Luminary Love

Chapter 9

"Holy crap, this place is beautiful!" You smiled, looking at the wilderness around you. Shayne had picked you up around six that morning to drive you both to the hiking spot Garrett picked out. Shayne smiled over at you, the edge of his lips creasing upwards. His eyes glossed over your vision, the sight of you wide-eyed and bubbly giving him butterflies. "Is this where you kill me?" You asked, looking over at him. His eyes widened for a moment before you both burst into laughter.

"No... No, I save that for the second date." Shayne informed, nodding and shrugging. You rolled your eyes, blushing slightly at the word 'date'. You got out of the car, closing the door and wiping your palms on your leggings. Shayne grabbed the backpack that held, snacks and water before getting out of the car and locking the doors. "Alright! Garrett said that the red trail takes you to the top of that mountain and back down to the parking lot here so we should just be going in one big circle."

"Awesome! Let's go!" You smiled, motioning to Shayne to lead the way.

The trail was beautiful, each side of the man made path being lined with different trees and shrubbery. You held your hand out to the side, smiling as the tall grass brushed against your hand. The first few minutes of the walk was spent in silence, the two of you using the time to take in the sights around you. You inhaled the crisp, cool morning air around you, feeling completely serene in this environment. Shayne was a few steps behind you, switching his attention between you, the nature surrounding him, and watching his steps on the ground beneath him. A few birds tweeted, their wings fluttering as they flew over your heads. You smiled up at them, watching them land on a branch nearby.

"It's incredible out here." You smiled, looking back at Shayne. He looked up from the path, smiling back as he played with a piece of the long grass, twisting it and spinning it around his fingers. His eyes glanced around the trees above him, nodding as he smiled to himself.

"Yeah, I owe Garrett for this one. This is amazing."

"Thank you for taking me out here." You said, stopping momentarily to admire a patch of wildflowers growing nearby. Shayne came up behind you, peeking around your shoulder and holding up one of the flowers.

"Don't mention it." He smirked. You took the flower from his hand, a soft smile gracing your face along with a blush. Shayne kept walking down the path, leaving you to be alone with the butterflies in your stomach. "I think I saw a river bank on one of the maps back there! We can take a break!" You continued down the trail, Shayne leading the way. You looked down at the flower and smiled, quickly shortening the stem and sticking the flora behind your ear.

About a hundred feet down the path, you see that there was indeed an opening right near the river. The small bay was mostly hidden by the brush and had a few rocks that you and Shayne would be able to sit on. Shayne went over to the bigger one and set the backpack down, unzipping it to take out the water and snacks. You sat down on the other, sizable rock and looked out over the water. The sound of the running water had always been one of your favorites and the added sensation of the sun beginning to approach the middle of the sky made the moment perfect.

Shayne approached you and handed you a bottle of water along with a package of peanut butter crackers. You scooted over, allowing Shayne to share the rock with you.

"So!" He said through a mouthful. You giggled, watching as he finished chewing and swallowed. "Tell me about yourself!"

"What's there to know? Just Wikipedia me." You joked, taking a bite of a cracker.

"Already have. What I'm curious about-" He rushed out. You tried to stifle laughter, but failed, almost choking on your crackers in the process. This only made you laugh harder. Shayne started laughing as well, covering his mouth to stop any crumbs from flying out. You leaned towards Shayne, hunching over as you tried to swallow the food you had in your mouth. Shayne put a hand on your back, making sure you didn't fall off. "You good?" Shayne laughed, his face red from the outburst. You nodded, sitting upright and taking in a deep breath.