Falling For Him 1 (Rachel and Peter in Love)
Copyright Notice and Disclaimer
Falling for Him 1
By Jessica Gray
Copyright © 2014 Jessica Gray
Kindle Edition
This book is copyrighted and protected by copyright laws.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission from the author.
All characters, names, and places in this book exist only within the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons or locations is purely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Chapter1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 1
I opened my eyes and immediately panicked. It was dark and I was inside a tent. But with the dim light of the moon that filtered through the mesh screen, I could tell it wasn’t my tent. Someone snored to my right; I slowly turned my head and looked upon the sleeping form of a stranger.
I struggled from the sleeping bag, which wasn’t mine, sitting up and holding my pounding head. Where in the hell was I?
There were two other people sleeping in the tent, and again, I didn’t recognize either of them.
My head dropped into my hands, I struggled to remember what had happened. I remembered that my name is Rachel Baker and I live in Santa Clara. Score one for me!
I remembered that I’m a college student and had a few days ago finished my exams. I also remembered the stressful semester – the long hours of studying combined with my other jobs – had definitely taken a toll on me.
Karen, my roommate and best friend, had left to visit her parents. I remembered taking her to the airport. I remembered… Why do my arms hurt? Had I been in an accident? I rolled my shoulders and rotated my neck several times, easing the stiffness that had gathered there. The stiffness eased, but the muscles in my arms felt like they had been taxed.
I must have made a sound because the stranger next to me stirred and opened her eyes. ”Hey, are you feeling better?”
Had I been sick? “Uhm…I guess so. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but who are you and where am I?”
The girl laughed, “You don’t normally drink, do you?”
It all came rushing back to me. “No, I don’t usually drink…”
Yesterday morning….
I arrived back at the apartment after taking Karen to the airport to find Michael sitting in his car. “Hey, what are you doing here?”
“Nothing much. Where’s Karen?”
“I just got back from dropping her off at the airport. She’s going to see her parents.”
“Darn it. I forgot about that. I thought she was going next week.”
“Why, what’s up?” I inquired. I liked Michael. He was Karen’s buddy and lived over in Oakland so we didn’t see him very often.
“I hoped to convince her to go to Yosemite Valley with me.” Michael looked dejected that Karen wasn’t around.
“What’s up in Yosemite?”
“I was heading up to spend a couple of days. Karen’s been talking about learning to climb and I wanted to take her with me.”
The mention of climbing got my attention. I had started a climbing course at the college and loved it. I wasn’t very good yet, but that would change with time. “I forgot how much you like to climb.”
“Yeah. I don’t really like going out by myself though. Too many things can happen.”
I nodded, wondering if I could convince Michael to take me instead. I definitely needed some down time and had nothing going for the next week. “Would you consider letting me tag along?”
Michael looked at Rachel, “You climb?”
“I just started. I’m not very good yet, but…”
“You’re taking a course here at the college?” Michael asked, intrigued. Rachel was a beautiful girl and he had wanted to ask her out several times, but didn’t want to ruin the friendship he had with Karen. They were friends, not lovers, but he still feared it might cross a line to hit on her roommate.
“Are you free for the next several days?”
“I am. I just finished my last exams yesterday. I don’t have anything planned for the next week.”
Michael considered it for all of two seconds and nodded his head, “Sure. Why not? Do you have your own gear and stuff?”
I shook my head, “Sorry, no. Like I said, I just started. I do have my own sleeping bag and tent though.”
“Okay, I’ve probably got plenty of gear for what we’ll be doing. I’ve already got the food and other things we might need. How about I go gas up the truck while you gather your stuff? I’ll be back in fifteen.”
“That’ll work. See ya in a few.” I hurried inside the apartment, gathering items as I went and throwing them into a large duffel bag. I grabbed the sleeping bag and tent from the hall closet. I hoped that I hadn’t forced Michael into taking me and that we might find something to talk about on the long drive.
Michael came back and we headed out. It was several hours drive and Michael spent the time quizzing me about myself. Every time I tried to change the subject back to him, he would make an outrageous comment and turn the conversation back to me.
We finally settled into a conversation about climbing and I was amazed at how much knowledge he had. I got nervous about my first real climb and told him so. He assured me that we would take things slow and he would leave the harder climbs for another day.
When we arrived at the park, Michael pointed out that the fire danger was in the ‘red’ zone. I suggested we stay in the campground to be on the safe side, but Michael didn’t want to be bothered. He drove about a half mile up the road and pulled off where the ground was level. We decided to make camp there and set up the tents.
I personally would have liked to stay around other people, but since I was tagging along on Michael’s trip, I didn’t make a fuss about it. I had noticed that there were several other groups of college kids unloading their vehicles and thought it might be nice to have company.
After unpacking everything, Michael suggested we do a small hike and climb before dinner. Even though I was tired, I was excited to get out and explore my surroundings. I agreed and Michael led us up into the valley.
Two hours later, I was so exhausted I was afraid Michael might have to carry me back to our campsite. He looked like he had just started and wanting to go further, but I finally called a halt to it. “Michael, hey, I can’t go any further. I’ll be lucky to make it back to camp.”
Michael looked up the trail, wanting to reach the top before heading back. “Can’t you go another half mile?”
I shook my head, too out of breath to even talk.
Michael wasn’t happy about it, but finally relented, “Fine. Let’s head back and have an early night. Tomorrow we’ll tackle something a little longer.”
I couldn’t wait! The man was a machine and didn’t know when to stop! “Sure,” I replied, wanting to get back to camp before I collapsed.
Hearing noises behind us, I turned and saw a group of college kids approaching. Several of them wearing t-shirts from the same college I attended and I became curious, “Hey, are you guys from Santa Clara?”
“Yeah. You?”
“Yeah. It’s kind of weird meeting people from your town up here in the middle of nothing.”
“Yeah. He’s my roommate’s friend.“ When Michael didn’t appear to want an introduction, I turned my back and spent a few more minutes talking to the group. They invited me down to their campsite later on that evening and I said I’d have to see.
After they left, Michael and I finished our hike and returned to our campsite. “So you know those guys?” Michael asked, trying not to sound jealous.
“No, but they do go to my college.”
“Huh. They look like they’re up here to party.”
I laughed, “They probably are. Remember, final exams finished a few days ago. Every college kid wants to party right now.”
Michael eyed me before asking, “Even you?”
I shrugged my shoulders, “I can take the drinking or leave it. I’m not a very big drinker and it takes almost nothing to get me buzzed.”
Michael grinned, “Sounds like Karen. She can’t even handle a single wine cooler. I took her drinking with me one time and she fell asleep at the table. I haven’t taken her with me since unless she’s the designated driver.”
Rachel nodded, “Yeah. That’s one of the reasons Karen and I get along so well. Anyway, they invited us down to join them for a bit after dinner. It might be fun.”
Michael didn’t agree. He had been looking forward to finding out more about Rachel. Being around a bunch of rowdy, drunk college kids wasn’t exactly how he wanted to do that. “I don’t know if that’d be a good idea. I hoped we could get an early start in the morning.”
“Not even for a few minutes?” I cajoled.
“Yeah, sure. We can drive down there for a few minutes.”
“Great,” I gave him a big smile.
“Hey, are you alright?” the girl sitting next to me asked.
Her voice brought me out of my memories and I shook my head to clear it, “Sorry, do you know what time it is?”
“Yeah, probably about 2 o’clock in the morning.“
Great! “Do you know where my friend is, Michael? We should probably head back to our own campsite.”
“He left several hours ago,” the girl offered.
“What!?” I said loudly, lowering my voice when the other occupants of the tent started to stir. “How could he have left me?” I started to untangle my legs from the sleeping bag and stopped when the girl next to me put a hand on my arm.
“Whoa! It’s the middle of the night. Do you even remember where your campsite is?”
Dumbly I shook my head. “Not really. Michael drove us down here. It’s not very far though.”
“How do you recommend you go about finding it in the dark?”
She did have a point. I would never be able to find our camp at night. Michael, that rat, had a lot of explaining to do when I found him!
As I started to get more agitated, the girl told me, “Look, we had an extra sleeping bag – which you’re already using. Why don’t you bunk down here for the rest of the night and we’ll help you find your campsite first thing in the morning?”
“Are you sure?” I asked, still fuming at Michael for leaving me.
“Yeah. Get some sleep, it will all work out in the morning.”
Chapter 2
The alcohol I had consumed helped me get back to sleep, and I woke up the next morning to the sounds of the campers getting ready for their day.
Stepping out of the borrowed tent, I watched everyone for a minute in silence, wondering what I was supposed to do now. My anger at Michael came rushing back and my only thought was finding him and telling him off!
One of the girls noticed me and waved me over, “You look a little worse for wear.”
I shrugged, I didn’t want to talk to a complete stranger. I was also embarrassed that I had gotten drunk and fallen asleep on them. How stupid could I get! Something really bad could have happened last night!
“Hey, we saved you breakfast, if you’re interested.”
“Thanks,” I said. “You don’t happen to have any coffee?”
She laughed, “Sure. I’m Marilee by the way. Hey Peter, sleeping beauty’s awake.”
I turned to see whom she talked to and cringed. The most gorgeous guy in the group looked over at us and with a shake of his head and a disdainful look dismissed me. Still looking at Peter, I asked, “What’s his problem?”
“Women in general, I think. He went through a bad breakup a while back and has basically kept to himself.”
I looked at the man in question and figured he probably had women throwing themselves at him all the time. The guy was in great physical shape, had a gorgeous body and his cerulean blue eyes would make most women melt. Myself included.
I had seen him on the trail yesterday, and had attempted to bring him into our conversation with a little light flirting. He had completely ignored me.
I realized the girl next to me was still talking and tried to catch up.
“… he has room on the back of his bike. He’ll help you try to find your campsite this morning and then meet the rest of us at the trailhead. We’re headed up Half Dome today.”
“Great. I’m ready to go whenever he is.”
“Hey, Peter, she’s ready to head out.”
Peter glanced over one more time, raking from head to foot before shaking his head and finishing his conversation. I had never felt so dismissed! What was wrong with this guy!
He came over to me several minutes later, walking past with a muttered, “Let’s go.”
I followed behind meekly, knowing that I should be grateful, but not liking his attitude one bit.
“Do you even have a clue as to where you made camp yesterday?” he asked, derision evident in his voice.
I pointed up the road, “About half a mile up that way.”
He climbed on the bike and steadied it while I did the same. I placed my hands behind me, holding onto the seat. I didn’t want to hold onto him if I didn’t have to. We headed up the road at a gentle pace and I kept my eyes open, looking for the large rocks that had marked the dirt path leading to our campsite. Why had Michael left me last night? It didn’t make any sense.
When I spotted the rocks up ahead, I got excited. Pointing over Peter’s shoulder, I yelled, “That’s it right there.”
Peter navigated the bike around the ruts in the road. I was so relieved when I saw the top of my tent I forgot myself and hugged the man in front of me. He didn’t return my enthusiasm, but he did stop the bike.
I scrambled off, anxious to change into clean clothes and have it out with Michael. Maybe he would take me home and we could forget about hiking today?
I turned to thank Peter, taken aback by the look on his face, “Uhm..thanks for the ride.”
“You’re not very bright are you?” he asked.
“What? Why would you say that? You don’t even know me!”
“Evidence speaks for itself. An inexperienced climber comes up here and expects everyone to help watch over her. Did you even think about the burden you were putting on Michael when you started drinking last night? I saw his face when he left; he was one pissed off dude. I can’t say I blame him, with the way you were acting.”
I was so furious I couldn’t think straight. Who did this guy think he was and what gave him the right to pass judgment on me? Michael and I were just friends, he didn’t have any claim on my time or affections.
“Hey, I don’t have to listen to this. Thanks for the ride.” I turned and had the pleasure of dismissing him. Peter was arrogant and opinionated. Two things I didn’t need to deal with right now.
I heard him gun the bike and leave, no doubt headed to the ranger station to get their passes to hike Half Dome. I rounded the bushes that concealed our camp and stopped short. There stood only one tent! My tent! Where was Michael’s tent!
I unzipped my tent to find all of my stuff neatly
stacked in the middle of the tent, along with half of the groceries he had brought for us. No note indicating that he might be coming back. He had abandoned me in the middle of nowhere!
I panicked for all of two minutes. I needed to find help and the closest help had ridden off on his motorbike, headed for the ranger station. I remembered having seen it as we drove in yesterday. I figured it was about half a mile away. I changed out of my sandals into my tennis shoes quickly.
I headed out, running as fast as possible with my pounding head and dehydrated body. I promised myself to never drink so much as one drop of alcohol again!
Relieved to see the rooftop of the ranger station I quickened my pace, hoping that Peter was still in there. I saw his bike parked out front, and stopped to catch my breath. I needed to calmly explain my situation to him, and hope that he would take me back to their camp. Since they all lived in Santa Clara, maybe they would give me a ride to town with them.
Before I walked up the stairs, Peter came sauntering out and stopped short when he saw me, “Didn’t I leave you up the road? Am I never getting rid of you again?”
I nodded, “I need to talk to you for a minute.“
“I don’t have a minute. The group is waiting on these permits.”
I swallowed hard and whispered, “Please. I…” I tried to contain the tears that threatened to spill over as the reality of my situation hit home. “Michael left me. He dumped my stuff in my tent and is gone. No trace of him or his things. He didn’t leave a note and I don’t think he’s coming back.”
Peter looked a bit puzzled at me and started laughing. By the look of his face I knew that he was silently applauding Michael for his actions. What did this jerk know?
“Guess he really was pissed off last night. You should do a lot less drinking and flirting when your boyfriend’s around. That’ll keep you out of trouble.” Peter couldn’t stand flirts like her. His ex-girlfriend, Lara, had been exactly like this Rachel. Flirting with everyone she met, standing him up whenever the mood suited her – he should have dumped her sorry ass months before he actually did.