I couldn’t.

Nor did I think that I wanted to.

"There's a place I'd like to take you,” he said. "This awesome hiking trail I've discovered. I remembered how much you loved to go hiking."

"Do I?" I said.

 "We used to go all the time,” he insisted.

"I haven't been hiking in years,” I said.

He had been right that we used to go nearly every weekend, I remembered, during our later high school years. I couldn’t think of a reason to say no. I had missed being active and it would be nice to get out of the office. I didn’t want him to think I was agreeing too easily though.

"That was more of a high school thing, Aiden."

He looked at me sideways underneath his eyelashes. I averted my eyes both for the effect of aloofness and to try and suppress the butterflies in my stomach.

"But,” I started. “I don't have anything else going on today. Why not."

"Great," he said grinning as we stepped off the elevator into the lobby.

"I just want to go home and change. I'll need to grab a few things,” I said. "Pick me up at my place in an hour?"

He glanced at his watch. "Around one-ish. Yeah that works. I'll see you then."

He trotted off towards his car with purpose in his steps. I shook my head. He seemed to be up to something but I couldn’t make it out. I turned and headed towards my car.

The green sloping hills rolled up before us to the bright blue cloudless sky. The parking lot nestled just at the foot of the climb, and the small dusty path disappeared into the foliage. I had changed into a pair of shorts and an athletic top which clung to me, made of a fabric which would pull the sweat from my skin as we climbed. The heat of the California atmosphere and the work out would make me sweat and I decided to dress according to the weather. I adjusted the ties on my tennis shoes before we headed down the path and into the welcome shade of the forest.

"How long has it been since I have gone hiking?" I wondered out loud.

"Think you can keep up?" he asked playfully over his shoulder.

"Whatever," I said. "See if you can."

The path went steep rather quickly and we stopped talking to conserve our breath as we worked our way up the mountainside. My muscles started to feel it right away, aching already. I had been behind a desk for too long, but I wasn't about to let him know that. I reached inside my shoulder bag and pulled out the bottle of water, taking a long swig. My breath had gone ragged and the sweat poured off of me creating a little dark half-moons on my shirt.

Aiden had made it a few steps ahead of me and when he turned around, I handed him his bottle. We stopped to refresh for a moment. Between the trees, I could see that we had gained some altitude. The surrounding emerald hills framed by the deep blue sky took my breath away.

"Just up here a little ways is the look out,” Aiden said. "It's supposed to be a really nice view. You can see for miles."

I splashed a little bit of water into my hand and rubbed it across my forehead and along the back of my neck.

"Let's go,” I said.

We headed out again. Every once in a while we passed other hikers coming or going, young couples, one guy with a back pack. We reached a rocky outcropping in the path which we had no choice but to climb. Aiden reached back and extended his hand to me. Without thought, I reached up and took his hand, finding my footing and letting him help me up. I pushed on my knees to gain leverage on the steep path.

After a few more steps the path leveled out and came to a Y in the road. Aiden paused, peering down each branch. They both looked identical and I thought about saying something about the brochure we had picked up at the visitor's center.

"Are we lost?" I asked.

"Not at all," he said.

"Which way do we go then?"

"This way," he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me down the left path.

We walked along for a little while like this. He remained a few steps ahead of me under the guise of leading me down the path, but I didn’t pretend that I didn't notice he still had my hand tucked into his. The path curved and we came to a clearing. We had arrived close to the top of the mountain overlooking the city. We could see everything, the buildings, the surrounding hill sides rolling along the edges like concentric circles after a pebble dropped into a pond. The sky soared above us for miles.

"This is..." I said truly at a loss for words.

I pulled my hand carefully away from his and covered my mouth. The move was twofold. On the one hand I wanted to separate from him. On the other hand my jaw had dropped at the spectacular vision. I didn’t know how else to react.

Out in the distance on the horizon I saw a small gathering of clouds on the other side of the city where the Pacific Ocean lay, just out of sight. I approached the edge of the overlook, placing my hands gently on the edge of the rail. Below me I saw the dusty ground, dotted with the desert foliage and disappearing into the sloping trees.

I felt Aiden step up next to me. He turned and leaned against the railing with his back to the sprawling view.

"Blair," he said. I could hear his intention in his voice, and I closed my eyes.

He didn’t say another word, but reached up and brushed away a tendril of hair that had plastered to my forehead from the sweat. His touch made me shiver despite the midday heat. He lowered his hand and placed his palms against the rail, steadying his balance.

"You did pretty good out there on the trail," he informed me.

"You think so? Well, you didn’t do badly yourself," I said, shading my eyes with my hand and turning to look at him.

The clouds in the distance had grown larger and seemed to be drifting towards us. I silently wished they would, so as to provide us some welcome shade. Aiden had worn a tank top which hung loosely around his torso. I could easily see the outline of his muscles, still taut from the hike up the strenuous path.

I looked away and took a drink of water.

"We should do this more often,” he suggested. I could tell that he wanted to say something else, but as was his habit he was dancing around the subject, leading me to it without saying it out right.

"What are you getting at, Aiden?" I asked, turning to look him straight in the eye.

"You know we would be good together Blair,” he said.

There it was.

He couldn’t seem to take a hint or let it go. I didn’t want him to know how difficult I found it to keep him at bay.

"This again?" I asked, trying to keep the atmosphere playful, but feeling my annoyance rising.

The sky had taken on a grayish cast, now completely covered over with clouds. The pressure began to drop in the atmosphere and the air had gotten cooler by a few degrees.

"You know it's true, Blair,” he said, his voice serious as he took a tentative step towards me.

"Aiden," I said, patiently shaking my head. "The case comes first. We need to stay friends for now. If you recall, the fate of Darius Shaw rests in our hands. We have to keep that as our primary focus."

"Darius Shaw," Aiden said.

"Yes," I said in deadpan. "The man who had been falsely accused of murder, and who may go to jail for it if we don't do our job properly. That Darius Shaw. We need to focus on him, on the case."

"Ah yes. The case,” he said. "I knew that."

I could no longer take being that close to him and my anger had begun to bubble to the top. I needed some distance to gain control of my emotions. I stepped away from the rail and headed back across the clearing towards the path at the edge of the forest.