All the Cuts and Scars We Hide by Garry Michael

Seventeen: Wyatt

Do You Trust Me?

I wanted to impress him. That was the main reason why I’d decided to do this activity. I survived a rigorous Marine’s boot camp, completed physical and mental training to be part of the Marine Corp Special Operatives, did two tours in Afghanistan, and jumped out of many airplanes, but I’d never once felt more anxious than what I felt trying to plan something for a date. This must be what they meant when they said butterflies in your stomach. Only it felt like a whole zoo decided to take residence in my gut. Even my hands trembled from the excitement.

“It’s cool that you were in the Marines,” Kai said, taking me out of my musing.

I shrugged it off as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“Marines are hot. They’re like nine out of ten on the scale,” he continued.

Confused, I gave him a quick glance to gauge his level of seriousness, but his attention was outside admiring the stands of evergreen pine trees blanketing the hillside of the Cascade Mountain Range. “What scale?” I asked, and Kai finally glanced at me.

“You know the steam-o-meter scale for hotness.” Kai looked at me as if I had two heads, and that ridiculous statement was the most common fact known to man. “Nine is the Marine, eight is the Navy, seven is the Airforce… you know,” he explained.

“No, I don’t know. That’s literally the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” I exchanged glances between the road and Kai who had his mouth open while shaking his head.

“So, you don’t think Marines should be nine?”

“Kai, that’s not the point. My point is that’s not a real thing. You just made that up to pull my leg.”

“Pull your leg? How old are you, gramps? Ninety?” he joked. “Wyatt, it’s a real thing.”

“No, it isn’t.”

“Wait a second, were you upset because you only ranked nine?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I replied. Although, if I was being completely honest, I hated that I only ranked nine to Kai, even with this stupid rating of his. With him, I wanted to be the best, but I knew that was childish. “I can’t believe I’m about to ask this, but what gets a ten on your silly, made-up scale?”

Kai’s smile widened and his face lit up. “Oh, look who’s all curious now,” he teased.

“So, who gets a ten?” I asked, embarrassed that I cared.

“Well, it could be the Navy, Airforce, or the Marines, but…” he hung on to the last statement. “They have to have a high rank. Men in uniform are very sexy and those with authority… even hotter. That’s why they claim the top spots.”

I took the next exit to our destination and I saw Kai watching me from the corner of my eye. I found a place to park, but before we climbed out of the truck, I needed to make things very clear. “I was a Lance Corporal. I had guys reporting to me while we were in deployment.” I didn’t know what made me say that, but it was too late to take it back.

“Is that right? Well, Lance Corporal Wyatt Miller, you just moved up to the top spot,” he said before closing the distance between us and kissing me on the cheek.

Call me petty, but I felt like the king of the world. I looked at my rear-view mirror and was shocked by the grin spreading across my face. I can’t remember the last time I smiled so hard that it hurt. It wasn't even nine o'clock and I was eager to enjoy the rest of our date.

“And Lance Corporal, I was just messing with you. There’s no list, but it was adorable that you couldn’t stand not being the best.”

Adorable? I didn’t think anyone had ever described me like that. “You’re awful. I’m going to get you,” I promised.

“I hope so.”

“It’s so beautiful out here?” Kai said when he stopped to look at the view below. “Great choice! I love hiking too, another thing we have in common. Water?” He grabbed a bottle of water from his backpack.

“Don’t get too excited. Although I love to hike, it’s not the reason why we’re here.” I gulped down the water he handed me. “You think I’d pick something low-key after the surfing show you displayed last time?” I motioned to have him turn around to put our water back in his backpack. That was the truth, I wanted to impress him and let him know that I’m more than just the man he saw broken down. There’s more to me than a tormented soldier, but I wanted Kai to be proud of me for something.

“Is everything okay?” he turned his head around after a few seconds of silence.

“Yeah!” I answered, after zipping his backpack up and nudged him to keep going.

This hike was not for the faint of heart. The steep elevation required stamina, and I was thankful that Kai and I were in great shape. The trail was narrowing, and the trees were becoming thicker the higher we trekked.

“I need my jacket,” Kai said. “My Hawaiian ass can’t handle the cooler mountain temperature,” he explained.

“What? You have a flaw?” I teased.

“Being cold is not a flaw. I’ll take you to Hawai’i in the middle of summer and let’s see how your pale ass handles that.”

“How would you know my ass was pale?” I asked, knowing full well how he knew.

“Because I massaged that sexy thing,” he growled and smacked my butt. “Just trust me, I have flaws,” he admitted. I didn’t miss the dark cloud that covered his eyes after that last statement.

He pulled his green windbreaker jacket out of his backpack. “Do you need yours?” he asked.

“Nah, my white ass can handle the cold,” I teased to lighten the tension. I wanted to push more, but it wasn’t my place.  I knew as well as anyone, how hard it was to share something very personal and fearing judgment.

“Alright, Lance Corporal, lead the way. I’m dying to find out what you have in store for me.”

“You’re not going to ask for another clue?”

“Nope, surprise me!”

“My kind of guy,” I said.

“But Wyatt,” he raised one eyebrow.

“Yeah?”

“Let’s be clear, surprise me… but don’t disappoint me,” he winked. Thankful that the playful side of him was back.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Kai explained when we reached the summit of Mt. Si. There was a clearing the size of a football field and because the trees had been cut back, the view stretched over the lake and the foothills below. The sky was peppered with colorful paragliders that looked like birds flying above the valley.

“What?” I asked innocently. “You said you liked extremes and you’d try anything once, well this is me. If there’s one thing I know how to do, and do well, it’s paragliding.” I walked closer to his side and tapped his butt. “You’ll be okay. Besides, I love coming here on a nice clear day. It reminds me of when my squad used to jump out of airplanes for training.”

Kai looked around nervously at a couple of people who were preparing to launch. I started to feel guilty for not letting him know ahead of time. This was pretty intense, and I didn’t know how much he could handle.

“We don’t have to do it, we could just watch my friends.”

“Miller!” someone yelled. “Bro, what’s up?”

I turned to the voice and found my Marine buddy that had said he’d also be there that day. “Hey, Brad, what’s up?” We bumped fists and he turned to Kai.

“This is Kai.” I introduced them and Kai extended his hand for a handshake.

“I see you’re not set up yet, you’re both gliding right?” Brad asked, turning back to me.

I turned to Kai and tried to school my face and keep my voice even. “We gonna do this? It’s not too late to change your mind,” I asked.

“Bring it on,” he said, surprising me with his enthusiasm.