again. Fear pounded through her and she hurried to the front office, wishing for the millionth time that she had a cell phone. Her parents could certainly have afforded one for her, but her mother steadfastly maintained that she didn’t need one until she left for college.
“Can I use the phone real quick?” Laurel asked the secretary. The secretary plunked a cordless down on the counter in front of her. Laurel dialed David’s cell number and her tension rose as it rang, once, twice. On the fourth ring his voice mail picked up. It beeped for her to leave a message, but what was she supposed to say?
She hung up without saying anything. She considered ditching and driving around town looking for him, but besides the futility of that, she had chemistry next. If he did just show up super late, at least if she was in class she’d know immediately.
Chemistry class had never lasted so long. While her teacher rattled on about polyatomic ions, Laurel’s mind was flipping through progressively worse and worse scenarios. David killed by trolls. David taken and tortured by trolls. David taken by trolls and used as a trap for her so
Laurel ran over to the social studies hallway, where Chelsea was just stepping out of history. “Have you seen David?” Laurel asked.
Chelsea shook her head. “I always assume he’s with you.”
“I can’t find him,” Laurel said, trying to keep her voice from shaking.
“Maybe he’s sick,” Chelsea suggested — Laurel had to admit — rationally.
“Yeah, but he’s not answering his cell. He always answers his cell.”
“He might be sleeping.”
“Maybe,” Laurel said. She returned to her locker and pulled out her American literature textbook. She looked at the cover and suddenly the thought of reading anything someone wrote a hundred years ago seemed like the most pointless thing in the world. She put it back and grabbed her purse instead. She just had to see if he was at home. It wouldn’t take that long — she probably wouldn’t even be counted absent if she hurried back. She was just reaching out to swing her locker door shut when Chelsea tapped her shoulder, startling her.
“There he is,” she said, pointing down the hall. David was walking toward her, a smile on his face and sunglasses hiding his eyes. Laurel was running before she could stop herself. She slammed into David and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing as hard as she could.
“Well, hello,” David said, looking down at her questioningly.
After an hour spent visualizing his demise, David’s casual tone made hot anger bubble up in her chest. She grabbed the front of his shirt in both fists and shook him a little. “You scared me to death, David Adam Lawson! Where the hell have you been?”
David glanced down the hall toward the front doors. “Let’s get out of here,” he said, not answering her question.
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s go somewhere, have some fun.”
She glanced around before saying quietly, “Ditch?”
“Oh, come on. You have literature this hour. You’re getting, what? An A plus, plus? Let’s go!”
She looked up at him, one eyebrow raised skeptically. “You want to take off and ditch class to go ‘have some fun’? Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?”
David just smiled. “Come on,” he said earnestly. “Just this once.”
“Okay,” she said. She was so relieved to see him, it didn’t really matter where he wanted to go. She was game. “Let’s do it!”
“Great,” David said, grabbing her hand. His gait was as close to skipping as Laurel had ever seen. “Come on!”
She had to admit that his excitement was infectious. She found herself laughing along with him as they raced out to his car.
“Where are we going?” she asked as she clicked her seat belt.
“It’s a surprise,” David said, a mischievous glint in his eye. He pulled out a long strip of cloth. “Close your eyes,” he said softly.
“You’re kidding me, right?” Laurel said in disbelief.
“Come on, now,” David said. “You trust me, don’t you?”
Laurel looked up at him, his sunglasses reflecting her own face back at her. “What’s up with the shades?” Laurel asked. “I can’t see your eyes in those things.”
“That’s the point, isn’t it?”
“What, preventing your girlfriend from seeing your eyes?”
“Not you specifically.” He grinned. “Anyway, I think they’re pretty sweet.”
“I think it would be pretty sweet if I could see your eyes, David.”
Without hesitation, he slipped off the sunglasses and looked at her, his soft blue eyes open and earnest. All of Laurel’s worries dissipated and she turned to let him blindfold her. “I trust you,” she said.
Once the blindfold was in place, Laurel sat back in the passenger seat and tried to pay attention to each turn David was making, determined to keep track of where she was. But after about five minutes it became obvious that he was going in circles, so she gave up. Soon the car bumped against a curb and came to a stop. After a few seconds her door opened and David gently helped her out, one hand at her waist and the other on her shoulder to stabilize her.
“David,” Laurel said tentatively, “I hate to be a spoilsport, but I hope we’re someplace safe. After the other night…well…you know.”
“Don’t worry,” David said, his mouth close to her ear. “I’ve brought you to the safest place in the world.” David removed the blindfold, and for a moment the sunlight was blinding as it filtered down through the leaves, giving everything an ethereal glow. They were standing in a small clearing ringed by the very last of the autumn flowers — orange gloriosa daisies, touches of purple coneflowers, and some blue Russian sage. In the middle, on a patch of thick, green grass, was a blanket with a couple of couch pillows and several bowls of sliced fruit. Strawberries, nectarines, apples, and a bottle of sparkling cider with beads of condensation that glinted in the gentle sunlight. Laurel smiled and turned around to confirm her suspicion — just past the edge of the trees, she could see her own backyard. Safest place in the world, indeed.
“David! This is beautiful!” Laurel said breathlessly, stretching up on her toes to kiss him, glad they were just out of sight of the house, in case either of her parents came home for lunch — which they usually didn’t. “When did you do this?”
“There was a reason you couldn’t find me this morning,” he said sheepishly.
“David Lawson!” Laurel gasped with mock sternness. “What is the world coming to when Del Norte’s star student is skipping his classes?”
He shrugged, then grinned. “Some things are more important than my GPA.”
After a brief hesitation, Laurel asked, “Did I…forget some special occasion?”
David shook his head. “Nope. I just thought that we’ve both been under so much stress lately that we haven’t really had any good together-time.”
Laurel reached her arms around David’s neck and kissed him. “I think this is definitely going to make up for it.”
“That’s the idea,” he replied. “Have a seat.” She sat cross-legged on the blanket and he dropped to the ground behind her. “One more thing,” he said, his hands slipping around her waist, just under her shirt. Laurel smiled as he worked at the knot in her sash, but he eventually managed it and pushed her shirt back so her blossom could splay out behind her. “Much better,” David said. He poured them each a glass of cider and they lay propped up on the pillows, with Laurel snuggled against David’s chest.
“This is awesome,” Laurel said lazily. David held up a slice of nectarine; she laughed as he avoided her hands and held the fruit toward her face. She tilted her head back and opened her mouth. She leaned forward at the last second, her teeth biting lightly at his fingers. Then she let his hand go and pressed her mouth against his lips instead. His fingers trailed over the bare skin, now showing between the top of her jeans and the hem of her shirt, caressing her softly, gently, tentatively. Even after a year he always touched her that way, as if it was a privilege he
