Faith Heights

Chapter 34

But then again, I'd never had any reason to be nervous when it came to Nick. "What did you have in mind?"

But Nick refused to divulge anything further, and promised he'd be at the academy in twenty minutes. I hastily told him to meet me on a road just up from the school's long driveway; I didn't want anyone at school seeing me disappear with a mysterious dark-haired boy who was certainly not Lucas.

Surprises weren't exactly my forte, but Nick's words sent a thrill coursing through me. It was a startlingly pleasant day, so I threw on a loose dress that I didn't remember packing from home. My wardrobe mainly consisted of faded jeans, turtlenecks, and T-shirts. Mum probably bought the green frock for me years ago and I'd never touched it. Yet, suddenly, I was very thankful. 

The emotion quickly turned to dread when Nick showed up on a motorbike. I didn't let the nerves envelop me though as he handed me a spare black helmet, fitting snugly around my unrestrained tresses. He helped me buckle it tighter before revving the bike's handle.

"Hold on tight."

I wrapped my arms around his waist, trying not to think of the lean muscles I could feel, tensing with each turn we took. It took me a while to open my eyes against the fresh breeze, and I watched as the mossy trees on either side of us thinned to small brambles. I'd never been this far east of the school, in the opposite direction to the town's quaint centre. The flat ground began to curve and weave around cliff sides that dropped down to vacant beaches, the view both breathtaking and terrifying.

Nick skidded onto the grassy face of one of the steeper cliffs, and leaned the bike between a tall cluster of shrubs. I could see the jagged rocks waiting hungrily underneath the cliff, at the bottom of what seemed like a hundred metre drop. It was probably closer to a quarter of that height, but the disturbingly calm water made it seem as far from the earth as the moon.

Nick led me over to the face of the cliff, and I made sure to stay back from the flat edge, despite the gorgeous scenery. It took me a few minutes to draw my eyes from the cliff's plunge to see what Nick was leading me towards.

Laid out on the damp grass was a thick red-and-black picnic blanket large enough to wrap around a car. Paper plates wrapped with foil were strewn across the blanket, and the sweet smell of icing sugar wafted towards me in the soft draft.

"How did you have time to set this all up?" Nick had shown up twenty minutes after I called him, and I'd jumped onto his bike with no expectations. I'd thought we'd simply be hanging out in town, as we had before- not going on an actual date.

He sat down to one side of the blanket, and fell back onto his elbows, facing the view. "Well, I didn't want to risk having to wait another month for you to call again. I decided to pull out all the stops."

I didn't bother trying to decipher the depth – or possible shallowness – of his flattery before I unwrapped one of the plates, my stomach gurgling with hunger. There was an assortment of intricate-looking deserts and pastries sprinkled around my crossed legs. A little rich for ten in the morning, but I resisted all of two seconds before digging in.

We kept speaking as we tasted each of the dishes, not about anything in particular. He shifted nearer to reach for another dessert at one point, and didn't move away. It was a strange, tempered peace, an inexplicable clarity as we offered careless banter, overlooking the edge of the world. With Nick at my side, it was as if we were breathing, exhaling, the same single strand of air. As if it was all that was keeping us alive. 

The more we talked, the more my eyes were drawn to his smiling lips. Being with Nick was as easy as breathing, but trying to flirt – consciously – was proving a little more difficult.