I spent half an hour on the treadmill, winded after fifteen minutes, but pushing myself to finish the full thirty. Then I spent a few minutes lifting, breaking a sweat after two reps. Fuck, I was out of shape. I'd been out for a season and a half, and I'd done nothing but party and pollute my body. And now I knew I was not only emotionally depressed, but my body was broken down, too. Feeling defeated, I flipped the lights off and left the gym.
I was antsy for the rest of the day, checking the time over and over. I'd looked it up online and the sun was supposed to set at seven twenty-one. At six thirty, I was walking toward the woods, telling myself I didn't want her to wait for me in case she got there early. My heart was thumping steadily and anticipation filled my chest.
It was a beautiful evening, the air crisp, but not overly cool, the sun warm on my back. I took my heavy sweatshirt off and tied it around my waist so I was just wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt. Pushing my sleeves up my arms, I entered the woods and leaned as casually as possible against a tree to wait.
When was the last time I'd waited for a girl? I honestly couldn't recall. High school, maybe? There was something deeply satisfying about it, with an edge of nervous excitement. What if she didn't come? What if she did?
When seven twenty-one came and went, the sky changing from soft blue to bright shades of orange, I rubbed my palms on my jeans. Would she stand me up? Disappointment filled me as I considered that I might be walking back to the lodge alone in half an hour, Lily having never shown. Maybe she had forgotten. Maybe our "date" just didn't mean much to her. Maybe something had come up. Maybe I was an idiot for expecting her to want to come at all.
I looked up and she was standing a little ways away, watching me. Relief and happiness brought an immediate smile to my face. "You made it," I said, stepping toward her.
She tilted her head to the side, her black braid swinging over her shoulder. "Did you think I wouldn't?"
"I wasn't sure."
She tilted her head backward. "Come on, I want to show you something I think you'll like."
I followed. Again, she was wearing a dress—blue with buttons up the front. It looked as if it was from an era when women wore short, white gloves and small hats on a regular basis. Despite the old-fashioned look, the dress fit her well and I couldn't help that my eyes lingered on the feminine lines of her body. She was wearing black canvas sneakers on her feet and again, no coat. I felt my lips curve up and wondered who this girl was. A girl. A flesh and blood girl.
We trudged through the woods, as the light around us grew dim. I couldn't see the horizon above the trees anymore and the sky was a pale shade of orange overhead. The air was fragrant with the tangy scent of pine, just covering the musky smell of the damp, rotting leaves underfoot.
"Watch your step," Lily said, pointing to her right. "There's a snake in the grass by that dead log."
I swiveled my head left as Lily giggled. I looked at the log and at the ground around it but didn't see a thing. "Were you kidding?" I asked.
Lily glanced at me. "No. It won't hurt you, though. Not unless you get in its way."
I cleared my throat doing my best not to shudder. I hadn't even thought about snakes being in these woods. I fucking hated snakes.
I chuckled, feeling like an idiot. But when I looked over at her, she was smiling at me in a way that made me smile back.
I watched her walk away for a moment and then jogged to catch up. "Lily, do you . . . what I mean is . . ." The area directly ahead of us was bare of trees or bushes and so I walked more quickly to move in front and turned around so I was walking backward and she was looking at me.
"Be careful you don't step on a snake walking backward like that. It isn't smart to turn your back on what you can't trust."
I laughed softly and turned so I was walking next to her, and she smiled in obvious amusement. "Ha ha. What I was trying to ask is, do you live in these woods?" Was that even possible?
She shot me a strange look. "No, Holden, I don't live in these woods. I'm just familiar with them. Come on." She turned abruptly, pulling my arm so I'd follow her.
"Well, where do you live? I don’t mean to pry, it's just I was told there was no one close by."
"I live a little ways from here."
I looked around, wondering what she meant by a little ways from here. It was the same answer she'd given me before. From what I could see from the deck of the lodge, there was nothing but woods for hundreds of square miles. "Oh, okay, so like in the middle of nowhere then?"
Lily laughed. "Yes, I guess you could say that. But then again, so do you."
I smiled. "True, but just temporarily."
"Maybe I'm only here temporarily, too."
"Oh, so what do you—"
"Why so many questions?"
"I just want—"