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We’d trade spots on the trail, and if I got too far ahead, Law would catch up and take my hand. I can’t lie and say that wasn’t an incentive to go faster. It became a game that made the distance pass quicker. The sun was nearly overhead when we reached an opening in the trees. I could hear rushing water nearby.
“Is this it? Is this where we’re going?” I asked excitedly and let go of his hand to get ahead.
“Hey, wait for me!”
Where the trees opened, the trail turned and went down an incline. It loo
ked steep, but not unmanageable, so I began the climb down. The trail wound around a pool of water that was surrounded by rocks in different shades of brown and gray. A huge waterfall poured over a rocky ledge, feeding the pool, which then ran off a hill in a river. The complete back of the waterfall was exposed in a way we could easily walk 360 degrees around it.
I was so busy taking in the beauty and peacefulness of it all that I hadn’t realized Law was behind me.
“Do you like it?” His words sent his breath against my ear like a warm breeze, and I shivered.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Come on.” He took my hand and tugged me around the edge of the pool to climb behind the waterfall. “Be careful. Some of the rocks are wet.”
We navigated behind the fall, and it was even more breathtaking from the other side. Fingers of sunlight filtered through the flowing water, throwing prisms against the rocky walls. I ran my fingers against the rough surface. Even though I was touching it, this place didn’t feel real.
“Have you been here before?”
I turned back to Law to see he’d laid out a blanket from his backpack and was pulling cans of root beer out.
He shook his head. “I asked my dad for a suggestion.” He lifted his shoulder in a shrug, and his cheeks pinked as if it embarrassed him.
I joined him on the blanket then, sitting close enough that I could tap his crossed knee with mine. “It’s amazing. I’m so glad you brought me here.”
“It’s nothing, really. I thought you might tire of the same trails and places we usually go.”
It was my turn to shrug, and I picked at my soda tab. “I mean, it’s not so much about where we go, as it is that we’re together. I guess if we ran out of things to talk about then it would get boring.”
Law looked at me funny, but I didn’t know what it meant. I saved myself from answering by taking a huge swallow of my drink. “I love waterfalls,” I sighed, attempting to feel less awkward about his funny look. “If I could move anywhere, I’d want a waterfall in my backyard.”
“Me too. A double waterfall.”
My eyes got big. “I’d want a second story deck. A big one that wrapped around the entire back of the house so I could sit up there on big, pillowed lounge chairs and watched the river. And a pergola with fairy lights, so when night came, I could turn them on and not be in the dark.”
“What about a big window seat inside that was actually a bed, so when winter came I didn’t have to freeze out on the deck. And we could lay there and watch the stars come out,” he added.
I moved to lie on my stomach, resting my chin in my hand, and I looked at him. “Oh, and for the summer, we could have a fire pit made with driftwood benches and filled with sand to feel like the beach.”
He moved to mirror my position, stretching his long body on the blanket. “I like that idea. You know what would be really fun?” he asked excitedly. “A pool that was both in the house and out of it. So we could swim outside in the sun or inside if the weather was bad. In the winter, we could fill it with snow and have a snow room.”
“Brr! How would we keep it from melting or making the inside cold?”
“Um…” His eyes drifted away in thought. “Well, it wouldn’t be an actual room in the house, but it would be an enclosed space, sort of like a garage minus the garage door.”
“Good idea.” I took a swig of my drink. “If this were my dream house, I’d need a library. A huge one filled with books I’d never read before. Floor to ceiling shelves and one of those cool sliding ladders that are in the movies. It’d also need to have a second level reading nook that you can only reach with a spiral staircase.”
“A reading nook? Isn’t anywhere a reading nook? You could use the deck chairs or the window seat as a reading nook.”
I pursed my lips in thought. “I could, but this would be special.”
“Special how?”
“I’d fill it with pillows. Different shapes and sizes and colors. It’d be a readers’ paradise.”
“You’re such a nerd,” he teased and dug through his backpack again. “What else would be in your dream home?”
