When was the last time I'd waited for a girl? I honestly couldn't recall. High school, maybe? There was something deeply satisfying about it, with an edge of nervous excitement. What if she didn't come? What if she did?
When seven twenty-one came and went, the sky changing from soft blue to bright shades of orange, I rubbed my palms on my jeans. Would she stand me up? Disappointment filled me as I considered that I might be walking back to the lodge alone in half an hour, Lily having never shown. Maybe she had forgotten. Maybe our "date" just didn't mean much to her. Maybe something had come up. Maybe I was an idiot for expecting her to want to come at all.
I looked up and she was standing a little ways away, watching me. Relief and happiness brought an immediate smile to my face. "You made it," I said, stepping toward her.
She tilted her head to the side, her black braid swinging over her shoulder. "Did you think I wouldn't?"
"I wasn't sure."
She tilted her head backward. "Come on, I want to show you something I think you'll like."
I followed. Again, she was wearing a dress—blue with buttons up the front. It looked as if it was from an era when women wore short, white gloves and small hats on a regular basis. Despite the old-fashioned look, the dress fit her well and I couldn't help that my eyes lingered on the feminine lines of her body. She was wearing black canvas sneakers on her feet and again, no coat. I felt my lips curve up and wondered who this girl was. A girl. A flesh and blood girl.
We trudged through the woods, as the light around us grew dim. I couldn't see the horizon above the trees anymore and the sky was a pale shade of orange overhead. The air was fragrant with the tangy scent of pine, just covering the musky smell of the damp, rotting leaves underfoot.
"Watch your step," Lily said, pointing to her right. "There's a snake in the grass by that dead log."
I swiveled my head left as Lily giggled. I looked at the log and at the ground around it but didn't see a thing. "Were you kidding?" I asked.
Lily glanced at me. "No. It won't hurt you, though. Not unless you get in its way."
I cleared my throat doing my best not to shudder. I hadn't even thought about snakes being in these woods. I fucking hated snakes.
I chuckled, feeling like an idiot. But when I looked over at her, she was smiling at me in a way that made me smile back.
I watched her walk away for a moment and then jogged to catch up. "Lily, do you . . . what I mean is . . ." The area directly ahead of us was bare of trees or bushes and so I walked more quickly to move in front and turned around so I was walking backward and she was looking at me.
"Be careful you don't step on a snake walking backward like that. It isn't smart to turn your back on what you can't trust."
I laughed softly and turned so I was walking next to her, and she smiled in obvious amusement. "Ha ha. What I was trying to ask is, do you live in these woods?" Was that even possible?
She shot me a strange look. "No, Holden, I don't live in these woods. I'm just familiar with them. Come on." She turned abruptly, pulling my arm so I'd follow her.
"Well, where do you live? I don’t mean to pry, it's just I was told there was no one close by."
"I live a little ways from here."
I looked around, wondering what she meant by a little ways from here. It was the same answer she'd given me before. From what I could see from the deck of the lodge, there was nothing but woods for hundreds of square miles. "Oh, okay, so like in the middle of nowhere then?"
Lily laughed. "Yes, I guess you could say that. But then again, so do you."
I smiled. "True, but just temporarily."
"Maybe I'm only here temporarily, too."
"Oh, so what do you—"
"Why so many questions?"
"I just want—"
"Follow me," she said as she made a sudden turn between two trees. The terrain grew slightly rockier, the forest less dense. I followed behind Lily because the trees were spaced in a way that didn't leave room for two to walk side by side. After ten minutes or so, the trees opened up even more, and I caught up to Lily. A few minutes after that, we came to the edge of a cliff, and I cautiously looked over. It wasn't very far to the ground and I released a huff of air, turning away anyway. I'd never minded heights particularly, but after Ryan . . .
"Over here," Lily said, giving me a hand gesture to follow her. I did. She looked down. "It starts here." I joined her and saw a crude set of stairs carved right into the rock.
"Whoa," I said, looking down. The steps went all the way to the ground below. "Who made these?"
"I don't know," she said, taking a step down.
"Wait, Lily, let me go first," I said.
She looked back at me. "I've been down them before."
"I know . . . I just . . ." They could be crumbly, you could fall. I can't let you fall. "Just humor me." I smiled. "Please."
She hesitated, but then moved aside as I passed her. "Thanks," I said, smiling at her again.
The color of the sky dimmed, and the moon appeared, lighting the small canyon with a muted glow. When I'd almost reached the bottom, the last two stairs fell away. I hopped down and then reached my hands up to Lily. "Here," I said, placing my hands around her waist, "let me lift you down." Something about my hands around her waist felt more intimate than I'd intended and warmth filled me as I lifted her down to the ground and she stood in front of me, looking up into my face. "Okay?" I asked. My voice sounded strange in my ears, hoarse, gravelly.