"You know, if you don’t mind waiting, that actually sounds pretty fun," she replied, and I could have sworn I saw a brief twinkle in those hazel eyes as she finally agreed to meet with me. "I’ll need to head home and wash up and change first, but maybe we could meet about seven?"
"Sounds good to me," I replied. "Oh, I’m Felix, by the way."
She parted her lips, like it had only just struck her she didn’t know my name.
"Oh, right, of course!” she exclaimed, extending her hand to mine. "I’m Dina."
"Good to meet you, Dina."
I took her hand, and, for a moment, quiet settled between us. Her soft hand sat in mine, delicate fingers brushing against my skin before she pulled them back quickly and cleared her throat.
"I’ll book us a table," I added, rubbing my thumb and forefinger together where I could still feel the warmth of her skin against mine.
"You don’t even know where it is," she reminded me, with another laugh. The sound of it warmed the air around us, like birdsongs drifting from the trees.
"I’m sure I’ll figure it out. The square’s not that big."
"Well, if you’re sure..."
"Certain."
She paused for a moment, just looking at me, her teeth resting on her bottom lip.
"Well, I guess I’ll see you then," she finished up, and she glanced past me up the path. "Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to finish my hike before my shift starts."
"I haven’t made you late, have I?"
"Nope," she replied, and a flicker of playfulness crossed her eyes. "Anyway, even if I am, I’ll just take the zipline back down the side of the waterfalls..."
I held my hand up, stopping her in her tracks.
"Hold on. There’s a zipline?"
"You didn’t notice?” she replied. "Yeah, it was put up by the owner of the Whisper Falls Cabins, Beckett, and it takes you all the way down to the bottom of the waterfalls. Once you’ve signed a liability waiver, at least..."
"I might have to take another look to check that out."
"You strike me as the ziplining type," she agreed.
"What does that mean?”
"I haven’t decided yet," she replied, and I laughed as she brushed past me, up the trail and to the waterfalls beyond.
"Well, have you at least figured out if it’s a good thing or not?”
"I’ll let you know at dinner tonight!”
Her voice came drifting over her shoulder, and I watched as she vanished off between the trees, clearly well-versed in this trail. But, just before she disappeared entirely, I was sure that I caught her smiling back at me.
And it was that thought which carried me the rest of the way down the trail and back to the town. With only some small regrets that I hadn’t had a chance to try that zipline first.
Chapter 2
Dina
I fiddled with my shirt in front of the mirror, wondering if I should have gone with something a little more formal. I mean, I was going out to dinner with this guy, wasn’t I? Maybe I should make a bit more of an effort to dress myself up, look a little more appealing...
Or maybe I should remember that I was not trying to go on any kind of date. No, as far as I was concerned, this was just a chance for me to make a new friend, and get a free dinner out of it in the process. I didn’t get to eat out much, and as soon as he told me that he would pay, I had seen little choice but to agree to his offer. A free dinner, at Ford’s Italian Kitchen? Yeah, I couldn’t think of much better than that...
