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"Hi," said Luca's voice.
He came into focus as he dropped onto the ground next to me. He looked—well, like someone who'd spent the afternoon in a nice cool tent, rather than sifting pebbles under a blazing sky. I was pretty sure my sunburn had a sunburn.
"Hi," I replied, pushing my hair off my forehead with my inner wrist. I was smelly and sweaty—but, I reminded myself, this was actually a good thing. The more Luca saw of dusty, stinky River, the less he would look at me with an expression like…
Like the one he was currently wearing.
"How is your work?" he asked. I felt like he was staring into my very soul, good lord. How could anyone's eyes be so green?
I glanced down at the growing pile of dirt under my screen. "It's fine," I managed to say. "Slow."
"You've made progress." He reached over and touched my trowel with one long finger.
"I mean, yeah," I said. "A bit. I guess." I'd dug down thirty centimeters, which was pretty good for one afternoon. Raheem had given up an hour ago and gone back to the dorms.
"Tomorrow," he said, "I will help you."
"Oh…I haven't really found…I didn't realize you'd be helping with…” I trailed off. He was gazing at me imploringly, the intense expression on his face replaced by one of sheer earnestness. "Okay," I said finally.
He nodded, appearing satisfied. "Good," he said, then added: "It will be dark soon."
The sun was indeed sinking toward the horizon, and I realized that it was quite a bit cooler than it had been even an hour before. "Yeah.”
"You've eaten?" He was still staring at me. I couldn't tear my gaze away from his lower lip.
"I, um…” I shook my head. "No. I haven't."
"To answer your earlier question," he said, glancing toward the tents, "no. I am not staying at the dorms. I have an apartment near campus."
"Uh-huh," I said faintly.
"I have brought dinner," he added, nodding toward the small cluster of people up by the tents.
I almost fell over. All that lead-in, all that staring, the mention of his apartment—all so he could tell me there was fettuccine or something by the picnic tables? I opened my mouth to reply, but he was already turning to leave.
"Yeah," I said to his retreating back. "Great. Thanks."
I was pretty sure there had been a time in my life when I'd been able to form coherent sentences. Intelligent ones, even. What was it about that guy that made me forget how to use my brain?
The sound of laughter echoed from the tents, and I stubbornly picked up my trowel. I couldn't go up there yet. I'd just make an ass of myself even more than I already had. There was still light enough for one more layer. Then I'd stop. Maybe he'd already be gone at that point and I could grab a bite of whatever was left before I collapsed into bed.
I laid the flat side of my trowel against the side wall of my unit and began pulling it in a smooth motion toward myself, loosening another layer of dirt. I scooped it into the bucket by my side and repeated the motion. Drag and scoop. Drag and scoop. Another few centimeters lower, then another, then—
Thunk.
What the—
Had I just hit a rock?
I scraped my trowel more gingerly, moving dirt away from the…something, then used a brush to clear the rest of the soil away, revealing the top of a heavy circle of stone. It was perfectly round, domed up out of the bottom of my trench. My heart leaped—this was the anomaly, whatever it was. I stopped to take a few photos and add a quick sketch to my notebook, then reached for the trowel again and dug deeper. I carefully scraped all the way to the base of the layer, scooping dirt out of the way into my bucket to reveal…a lid.
Yes, that was what it was, a heavy stone lid, a perfect domed circle, sitting right in the center of my test pit. My breath caught.
The light was failing. I should stop, get a tarp over the unit and go find some dinner. Wait til morning when I could show everyone what I'd found, when we could all open it together.
But I couldn't stop myself. Just a peek, then I'd call it a night. I had to know what was inside.
Gingerly, I grasped the sides of the stone lid and lifted it. It was heavier than it looked, and I carefully set it aside, peering down into the cavity beneath. My breath rushed out of me in a whoosh.
