Grounded (Up in the Air, #3)(93)

By the time we departed the city for the Mount Fuji portion of the trip, I felt I had seen and done every imaginable tourist attraction we could come up with.





[page]CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Mr. Forever





We took a train to Hakone to enjoy a day and night of hot springs before we climbed the majestic Mount Fuji. James had rented out an entire property for us to spend the day. It wasn’t a Cavendish property, but it was impressive nonetheless. It was so huge that I honestly couldn’t tell if it was supposed to be rented out as a hotel or a house.

The property boasted traditional Japanese structures, the back half of the property lining up with the lake and dotted with countless natural hot springs.

It was the most relaxing day we’d had since we’d gotten to Japan. We stayed in and made love for what felt like the entire day.

We weren’t in the house for thirty minutes before James had dragged me to the hot springs, stripping us both as we walked.

The hot water felt delicious, the weather near the mountain marked degrees colder than in Tokyo. He shadowed me as I moved into the water, gliding to the very edge of the pool to gaze at the spectacular view.

He made love to me there, pressing me hard against the side of the pool as I gazed at a perfect view of the mountain while he f*cked me senseless.

We got a late start on the climb up Mount Fuji the next day. James reassured me that we didn’t need an early start if we were camping out, and that the views were even more beautiful in the summer’s afternoon sun. So we had another lovely soak in the springs and then a leisurely lunch before finally heading out.

“Summer is best for Mount Fuji,” James told me as we began our climb. “But we need to come back to Japan in the spring for the cherry blossoms.”

We hiked side by side up the pronounced stone trail. I carried only the tiniest hydration pack. James wouldn’t hear of me carrying anything else, but he and Clark had weighed themselves down heavily with camping supplies.

“Is there anything in the world that you haven’t seen?” I asked him. “I’d love to go someplace that’s actually new to you.”

He stopped to give me one of his most intense, heart-stopping looks. “Everything feels new, now that I have you. The world’s gone into color now, and I want to see it all again with you.”

We made good time up the mountain, since we were all in good shape, and the ones’ weighed down with heavy packs were in great shape. We stopped often to enjoy the views, but we made up for that by setting a brisk pace otherwise.

James handed me a lychee rice energy drink in a silver bag. It was a strange little on-the-run meal that we’d picked up a few times. It hardly fit in with his usual dieting standards, being mostly sugar and simple carbs, but he’d been pretty lax about that on vacation.

I drank the strange drink, which was basically a packet of calories on the go, and enjoyed the view.

I felt such a sense of wonder about where I was as I watched the great shadow of the mountain move across the land. The world felt so big here, and I so small, and I felt that was a good thing. So often in my life the world had felt too small, as though no matter where I went, all of my problems could still follow and devour me. I felt the opposite of that here—my problems becoming too small to even worry me.

I caught James watching me, a bemused look on his face.

I smiled at him. “I love it here,” I told him.

One corner of his pretty mouth hitched up wryly. “I hope so. It seems we’re spending the night. I must say I was surprised to find you were the camping type.”

I shrugged. “I’m not, really. I’ve only been a few times with friends, but it was easy enough, and the thought of doing it here was just too tempting.”

“When was the last time you went camping, then?”

I had to think about it. “Last summer, up at Mount Charleston, with our crew.”

A brow rose. “Anyone I know?”

I sighed. “Murphy and Damien, and some people you don’t know.”

His jaw clenched.

I gave him an exasperated look. “Really, James. You just need to get over being jealous of him.”

“I assume you didn’t share a sleeping bag?”

I rolled my eyes, the beginnings of anger stirring. “No. I shared a small tent with Stephan.”

He nodded. “I’m not jealous of him anymore. Or at least, I’m taking care of it.”

I studied him, baffled. “What on earth does that mean?”

He grinned, the tightness in his expression just disappearing. “I’ve decided to set him up. If he’s blissfully in love, perhaps he won’t think about you so much.”

That surprised a laugh out of me. “Are you really matchmaking again? You take the word controlling to a whole new level. Your control freak tendencies and that Cavendish charm are a dangerous combination to our friends’ love lives.”

He just shrugged. “I know he’s your friend, and I actually even like the guy, but just knowing the thoughts he must be having about you, considering the way that he feels, was driving me mad. To cope, I had to come up with a strategy on how to deal with him. Seeing him with Jessa was like a light switching on. He’s into her, more than I think he realizes, but he was just so hung up on you for so long that he was blind to it. Don’t get me wrong, I sympathize with that. Being unreasonably obsessed with you has become one of my favorite hobbies, but I’ll be damned if anyone else gets the honor.”