False Expectations (Editing)

Chapter 29 - The picnic

Adelina's pov:

We hopped in the jeep and headed to the forest. After a while of driving we reached at a point where the road was a dead end, we left the car and continued on foot with Maximus holding a big wicker basket. We passed the clearing with the secret rock and ended up to a small lake with a small green waterfall. I hadn't seen so beautiful place before. I didn't even know the existence of this lake. Behind the small waterfall, a cave was hidden. The lake was surrounded by low vegetation which consisted of grass and small colorful flowers. Α few meters afar there were beautiful tall oaks and willows. We chose one of the oaks and sat down. The sun was high and it was quite warm. Maximus opened the basket and took out a tablecloth which I helped him lay out. Then he started pulling out various goodies that looked absolutely delicious. For the end he had left a bottle of white wine. I love white wine! Did he know or was it just a lucky guess? Probably the latter but I really didn't mind at all!

We dived into the food as it was already noon. Maximus opened the bottle of wine and poured some into our glasses. It was a beautiful spring day. The sun was shining, birds were peeping in the trees, and butterflies were flying from flower to flower. The sky was blue with little clouds and a sweet breeze was blowing from the east. This is what heaven should look like. I wouldn't change anything except maybe the one sitting next to me. But surprisingly today, he was smiling and looking calm, as if he was also enjoying the scenery. So no, I wouldn't change a thing in the end.

-"Do you like it here?" he asked me in serenity.

-"It's amazing! I always loved nature and this place is magical! Do you come here often?" I said excitedly.

-"I used to when I was little. But after my mother's absence...... I....I stopped".

-"I am so sorry for your loss. I didn't mean to remind you something that makes you sad".

-"It's fine. It has been many years that I do not feel sad anymore. You know.... she is not dead".

-"Oh.....I am sorry again....Emm....I thought that.....anyway.... I haven't heard of this place before."

-"Fair enough, you aren't from here. And nowadays only a few pack members know about this place. How were you supposed to know about it?"

-"What I mean is that neither Alex nor Marisa told me about it".

-"I do not think it is one of the places that Alex prefers to go; besides this place belongs to my family for centuries. It was my great grandfather who found the clearing with the secret rock and decided the pack to settle here. In the beginning, every Sunday all the members of the pack came here and offered sacrifices to the goddess for the fertile land she offered them. This ceremony was forgotten over the years and eventually stopped. Lately, my father has tried to revive it without success. So it became a tradition in our family to have a picnic here every Sunday."

-" It is a very beautiful story! I've always liked to learn as much as I could about the stories of the place I live or visit."

-"Me too! This is something we have in common and I hope it is not the only one" he said looking straight into my eyes giving me the shivers.

I looked away avoiding his gaze and was about to get up when he grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him. He was stroking my face with one hand while holding my waist with the other. He slowly lowered his face so that it was only inches away from mine and gave me a sweet peck on the lips. I pushed him back, immediately got up and went towards the lake. He followed behind me and with two quick steps he reached me and took my hand again.

-"Why are you running away?" he said slightly irritated. I looked at him strictly, pointing my arm and he immediately let me go.

-"Why did you do that?" I asked him frustrated.