Brayden nearly spat out his coffee. He began coughing as he roughly sat down the cup in his hand, the liquid sloshing around and threatening to spill out. I sighed. "Let me get this straight," he said when he was done being dramatic. "You have never been to a zoo or seen animals in person other than the ones we have around Rapid Falls?"
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. "There's no zoo near there, and my family has never had any money to go anywhere. I could barely afford to take the bus to work."
He shook his head. "You surely could have made a trip to the zoo as a kid."
"We didn't have a car." My brow furrowed as I ran a finger around my cup of coffee. "That's kind of a requirement to go places without bus money. Which I also didn't have." I shook my head. Why did I need to explain myself to a rich kid? He was just going to pity me.
At least, that's what I thought. When I looked up, there wasn't a trace of it on his face. Instead, all I saw was interest. Not a morbid curiosity - more like genuine care. My cheeks heated up under that look being directed at me. I dropped my gaze back to the steaming cup.
"I never thought there were people that didn't own a car. Growing up, it was kind of a given that everyone did."
"That's the difference between you and me." I scrounged up enough courage to look him in the eyes. "You grew up rich and privileged, while I grew up in the slums without knowing where my next meal was coming from or if I was even going to get it. Forget the luxury of having a car. It's an experience I wouldn't trade, but also one I don't wish on anyone."
He sat back and glanced out the window of the coffee shop he'd taken me to. "Still, it made you who you are, and I think you turned out pretty well." He glanced at me, color on his face, before picking up his cup and sipping from it.
My face heated up too, and I felt the need to hide behind my own mug. Did he just pay me a compliment? I wasn't sure since I hadn't really spent time around many guys. Did they all act like this? Or was it him being awkward?
Either way, it was almost cute. Not that I thought he was cute. I could admit that he was handsome, but he definitely wasn't boyfriend material. Not my boyfriend, anyway.
"I want to take you somewhere," he said abruptly, pulling me from my thoughts.
"I hope it's free," I said, thinking about how much my single cup of coffee cost. Much more of them, and I wouldn't have any money for essentials. I couldn't afford anything else. Not if I wanted to be able to make it on my own until I found a job.
He gave me a small smile. "Usually you need a ticket, but this one is on me. I just want you to see the animals."
"Okay, then." I took a sip of my drink. "When are we going?"
He looked at his watch. "They're open today, so I guess whenever you finish your coffee."
---
The place was huge.
I suppose I shouldn't have been as surprised as I was, given how large the city was, but still. It was much larger than any place I'd ever been to. More people than I had ever been near were milling around, grouping up around the animal enclosures, and chatting in a never ending buzz of voices.
It was a little overwhelming, but it didn't seem to affect Brayden. He just smiled at my reactions. "What would you like to see first? There's a lot of animals. They probably have almost anything you can think of."
Anything? I could see anything? "All of them," I said, knowing I probably had stars in my eyes.
He chuckled and motioned for me to follow him. "Why don't we start over here with the reptiles and then work our way around?" I nodded and started following him through the crowds. A few times we were nearly separated, so I reached out and grabbed the back of his shirt. He glanced at me over his shoulder. "Don't get lost. I'd never find you if you do." I tightened my grip.
People looked at us as we wove our way through the crowd. Their gazes weighed on me. I didn't like the attention. I'd spent most of my life being anonymous, and I was content with that. I was for sure more comfortable with dark corners. Which wasn't something I'd given much thought before that trip.
Something about being in this huge place with so many people was both exciting because I was seeing new things I'd always wanted to see, but it was also terrifying because I was in a place that was unfamiliar with a bunch of strangers.
I walked right into Brayden's back. He stumbled forward as I took a step back. "Sorry!"
He turned a small smile towards me. "You're good. Ready to go look at snakes?" I swallowed and nodded. I'd always thought snakes were cool, but had never seen one in person. His smile grew. "Good. Give me your hand. It's crowded and I don't want you to get lost."
My eyes widened. The last time I'd held someone's hand was when I went shopping with my mother. Besides, didn't couples hold hands? Wouldn't we send that message to everyone else here? After I hesitated for a minute, he rolled his eyes and grabbed my hand. "Hey!"
"It's fine," was all he said as he led me towards the enclosures.
Unsure, I let him drag me by the hand. I didn't want to upset him, and if he was fine with it, why shouldn't I be? Besides, the feeling of his skin on my hand was sending pleasant tingles up my arm. I looked down at where we were linked. Why wasn't I more disgusted by his touch? Just a few days ago I would have told him off. Now our fingers were intertwined as he led me through the crowd of people.
I looked up at the back of his head. His hair was being gently mussed by the light wind. He glanced at me over his shoulder. Light glinted in his eyes as crinkle lines appeared, accompanied by a smile. I felt my heart skip a beat.
What was happening?
As the day wore on, I saw almost every animal in the zoo. My heart didn't do anything else weird, but when we finally left sometime well after lunch, when the shadows finally began to change and grow long, he finally let my hand go. It felt oddly cold.
I stared at my hand while he drove through the streets. What was wrong with me?
"So there's a place I've been wanting to try eating at," he said, intruding on my thoughts. "It's not too far from here." He glanced down at his phone for the hundredth time and turned down another road. "Would you mind going there with me?"
I looked over at him, finally resting my hands in my lap. "What kind of place is it?"
He glanced at me. "It's just a restaurant. That's it. Well?"
I shrugged. "Sure, but I can't afford much." My money wasn't depleting as fast as it could, but I'd limited myself to one item from the gift shop at the zoo. There were so many cute little stuffed animals that I wanted, but I settled for the little raccoon, which was safely tucked away in the bag at my feet. It helped that he paid for my ticket, too.
"Don't worry about it. I'm taking you there, so I'm going to pay."
My curiosity was piqued. Why was he paying my way today? Well, except for the coffee this morning. I didn't get it. Was this his way of taking pity on me? While I was grateful he was offering to pay for me, thereby taking some of the burden off of me, I was still as unsure about it as I was about holding his hand earlier.
"Is there somewhere else you want to go?" he asked, interrupting my musings. "Like, somewhere besides Lincoln?"
I didn't have to give it any thought. "Denver." The word rolled off my tongue effortlessly, as if I'd been preparing my whole life to say it. It was the one place I'd dreamed of running off to since I was little. The Rocky Mountains were my dream. I wanted to be as close to them as I could get. There was something about the beauty they possessed that had kept me entranced most of my life.
Some people wanted to see the sea, to bask in the sun as the ocean lapped in their feet, feeling the warm breeze on their face and letting the calm of the ocean lull them into a feeling of peace and tranquility. I wanted to stare at the awe-inspiring danger that the mountains offered, smelling the fresh air as the cool breeze tickled my cheeks, hiking through the trails up their side and feeling the dirt under my boots, the rustling of the trees lulling me into a feeling of peace and tranquility.
"I've always wanted to see the mountains, too," Brayden said quietly. "We'll head there the day after tomorrow."
"Thank you," I said quietly, matching his tone. A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth, but I couldn't quite give it the space it wanted. That was the moment I chose to remember who else had been obsessed with the mountains. The person behind my own obsession. Someone who now lived a mere 30 minutes from the heart of Denver.