Golden Hour

Chapter 14

From: Neil Frost
<neil.frost@gmail.com>
To: Victoria Bergwald <toria.bergwald@gmail.com>
Date: March 1, 2020, 18:21
Subject: Hiking Trail Suggestions

Dear Toria,

Thanks for joining us a couple of nights ago for game night. The guys think you make a great addition to the group. As do I.

Glad you want to try hiking. I'm halfway home from an overnight hiking trip in the Lake District, and the weather was perfect for taking pictures.

Take a look at last night's sunset. I wish you could have seen it. This photo doesn't do it justice.

If you like, we can try the walk to Durdle Door or the Army ranges. Boots are the best kind of footwear, but if you don't have a pair, supportive sneakers with a solid tread would also work for these walks (if you're careful).

Wear breathable clothing if you can. Natural fabrics like cotton hold your sweat, making you cold and uncomfortable. You'll also need multiple layers for the coast (two fleeces...or a fleece and a windproof soft shell). Take a raincoat just in case. A hat and gloves never go amiss.

I can lend you some gear if you need it. They might be way too big for you, but they'd do the job.

Make sure you take a backpack with 2L of water and some snacks. If you don't need it all, no problem. But you don't want to get dehydrated or hungry.

Assuming the pandemic doesn't worsen, we can plan our hike for next Saturday or Sunday if you like. If things get worse, we might need to cancel.

Or make other COVID friendly arrangements. 🐿️ 🐧

Don't worry about your endurance. The key to mountain fitness is don't imagine you're still on the flat. Slow right down to a pace so that you can still hold a conversation. A guide's pace, 2 or 2.5 mph. Or even slower.

Especially when you start.

There are no prizes for rushing through it. Hikes are meant to be enjoyed.

Let me know what you think. Perhaps we can talk it over ahead of time? Do you use Skype?

Xx Neil

📎 Sunset Ennerdale Water.png
📎 Summit Ennerdale Water.png

___

Yay! He wants to go hiking with me! Eeeeeee!

And he wants to Skype! Eeeeee! Even better!

Possibly to coordinate. Likely as an excuse to talk in general without coming across too strongly. A girl could hope. Dream. And make those dreams come true.

After all, Neil did say, "I wish you could have seen it," which was a nudge away from, I wish you could have been there.

Weird how potential couples always have to do this weird freaking verbal acrobatics.

We might both want to proclaim our feelings but neither of us can.

Or maybe I'm wildly projecting my own intense feelings onto him.

Oh, who cares? Enjoy it!

I literally squeed, as though I was fangirling my own life.

Good God, what is wrong with me?

My heart performed a complex set of hooble-de-flips when I opened up his pictures. One showed the iconic shot of Ennerdale Water bathed in the glorious golden hour. The other was a summit shot of him smiling goofily into the camera in his full hiking gear.

It must have been cold at altitude. Or windy. Because he was wearing one of those caps that vaguely resembled a fighter pilot's aviator hat from World War One.

In no way did Neil look objectively sexy. But it was so...him. Authentic. And he looked so happy in a way that made him a thousand times sexier than some bulky dude with crazy abs on a cover of some stupid fashion magazine.

All I could do was stare.

My heart swelled. Yeah, I also giggled a little bit because it looked totally sweet and a bit nerdy, which made my heart happy.

Most of all, I pictured myself posing in the picture beside him, our heads leaning against one another toward the center of the shot. Standing beside him on the summit. Tired but exhilarated after a difficult climb.

That will happen one day. In a week, a month, or a year. But it will happen.

I'd only ever failed once in my life. Big time. But I wouldn't let it happen again. Whatever I put my mind to accomplish, I freaking made it happen.

Dating Neil would be no different.

Nothing would stand in the way. Not my ex. Not a virus. And not myself.

When I dissected his email like a scientist in a secret lab, I analyzed every word. To be honest, his emojis threw me slightly. Squirrel? Did he think the current situation was nuts? If so, I couldn't blame him.

Or was Neil being sweet and sending me cute animals to make me smile? Possibly. After all, he also posted a random penguin as well.

Whatever it meant, I loved it.

Poring over every word and phrase, I repeated the lovely ones in my head. In his baritone. And relished my skipping heart.

As do I.

I wish you could have seen it.

Do you Skype?

Even the most mundane sentences took on special meaning. All tiny steps to get closer to him.

Then came my ultra-conservative monitor to rain on my parade. This is ridiculous. Stop overanalyzing every word in his voice. It's obsessive.

But...but...I like his voice, my inner rebel retorted with a dreamy sigh.

It took me a second to remember that British people often signed off emails or texts with a friendly Xx for 'hugs'. Neil didn't strike me as the textspeak kinda guy. Maybe he'd found ending emails as awkward as I did!

Maybe we won't need email soon and can dispense with complimentary closes.

Yay! Skype to the rescue!

Either way one thing struck me: Neil had said he wanted to make COVID friendly arrangements if we couldn't hike. Logically, that meant it wasn't just about the hiking. Which allowed me to infer an important truth.

Neil wanted to hang out with me because of me. Not simply because we happened to share similar interests like gaming or fitness.

Even if COVID meant we couldn't do any of those things--at least in person--he still wanted to hang out with me.

And that truth made my soul soar.

___

Word count: 1,059
Total word count: 13,958/20,000

I'm taking the weekend off! Next update: Monday, 14 March. Enjoy! 🎉