“A bit. Guess we’ll see how I do walking up all those stairs after taking that monster up my virgin ass.”
I huff a small laugh, “Oh Luke, you haven’t seen anything yet.” He stumbles a little and I smirk, “Do we really have to do this? Are you sure you wouldn’t rather spend the morning in bed with me?”
“I see what you’re trying to do, being all seductive and shit. But yeah, Eli. We gotta do this and we’re going to have a great time. We’ve got this.”
* * *
He lied.We don’t, in fact, got this.
Why did I let him talk me into this? Oh god, who was the sadistic bastard that made this damn thing? I’d researched it as Luke drove us to our destination and balked slightly. When Luke had told me about it earlier, I’d been half listening. Now, I’m regretting my life choices. This incline has 2,744 stairs, gaining two thousand feet of elevation in less than a mile. I am fairly fit, I run and swim regularly, but this shit is on a whole other level.
My thighs burn, and the elevation as we ascend is killer. Why aren’t my lungs working properly?
I glance behind me and grow suddenly dizzy. Oh fuck, that’s steep. I can’t see the bottom of the stairs behind me, and when I turn my gaze forward, I still can’t even see the top. I turn my eyes toward Luke, who is lounging on one of the railway ties used for steps, taking a picture of himself near the step marker nailed into the wood.
“Almost there, Eli,” he says with a smile, his eyes meeting mine.
I arch an eyebrow at him and swipe at my forehead.
I thought I was in good shape, but I need to up my game because Luke is making this entire thing look much too easy. He could have finished already, but he has been waiting for me every twenty steps or so. He never makes me feel like shit about how slow I’m moving though. No, he just waits patiently a few steps ahead of me, snapping pictures of himself, me, or the view.
I want to respond to his positive, encouraging words, but I can’t speak. I can’t breathe. I now know what Sisyphus felt like. Zeus was a vindictive asshole.
“No need to chat,” Luke says and then takes a sip of water. “I get it.”
“You don’t need to wait for me,” I say, just to prove him wrong. I can speak, thank you very much. I just need to make sure all the words are exhaled on a single breath.
“Nah, Doc,” he says as I come to a stop near him. “I want to finish this with you.”
He hands me some water, and I glug it down sloppily. Some even dribbles onto my neck and down my shirt. But who cares? I’m surviving at this point. I swipe the back of my hand across my mouth.
“Ready?” Luke asks after a moment of silence.
“Yes.”
Then we’re moving up once again. The air is thinner up here, and patches of snow line the ground. I shiver slightly, wondering if I should have brought a sweater. Luke’s not wearing one, just a long sleeve shirt and shorts which show off his ass, and every once in a while, I get a small peek at his tattoo. It almost makes this agony worth it.
After a few more minutes, I pause, inhale deeply, and then on an exhale, I say, “Tell me more about your family. Distract me from his hell.”
Luke eyes me and puts his hands on his narrow hips.
“You wanna know me, Eli?”
I wave my hand in front of my face because I will not be using words to communicate. Gestures will have to do.
Luke chuckles and then says, “Uh, well, I have three brothers…well, two actual brothers and a cousin who is basically like my brother. We grew up together. Anyways, Liam is the oldest and is married to Anne. Sem, the one you met, is younger than me by a year and is married to Magnus, and Caleb, my cousin, is engaged to Whit.”
Hm, so plenty of gay or bi people in that family, it seems. I wonder how they feel about trans men?
I squash that thought immediately. There is no need to wonder because I am not getting romantically involved with this man. That is not happening.
I clear my throat and wheeze. “And your parents?”
“Yeah, they’re still around. Live up in the high desert. Been married for thirty-six years this June.”
I wet my mouth and then nod. I wave to the stairs in front of us, signaling that I’m ready to keep going.
Luke walks by my side and says, “You should come meet them sometime. They’d love you.”