Reaching Emma

13.

The haunted house ended up being more of a haunted forest. It was at a ski hill a few towns over that they had turned into a haunted trail. It was a really cool idea and turned out to be a perfect fall night for it. Emma, Anna, David and I were waiting in line for our tickets, Samantha and Jack decided not to come tonight.

"You guys scared?" I asked everyone after I noticed that some actors were already sneaking up on people in line.

"Uhh, no" Anna replied, her voice wavering. She kept looking over her shoulder, contracting her statement.

Emma laughed at Anna's reaction before replying herself, "A little, I guess. I've never been to a haunted house before."

Once we got our tickets we followed the signs towards a chairlift, taking us over to the haunted trail. I got in after Emma and the bar closed over our waists.

"Do you ski or snowboard?" she asked, obviously prompted by our out-of-season visit to the ski hill.

"Yeah, I snowboard. Do you?" I asked.

"I've tried both, but could never get the hang of either. I usually just end up hanging out by the fire in the lodge," She laughed.

"I can teach you when it gets colder, if you want. This place is super fun in the winter." I offered.

"I may be a lost cause when it comes to winter sports. I don't know if you'd want to try to teach me" she laughed.

"Well, they have a nice fireplace in the lodge too" I nudged her arm jokingly. In the chair in front of us we could see David put his arm around Anna as they snuggled together.

"This is cool" Emma said, "being here with no snow, the view is awesome from up here."

I took in the view around us, you could still see some of the trees changing colors even though it was getting darker outside. I smiled at her. She looked so beautiful with the wind blowing her hair.

"Don't you think?" she asked when I didn't reply. I agreed and looked ahead to see that we were quickly approaching the end, as Anna and David were getting off.

We followed the signs to the trail. It was getting darker by the minute, making it difficult to see too far ahead of us. I had to admit that the ambiance was spooky, but I was excited. I love haunted houses.

A zombie jumped out from behind a tree close to Anna, who screamed and ran ahead with David in tow. I'm sure she had a death grip on his arm. The zombie followed her while she complained how creepy it was.

"You know..." I said, leaning in towards Emma, "the more scared you act, the more likely they are to follow you." I nodded towards Anna who screamed again as the zombie got closer to her.

Emma laughed, "Okay, good to know."

We trailed behind our friends, watching as Anna continued to get the worst of the scares. David's arm was secured around her waist. We came across a trailer surrounded by sheets hanging on a clothesline. I looked around, wondering where the next monster would pop out from.

Suddenly, a creepy clown leaped towards Emma who jumped in surprise, grabbing my arm. She looked at me and laughed, brushing off the frights better than Anna who did not look like she was having fun. I was so aware that Emma was still gripping my arm. She must have realized it too because she slowly let go of my arm. I brushed my hand against Emma's, subtly taking hers in mine. I glanced at her from the corner of my eye and noticed that she was her looking down at our connected hands.

"Is this okay?" I asked quietly. She looked up at me with a small smile and nodded. I smiled to myself. It felt so nice to hold her hand, even though it was just a simple gesture.

They had a ton of cool stuff, different creepy setups, and even some small houses you had to walk through. We finally made it to the end of the trail and I don't think I've ever seen Anna look so relieved.

"So what did you guys think?" David asked as Emma and I walked over to where David and Anna were waiting just outside the exit.

"It was really fun!" Emma said. I was glad she didn't get too scared like Anna, but there were a few times she jumped as creepy clowns or zombies popped out at us.

"Yeah, it was awesome," I agreed.

"I think they have hot chocolate inside, did you guys want some?" Anna asked, seeming to bounce back from her fright. I shook my head and looked at Emma who also didn't want any. Anna nodded and turned towards the lodge to get her drink. I saw David briefly glance down at my hand, which was still holding Emma's, before giving me a smirk and following Anna.

"Be right back guys" he yelled at us over his shoulder.

I turned towards Emma who was already looking at me, "So you really liked it?"

"Yeah, I actually did. It was scary, but fun. I'm glad they didn't follow me like they did to Anna though," she laughed, "thanks for the tip."

I saw her shiver and asked, "Are you cold?"

"Just a little, not too bad," she replied. I put my hands on both of her arms rubbing them to warm her up a little.

"Did you want my jacket?" I asked.

She smiled up at me, "I'm okay right now. Maybe I'll steal it later though."

I realized how close we were standing, our faces were just inches apart and my hands still on her arms. I could hear her breaths becoming short and ragged. I wondered if her heart was racing like mine was. My eyes trailed from her eyes down to her lips and I must have leaned in even more without realizing it because our faces seemed even closer. I looked back up to her eyes, but saw she was looking at my lips. Did she want me to kiss her?

I didn't have any more time to think about it as some kids came screaming out of the exit running past us. Emma looked over at the kids, breaking our moment. I heard her take a deep breath and step back, putting some space between us. I rubbed the back of my neck and cleared my throat, "I- uh".

Emma cut me off, "Oh here comes Anna and David." I was kind of glad she cut me off because I had no idea what I was going to say. I let out a deep breath and we started walking towards them in an awkward silence. Once we got to our friends, we all walked towards the parking lot together.

Emma was quiet on the ride home. I couldn't help but look back at her in the rearview mirror as I was driving. We made eye contact once and she gave me a small smile. I couldn't stop thinking about what didn't happen. I was so out of it that I almost missed our exit until David reminded me at the last minute. Emma was the first stop, so I didn't get a chance to talk to her alone.

I didn't get home until about midnight and still couldn't stop thinking about Emma. I decided to send her a text. After rewriting it more times than I'd like to admit, I decided on something simple. We texted for a while. Emma joked that I was too scared to sleep, while she said she often had trouble sleeping and was watching The Office in bed.

I looked at the time surprised to see how late, or early, I guess, it was. Emma finally said goodnight and I decided to get some sleep too.