steve had dropped him off the last time, he didn’t have to wait long before the man arrived in his car. “Good morning,” he said as he got in.
“Morning,” Steve replied with a smile that made Peter melt. “I uh...didn’t know if you’d eaten breakfast or not, but I got you a banana and a protein bar just in case.” He handed the food to Peter.
“Oh thanks, I haven’t eaten yet,” Peter said, taking the food. He began to unwrap the banana and for a wild second he imagined it as Steve’s cock. He was tempted to lick the tip and then try to swallow it whole as a show for Steve, but decided against it. It wasn’t as if he could do it anyway. He took a bite of the banana as Steve started to drive away. “So what gym are we going to?” Peter asked between bites.
“Oh. Shit,” Steve answered. “I might have misled you.”
“We’re not going to work out?” Peter asked, confused but interested in the deviation.
“No, we are. Just not at a gym,” Steve said. “I thought I’d take us out for a morning hike.”
Peter smiled at that. He hadn’t gone on a lot of hikes in his life, but he’d enjoyed the times that he had. It was great exercise and usually there was a great view at the top. He’d never been on a morning hike, though, and the thought of experiencing something new with Steve made him even happier. Not to mention how romantic it would be to watch the sunrise together. “I love hiking,” Peter said.
“Okay, good,” Steve replied. “I wasn’t past turning down a different street and going to the gym if the idea of hiking wasn’t for you.”
“I mean, don’t get me wrong,” Peter said. “Going to the gym is still a good idea for another day, but for today, hiking is a great idea.”
“You…” Steve said hesitantly, but with a smile. “You’re awesome, you know that?”
“Eh, I’m alright.” Peter continued eating the banana as they drove in silence. Peter didn’t think he was half as awesome as Steve. But he wanted to be worthy enough for the man.
Peter started on the protein bar as Steve headed into the parking lot of a park. Peter could see the darkness of the mountain they would be hiking up in contrast to the sky full of stars. Steve parked in a space and grabbed a backpack from his back seat as Peter chowed down on the protein bar. Steve opened the bag and took out a water bottle, handing it to Peter. Peter washed down the protein bar with the water and then they both got out of the car.
Steve led him to where the trail started and Peter was glad to see a trash can. He threw his trash away and then saw that Steve was taking some time to stretch. Peter followed suit, not wanting to get a cramp halfway up. Peter then checked the time on his phone. It was 5:40am.
“If you want more water or protein bars, let me know,” Steve said. “I’ve got plenty in my backpack.”
“And if you need me to carry it, let me know,” Peter said. “Don’t want you to break your back for the both of us.”
“I’ll be fine,” Steve said with a slight chuckle.
They walked in silence for a while as they got into a nice rhythmic stride. It was still pretty dark, but there was enough light to see where they were going. Besides, Peter felt like Steve would protect him if anything happened. If an animal attacked or he accidentally slipped and fell, he felt like Steve would come to his rescue.
“Do you come here often?” Peter asked, noting the familiarity Steve seemed to have with the trail. He then was glad Steve wasn’t able to see him blush as he realized how he’d just asked a very cliche flirty question.
“I used to,” Steve replied, sounding a bit hesitant.
“What happened?” Peter asked, though he wanted to take it back immediately as he realized it probably wasn’t something Steve wanted to talk about.
“I just haven’t had the chance to come,” Steve answered quickly. Peter decided to leave it at that but then Steve spoke again. “I don’t like to come alone. In case something happens. You know? Safety in numbers.”
“Ah,” Peter replied. “Well, I’m glad you chose me to bring along.”
“I am too,” Steve said. Peter took a few deep breaths trying not to scream in delight at those words.
As they kept walking up the mountain, they talked a little more. Peter asked Steve about his job and the man started explaining what he did and how he would train beginners differently than he would train people who already had experience. He told Peter that he had more female clients than male but he preferred it that way because he felt women were easier to talk to and they didn’t try to overwork themselves just to prove they could lift as much as he could. Although he did get the occasional overachieving wonder woman.
Peter looked up to the sky and saw it lightening the closer they got to the top. He wondered what the view would be like and if Steve would find it as memorable being there with him as Peter knew he would. Steve kept asking Peter if he wanted a water bottle and Peter kept saying no until he relented. He just didn’t want to carry an empty bottle for the rest of the hike.
However, when they got to the top, Peter was happy to see there was a trash can waiting there for his bottle. He dropped it in and then went back to Steve, who was admiring the view. The sun was still coming up but was high enough that they could see what they were looking at. There were more hills surrounding them with several houses down below. They looked like expensive houses and Peter thought to himself that it was funny that rich people liked to build houses on the side of hills.
Steve sat down on a flat rock that was conveniently placed to look like a bench and Peter sat down next to him. “It’s so beautiful,” Peter said. He knew he would be asking too much for Steve to turn to him and say, ‘Yes you are.’ But he imagined it anyway and forced himself not to laugh out loud at how silly that would have been.
“It really is,” Steve replied. “Thank you for coming with me.”
“Anytime,” Peter said automatically. “Well, anytime I’m free.”
They sat there for a while cooling down and looking out. Steve told Peter to take his phone out and they took a few selfies to commemorate the day and their achievement. A few other people showed up and Steve asked Peter if he was ready to go back. Peter said he was.
“Alright, this is the fun part,” Steve said while handing Peter a water bottle. Peter looked at him inquisitively. “The hike back down is all downhill so...wanna race?”
Peter didn’t think there was any way he could beat Steve down the mountain, but with the mischievous face Steve was giving him, he couldn’t say no. Peter was apparently full of adrenaline or something because once he started heading down the hill, he didn’t stop. He would take a gulp of water every minute or so to keep himself hydrated and when he finally got to the bottom, he didn’t see Steve anywhere.
The man showed up a minute later, panting lightly. He rested his hand on Peter’s shoulder and between breaths said, “You beat me.”
Peter shook his head and smiled, “You let me win.” He didn’t care. He liked Steve’s hand on his shoulder. He would have liked it anywhere.
Steve took Peter back to the dorm as they talked about their previous experiences with hiking. They were so engrossed in conversation, they had to get out of the car to continue it. Peter then looked at the time and saw that he had to get ready for class.
“I’ll let you go then,” Steve said. “Thanks again for coming.”
“Thanks for inviting me. I’d love to do it again.”
“We definitely will,” Steve replied. He then reached out to hug Peter. Peter wrapped his arms around Steve and took a deep breath in. Steve smelled so good. Not overly deodorized, and only a little sweaty and musty. The hug only lasted a second or two before Steve let go. They waved at each other again as Steve got in his car and drove away.