I breathe in as I take in the sight of blue water, and seeing
plants slope downward below me. I’ve never been up here, this
high, but there’s a first time for everything. I look to my
left side as Leo stands next to me and takes my hand, and leads my
closer to the middle of the small clearing.
“Janelle, I don’t want to drag this on,” he says
suddenly, and I nod, though I have no idea what he means.
“I’m assuming you know that I like you…” I
smile, but just nod again as he looks down and slightly blushes. It
makes sense now. “All I’m going to say is that if you
want to-“
“Would
I go on a date with you?” I jump to the conclusion, smiling,
knowing that I just made this easy one him. He smiles so perfectly
and sweetly back, nodding and turning a bit red again.
“Would
you?” He asks softly.
I change my
expression to having to think about an answer here. “I
don’t know…” I say slowly. “What about the
time that you almost dropped me in a lake, or let me fall out of a
tree, or-“
“You
loved it,” Leo interrupts, and I can hear the common teasing
in his voice.
I sigh.
“Well I did. And I would love to go on that
date,” I finally tell Leo for sure, and he breathes a sigh of
relief, and laughs. He takes both of my hands and pulls me
closer.
“Correct answer,” he says with a small laugh, in almost
a whisper. Then I feel his lips on mine once again, just like a
sealed promise. It gives me hope; hope that Leo can be the light
when my world is so dark, and I feel like we can make us
work.
I hear some
rustling in plants as I pull away. “They’ll probably be
waiting,” I say quietly, and Leo nods in agreement. I take
one last look at the view for now before Leo takes my hand and
moves the same branch out of our way. I feel myself blush as out
three friends smile when the see us come back hand in hand.
Mandy and
Aly both raise their eyebrows in a questioning expression. I nod,
knowing their question. For the rest of the walk down, Leo holds my
hand in his as I watch Alex and Aly talk quietly at the front of
the group. They’ve been pretty close lately, and Alex has
seemed happy.
As soon as
we see our camp, we know what we want to do, swim! So, Aly,
Mandy, and I take turns changing in the tent, and I am last.
I know how I
want to get in the lake after I've changed; the rope! I dart
over the sand to the gigantic tree, holding its trunk as I make my
way to the branch. I grab the rope as soon as I can reach it, and
place my hands in the correct spot this time.
I’m
laughing as I run forward off of the branch, and let go of the
thick rope when I am over the water. The lake is cool and
refreshing and I make a splash as I hit the water.
I hear
Leo’s voice as a come up, take a breath, and rub my eyes.
“That’s more like it,” he says, taking my hand
again.
“Better than you!” I say, poking his
shoulder.
“Is
that a challenge?” he asks, and I smile and nod, watching as
he steps out of the lake and makes his way to the rope, and I dive
out of the way as he jumps in without warning. “Now beat
that,” he teases as he comes to the surface.
“Oh
please!” Aly yells from the branch, she got up there
pretty fast. “I can do better than that!” Leo
shoves me out of the way as he jumps to the side, too, right when
Aly charges forward without warning. She lands in about the same
spot Leo did.
Alex just
swims over to Aly’s side, and everyone is laughing.
That’s basically how the day went, until we decided it was
time for another camp fire.
After
helping Leo gather wood, and the fire has started and is burning,
we all sit on our little log seats around in a circle, with our
usual s’mores supplies. “Alex!” Aly obnoxiously
says. “Ok guys, I don’t care who thinks what, but
Alex…I really like you!” That was easy, how I
wish I had the courage to say things like Aly. The three of us
aren’t shocked, but Alex may be a bit surprised.
He looks
straight at Aly, who is sitting next to him, after he quickly
glances at me, seeming unsure, but I smile and nod him on.
“Aly, you’re just great,” he laughs. “And
in the past week, I know it’s fast, but I really have gotten
to like you, too.”
“Yeah!” Aly says, so happy and excited, I can
tell. She leans over on Alex’s shoulder, as he puts an arm
around her and kisses her cheek. That was fast, and I feel a bit
awkward. Why didn’t Alex tell me? I’m honestly
surprised he moved on so quickly. The rest of the night seems to
fly by; Mandy gets tired first, and soon Alex kisses Aly goodnight
before they go in their separate tents. Leo and I are alone by the
fire.
“Did
you…ever feel anything for Alex?” he asks curiously,
after a pause. I think about it. At one point…yes. But,
around the time he liked me, I was beginning to fall for Leo. And I
didn’t think I could commit to anything for Alex, if I felt
that way.
“Maybe, once upon a time,” I admit, though it was not
too long ago. “But now, you know my heart is yours.” I
say this with true sincerity.
Leo puts an
arm around me, and kisses my head. “I know,” he says.
“And I also know I’m the luckiest guy in the
universe.”