Punctured, Bruised, and Barely Tattooed(21)

Stone parked the truck and said, “I’d joked about hiking and then thought maybe this would be the next best thing. It’s not too hot tonight. Want to take a walk along the river?”

Oh, how could she say no when he asked like that? “What about mosquitoes?”

“They should be off to bed by now. We should be fine.”

“If you’re sure…”

“You’re not much of an outdoors girl, are you?”

Her voice was dry. “Oh, is it that obvious?”

He chuckled and got out of the truck, walking over to her side. She jumped out of the truck and realized he was right. The weather was beautiful. In spite of the oppressive heat she’d felt earlier in the day, the evening was cool and there was a slight breeze she could feel on her arms. It was nice. “Why do you always do that?” he asked.

“Do what?”

“Get out before I can open the door for you?”

Kory snorted. “Do I look like the kind of girl you have to open doors for?”

She couldn’t quite make out his face in the dark, but she could hear him just fine. “No, but you’re the kind of girl I’d like to do it for once in a while.”

She wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that. She wanted to throw off a snappy retort but nothing came to mind. That, and she thought it was a sweet sentiment, and she was afraid her tendency to be snarky could ruin a lovely moment. So she forced her head to nod and said, “I can hear the river from here.”

“Yep. Nothing like it.” Stone grabbed her hand and they began walking toward the river where they would find the trail.

Kory had never been on the river walk before, so this was going to be a treat for her. She was aware of the cool air, of the sound of chirping crickets in the background and the roar of the river in the foreground, of seeing dark leaves rustling in the tall trees near the river. But she was most aware of Stone’s hand holding hers. His hand felt like something sure—it was strong and as confident feeling as he was. It was the hand of an artist, the one that had permanently drawn on her arm less than a week earlier, the same one that had held her face while he’d kissed her. This was a hand she thought she’d want to hold forever, because of the man attached to it.

When they got closer to the river, Kory noticed a gravelly path beside it, up and away from it but close. She imagined that if the river ever flooded, parts of the path would wash away, but most of it was far enough away that it seemed safe. Of course, a huge flood—one that had the potential to damage houses—would wreck it all. She didn’t remember the river ever flooding Winchester, and she’d lived there her whole life. Surely, it had flooded at some time. All rivers did.

The rushing noise created by the water sounded somewhat violent to her, but it felt peaceful at the same time. Maybe it was because the water here would always flow, whether someone was here or not. It would continue bringing water from wherever it came from high up in the mountains and keep going down until it joined with another river and then another, so this very water right here would eventually wind up in the Mississippi and then the Gulf of Mexico. The enormity of it humbled her, and she suddenly understood the draw of nature.

Stone must have sensed her feelings because he said, “Really cool, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

They continued walking along the path, taking their time, breathing in the air cooled even further by the rushing water, absorbing the secrets of the night. Suddenly, Kory thought Stone was a genius. This truly was the perfect date, and for the first time in a long time, she felt her soul grow quiet and full of awe.

He paused and Kory stopped beside him. They’d walked far enough that houses and highways were behind them. It was truly dark and solitary. “Look at the stars. They’re bright tonight.”

She looked up. She felt so silly, because she’d been so engrossed in the earth that she hadn’t even stopped to consider the sky above her. God, it was incredible and just contributed to her sense of overwhelming humility and wonder at what surrounded her. She breathed, “Amazing.”

“Yeah,” he agreed and touched her face. It was the perfect time for a kiss, really, because she wanted to share this feeling with someone else and needed to be distracted from the beauty of the moment, because she wasn’t sure how to handle it. She was brimming with emotion and needed to expend it.

She didn’t know if Stone was feeling the same way or if he could simply sense what had been brewing inside her, but their kiss was passionate. Hot. Unbelievably so. And Kory realized she’d never wanted anyone as badly as she did Stone in that moment. Her fingers were in his hair and he pressed her into him, his hands firm on her lower back. One kiss led to another and another and another, and suddenly the night didn’t feel so cool anymore. She didn’t just want Stone; she felt like her body needed him, just like the earth needed the water rushing behind her.