Page 17 of Wrong Number, Right Lion

“It’s kinda dark.” This wasn’t a national or state park with paths lined with lights. There were dark blobs and shadows, and the only light was provided by the house.

Kalen put the basket in one hand and flipped the blanket over his shoulder. He offered me his other hand. “I’ve got you.”

His warm palm gave me comfort, but unless his eyesight was heaps better than mine, I was worried we’d topple off the hillside.

Kalen strode along a path I could barely see, but he was too fast for me. I took four steps to his two, but he slowed his pace without me saying anything. Stephen had been so wrong about him because my date sensed what I was experiencing and adjusted his expectations.

He stopped and pointed to small twinkling lights bobbing up and down. “Fireflies. Something good is coming.”

I gripped his hand. “Is it ahead of us?” I glanced over my shoulder. “Or behind?”

He faced me, and after putting the basket down, he placed a finger under my chin. “Catching sight of fireflies means something wonderful is going to happen.”

“Oh.” My heart slowed.

“Many cultures have legends about them, all positive.”

We stood watching the flickering lights until the fireflies vanished into the darkness.

“Come on. I promised you stars and that’s what you’re getting.”

The path sloped upward. Not that I could see it well, but my eyes were adjusting to the lack of light. But after a while, my thighs were screaming as we trudged upward.

Kalen was amazing, pulling me away from a rock on the path and holding up a branch so it didn’t whack me in the face.

“How can you see so well? Do you eat a lot of carrots?”

I couldn’t make out his expression, but he made an “ugh” sound. No carrots for him.

“Excellent eyesight is a family trait.”

Were there exercises you could do to improve your eyesight? Because he didn’t falter or hesitate as we walked. And he was fit. He carried the basket and yet I was the one panting, and my legs would never forgive me.

As I was beginning to think of this date more as torture than getting to know one another, we reached the top. Spread out in the distance were the city lights, but Kalen twisted me around to face the other direction. The inky-black sky loomed overhead, but it was pin-pricked with tiny lights, some bright and others so faint I could only just make them out.

My date spread out the blanket on the grass, and we sat. If I hadn’t been on a first date, I would have collapsed and groaned at how sore my body was, but Kalen pointed out the stars, planets, and constellations, and I was fascinated, both by what he was telling me and his voice.

“Did you study astronomy?” His knowledge seemed to go beyond a hobby.

“No. Again, my ancestors handed down knowledge about the stars and how they guided them.” He offered me a soda. I sippedmine, enjoying the silence. I wasn’t a fan of the dark, but with Kalen at my side, it didn’t seem quite so scary.

“It’s beautiful up here.” I lay back, and Kalen flopped down too.

“Ummm. I have a thing for heights. I enjoy looking down on the earth and surveying everything.”

My tummy rumbled, reminding me I hadn’t eaten since lunch.

“I’m a terrible host.” He sat up and brought out the food. So much food. Not that I could make out most of it. “We have sausage rolls, fruit, nuts, salami, cheese, bread, crackers, and some sweet treats.”

I groped over the blanket to grab something, but Kalen offered to feed me.

“A grape?”

“Please.”

He popped it in between my lips, and I savored the sweetness combined with a sharp tang that exploded in my mouth.

“Yum.” While it was a little off, not being able to see what I was eating, we turned it into a game.

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