“So you do love taking pictures. You might even know what you’re talking about.”
“A little.” I smiled.
She rubbed a hand across her face. “I thought you were trying to be annoying earlier.”
“Well, I was trying to annoy you—at least a little.”
“It worked. And then you kissed me.” She looked at me with a wide-eyed expression then shrieked when she saw we were heading straight for a gravel road that connected to the highway at an angle.
“Road! Road! What are you doing?”
I grinned as I turned the car onto the side road. “Taking the scenic route. You’ve never done that before, have you?”
She latched onto the door handle of the Jeep as I turned off the highway.
The Jeep rocketed up the steep gravel road, bouncing in and out of potholes.
“What are you doing?”
“Taking you on a date!” I grinned when she looked at me uncertainly. “I figured we’d drive over the mountain this way. There’s a great little tapas bar I thought you might like. We can either drive around on the highway or take this gravel road. Chances are higher of seeing something cool this way.”
She nodded stiffly.
“You’ve never taken your Jeep off of pavement before, have you?”
She shook her head. I drifted us around a sweeping corner. I could clearly see no one coming around the other side.
“Are you trying to kill me?” Riley whispered.
“You need to get out of your trailer park more often.”
“Why are you so obsessed with my extracurricular activities?” she cried out as we hit a bump in the road. She bounced up and down in the seat.
It took until the top of the mountain for her to relax. Once we made it to the ridge, there was a beautiful view of the valley below. A section of the hillside was filled with replanted timber, making it easy to see over the treetops.
“Oh look! Stop the car!” she cried out.
I slowed to a stop.
“Look!” She pointed to something in the brush—something dark and scrambling up a tree. “It’s a bear!”
I leaned closer to her to look out her side of the car. “Look up there.” I pointed to the tree branches above where a small cub sat, waiting for its mama.
“I’ve never seen a bear before.”
“Cute, huh?” I pulled forward again.
“Oh no, don’t go yet. I want to look at them a little longer. I have to take a picture for Wren.”
She pulled out her phone and snapped as many pictures as she could before they climbed out of sight.
She turned and smiled at me. “You were right; going this way was worth it. I didn’t know we had bears so close. Are they mean?”
I shook my head. “They’re harmless. Black bears usually aren’t aggressive unless you come between them and their cubs.”
“So, if I’d jumped out of the car, she would have eaten me?” Riley’s eyes widened with excitement. This was the Riley I knew. The adventure was a thrill to her.
“Sadly, no. She probably would have snarled and snapped at you, trying to warn you off.”
“Wow. When did you become such a nature expert?”
I laughed. “This photography gig has taught me a lot about wildlife. It’s not quite like the TV shows portray.”
Riley laughed, and we spent the rest of the drive talking about staged wildlife shows.
By the time we reached the restaurant, Riley’s cheeks were flushed, and her eyes sparkled with excitement.
“When was the last time you did something just for the fun of it?”
She answered me as we sat down at a table in a corner. “Far too long. Life has a way of getting in the way.”
The server stopped at our table, ready to take our drink orders. “Do you want sangria? Or an IPA?” I asked as I perused the drink list.
“I’ll take an Italian soda, actually.”
I nodded and passed the list to the man. “Same for me.”
Once he left, I turned to Riley.
She unfolded her napkin as she said, “You can have a drink.”
“But you won’t.”
She shook her head vigorously.
I’d almost forgotten Riley’s vehement promise in high school that she wouldn’t drink alcohol, even as an adult. Her mother had been a living warning to her to stay away from any addictive substance. “Then I won’t. I can respect that, Riley, and I admire that.”
She smiled. “I’ve heard so much about this place. I’m excited to try tapas.”
“You’re going to love it. And if you don’t, that’s okay; I’ll eat it all.”
She grinned and relaxed. I made it a personal goal of mine to keep that radiant look on her face the rest of the evening.
The server brought our drinks and took our orders. The food arrived quickly, and the awkwardness of being on a date together completely disappeared.
Riley spent most of dinner laughing at my face when I tried something I didn’t like.
Accidentally launching a grape across the table and down her shirt had only made her laugh harder.
Offering to help fish it out was met with a firm—and quite loud—no.
With a full stomach and a knowledge that I hadn’t completely ruined our friendship, I walked her up her porch steps. I leaned down and kissed her cheek quickly before I opened the door for her.
“Thanks for going on a date with me. Same time tomorrow?” I asked with a wink.
Riley turned away from me. “Nate, I had a lot of fun tonight, but I just don’t think it’s the greatest idea to—“
I gently pushed her through the open door. “Get a good night’s rest, and we can talk about it in the morning.”
I wasn’t up for being rejected on my first date night.
Chapter TenNate
The day after our date, I’d had to run up to Portland to move the last of my stuff from the apartment. The guys were officially down one roommate.
When I pulled into the trailer park, I could see a blonde head at the end of the street. There was a truck parked along the street in front of Riley’s, and she was talking to someone I couldn’t recognize from the distance.
