Page 44 of Let the Light Shine Through

“Of course.”

A few more steps and I hear her murmur, “Sort of.”

Why would I have expected anything else? Gia wants to hike in the dark to an undisclosed location that she may or may not be able to find.

Sure, let’s do it. I’ll bring the flashlight.

Oh, wait…

“Fuck me,” I mutter, letting out a laugh.

“I tried. Remember?”

“Is that when you passed out?” I toss out, bypassing a thick evergreen branch.

“Um, yeah, obviously,” she throws right back before saying, “Seduction tires me out.”

I laugh again, stretching my shirt away from my stomach for some airflow. Despite the cold bite of early morning air, the dew is penetrating everything, making my clothes feel soaked all the way through. Normally I’d just take the shirt off altogether, but ticks are such a problem around here, I figure the added protection outweighs the irritation.

“No, that was my first time doing that.”

“What? Seducing someone?” I look up in time to see Gia stumble and my hand shoots out automatically, catching the back of her shirt before she can right herself. Her rib must be hurting her, yet here she is, tromping through the fucking woods, leading me on some kind of adventure.

I shake my head, picking up the pace.

“Sleeping at someone else’s house.”

My eyes drop to the ground. She was very clear about not sticking around ’til morning.

“Staying over at anyone’s house actually,” she muses. “I don’t do that. Ever.”

I lift my eyes to the back of her head.

“Not even at your boy Rowdy’s?”

Her head shakes.

That answer, combined with her confession just before it, makes something primal in me stand taller. My steps fall easier, my stride a little more confident.

Does it even matter where she’s taking me anymore? No, not really. I’d blindly follow Gia anywhere as long as the promise of something more hangs in the air and what she just said sits heavy around us. I can practically see her admission join our little troupe. I smile at it, I fist-bump it, shit, I put my arm around it, welcoming the enlightening news into the fold. She doesn’t do sleepovers, not even with her best friend, but she fell asleep at my place, with me—with ease.

Time passes in a more comfortable silence as we make our way through the woods, stopping every so often for Gia to take pictures of birds with her phone. The first time she did it, she turned to me with a blush and said, “Old habits.” Personally, I don’t mind. She could be taking pictures of every dust particle floating about and I wouldn’t say a word. Everything she does fascinates me. I just wish she’d tell me about it. Tell me about her. I want more than just the table scraps she gave me…yesterday? Damn, this might be my longest date yet.

All of a sudden, she spins around, shining the flashlight under her chin ominously. A smile tugs at my lips before I can school my features. She doesn’t even need it anymore—the sun’s just starting to come up, so there’s enough light for us to see—she’s only using it for effect at this point, but I’ll play along.

“Roswell Fancy, Jr., are you ready?”

I hold up a finger. “That’s not my name. It’s Roswell Andrews-Smith.”

She drops the flashlight to her side, rolling her eyes. “Same thing.”

“No Junior either. I’m the first.”

“Ugh, don’t tell me you’re going to be one of those,” she groans. “The kind of person that names your child after yourself.”

I start to correct her that I have no such plans but something strange crosses her face, something I can’t quite put my finger on, before she turns away so quickly, making me question whether it was even there to begin with.

“We’re here.”