Closing Dusk ¤ Leah Clearwater | ✔

26. Prisms

Will be back soon, want to take you hiking. Dress appropriately.
- Nikolai.

I smiled.

After doing my morning rituals, I got dressed in an old jeans and a tank.

No, sooner Nikolai arrived.

“Ready?” He asked between kissing my lips.

“Yeah.” I answered.

As usual, Nikolai drove with reckless speed. We were soon out of the town limits, despite his negativity. Thick underbrush and green swathed trunks replaced the lawns and houses. Soon we were driving off the road. We drove in silence, except from the soft melody of a Russian female artist singing.

“Why again are we hiking?” I asked.

No answer.

I could feel the waves of infuriated disapproval rolling off of me, when he gave no response to why exactly where we hiking.

And then the road ended, constricting to a thin foot trail with a small wooden marker. He parked on the narrow shoulder and stepped out, I followed close behind.

It was warm now, warmer than it had been in Forks, with blue skies and fleeting clouds. Strangely, I felt happy.

"This way," he said, glancing over his shoulder at me, eyes almost smiling. He started into the dark forest, carrying a large woven basket. I could smell the food within. I almost for gave him then.

I noticed then his outfit. His gray shirt was sleeveless, and he wore it unbuttoned, so that the smooth white skin of his throat flowed uninterrupted over the marble contours of his chest, his perfect musculature no longer merely hinted at behind concealing clothes. He was too perfect, all mine.

“Like what you see?” He teased.

I smirk. “How can I like what I can barely see?”

He gives a hearty laugh. “Come on, Pussycat.”

We walked seven miles of treacherous roots and loose stones, trying to twist my ankles or otherwise incapacitate me.

The hike took me most of the morning, as we climbed through the damp ferns and webs of moss along with fallen trees or boulders together. The forest spread out around us in a boundless labyrinth of ancient trees, totally unfamiliar. Jacob and I never crossed these areas.

After several hours, the light that filtered through the canopy transformed, the murky olive tone shifting to a brighter jade. The day had turned sunny, for the first time since we'd entered the woods, I felt a thrill of excitement which slowly simmered down to impatience.

“Aren’t we their already?” I whined. “Why can’t I phased?”

“Because, Leah, I want to see your lovely face. Will you have a little patience? We’re almost there.”

After another hundred yards, I could definitely see a lightening in the trees ahead, a glow that was yellow instead of green. Somewhere nearby, I could hear the bubbling music of a stream. I picked up the pace, my eagerness growing with every step.

I reached the edge of the pool of light and stepped through the last fringe of ferns into the loveliest place I had ever seen.

The sun was directly overhead, filling the circle with a haze of buttery sunshine. Ahead of us was the Sol Duc River with patches of marsh on its bank. The area was beautiful. Perfect, for a couple’s outing.

“Wow!” I exclaimed. “This is …”

I spun around to see, Nikolai spreading out a towel. “I thought you could use a quiet picnic.”