The Season of Falling

18. Chapter 18

Chapter eighteen

Kasey

The days passed in a blur of Dean and work, and suddenly the day of our friend weekend was upon us. After graduation, our group of friends had decided that every October we would have a friend weekend where we’d all get together no matter where we ended up. Of course we tried to see each other more often than that as well, but this was our one guaranteed weekend every year.

We’d done it in Vermont for the past few years since that’s where most of us were, and this year was no different. Jace had an SUV with enough seats for everyone, and we were buzzing with anticipation as we got closer to the airport. Max and Hazel had coordinated so that they landed around the same time as each other, and we talked excitedly as we drove, ready to be reunited with our friends.

Jace pulled into the arrivals lane and barely put the car in park before Ro and I burst out of the car and practically tackled Hazel in a hug. We squealed and jumped up and down, our arms still around each other. I looked over Ro’s shoulder and saw Max grabbing a bag for a gorgeous woman standing beside him.

“Who’s that with Max?” I whispered into Hazel’s ear.

She wrinkled her nose. “That’s Emma, Max’s girlfriend.” The girlfriend in question had long sleek black hair that was straightened to perfection. She was wearing a cream pantsuit and red heels to match her red lipstick. She looked like she was ready to walk down the runway, not like she’d just stepped off a plane.

I looked at Ro and saw that her eyes were as wide as mine. Max hadn’t dated anyone since our junior year of college. And the fact that he was dating someone again and brought her to the friend weekend? That was big.

“And?” Ro asked, her eyes flicking over to the way Emma was now draped over Max’s arm.

Hazel grimaced. “First impressions aren’t everything…right?”

“That bad, huh?” I asked, and Hazel nodded.

“Well, at least she’s stylish,” Ro said with another glance at the woman. Hazel and I giggled and hurried to grab her things and load them into the back of the car.

We’d planned to go straight from the airport out to Stowe, a little town about an hour east of Burlington. But when we explained our plans for the day, Emma complained that she wasn’t in the right clothes for “a silly hike in the middle of nowhere”. I barely refrained from rolling my eyes as Jace drove back to his place so that she could change.

When she came back out, she was much more appropriately clad with dark jeans, the cutest hiking boots I’d ever seen, and a lovely cream sweater. Next to the rest of us, she could have been a model for some fancy outdoor magazine. She hopped in the car and snuggled up next to Max. Jace and Dean were in the front, and Ro, Hazel, and me had claimed the backseat, eager to spend as much time together as we could.

Stowe was the most beautiful place in autumn, and I stared out my window in awe as we drove the windy roads. It didn’t matter how long I’d lived here, my mind simply couldn’t believe so much beauty existed until I saw it again each year. The trees were every shade of vibrant yellow, orange, and red, and they swayed gently in the breeze. We drove along with the Winooski River as our companion for most of the trip, and each time I spotted it through the trees, the reflection of the surrounding scenery took my breath away all over again.

When we arrived at Smugglers’ Notch, we drove through the narrow mountain pass until we found a place to park at one of the trailheads.

“We’re here.” Jace announced brightly. “Everybody out.”

We all clambered out of the car and got ready for the short hike we’d planned. It wasn’t supposed to be very steep, and we figured that we could do the entire thing in about two hours. I was excited at the prospect, and I couldn’t seem to wipe the huge grin off my face.

“Two hours?” Emma complained, holding tightly to Max’s arm. “That’s so long. What am I supposed to do for two hours? And without any cell service?”

I thought I saw Max’s jaw tighten, but the movement was so subtle I could have imagined it. He spoke quietly to Emma, and she pouted but nodded and painted a strained smile on her face as we set off into the woods.

It was a beautiful October day, the sky was a bright blue, and the sun was shining. In my mind, nothing could make the day better. Except maybe one slight adjustment. I quickened my pace until I was right beside Dean and slid my hand into his. He smiled down at me and squeezed my hand. I glanced back at Ro and Hazel, and they gave me an enthusiastic thumbs up, huge grins on their faces.

Jace was walking ahead of the group, and Hazel and Ro jogged past Dean and me to walk with him, leaving Max and Emma to bring up the rear of our group. We all laughed and chatted as we hiked, and it was just like old times. We’d spent so much time as a group that whenever we were all together we fell into step like no time had passed. Even Jace, who hadn’t joined us until after we graduated, fit in like he’d always been a part of us.

“Remember that time we all went hiking?” Dean asked, breaking me from my thoughts. “I can’t remember the name of the place, but it was supposed to be a three mile round trip and ended up being closer to seven because we took the wrong trail?”

I laughed, drawing the attention of the three walking ahead of us. “I definitely remember that. My calves were sore for a week afterward.”

Dean laughed, as well and Ro, Hazel, and Jace slowed their steps until we caught up to them.

“What’s so funny?” Ro asked. I reminded them of our fateful hike and then we were all laughing, even Max, who had come up close behind us. We stopped for a breather and passed water bottles around while we talked.

“It was all Dean’s fault that we got lost,” Max chuckled. “He can’t read a map to save his life.”

“I resent that.” Dean crossed his arms in defiance, but there was a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “I was just having an extra bad map-reading day.”

Hazel looked at Dean and me, a mischievous smile on her face. “But that’s not even the worst part.”

“What was the worst part?” Jace asked, leaning casually against a huge rock jutting out into the path. We hadn’t known him then, but he always loved hearing our crazy stories.

“The skunk!” Ro, Hazel, Max, and I exclaimed in unison as if we’d rehearsed the story.

Jace’s eyes went wide. “A skunk? Did someone get sprayed?”

We all looked to Dean who sheepishly raised a hand in the air. “I may have unintentionally ignored the warning signs and accidentally stepped on a den…” He shrugged and we all burst into laughter again.

“The rest of us backed away quick, but Dean’s shirt got caught in some bushes, and he couldn’t get away fast enough to avoid the spray,” Ro explained through her laughter.

“He smelled so bad we made him walk like 20 feet behind us the rest of the way back. And change into the extra clothes Max had in the car before we drove home,” Hazel added, holding her sides from laughing so hard.

“This is not what I was trying to remember when I mentioned the hike,” Dean said with a chuckle.

I smiled and patted him on the arm. “We had a great time, even with the skunk spray.”

He winked at me, and we started off again, all of us telling stories and reminiscing on the fun things we’d done together. I smiled, happy to have all my friends together again for my favorite weekend of the year.

When we made it to the end, we were greeted with a beautiful waterfall that cascaded down the rocks to the river below. It wasn’t very big, but the roar was loud enough that we had to stick close together to be heard.

“Let’s find a place to sit and eat our lunch,” Dean hollered over the noise. We spread out to find a spot, and after a few minutes, Emma and Max were waving and yelling to get our attention. We walked over to the little clearing they’d found, and it looked like someone else had had the same idea as us. There were logs and large rocks gathered together in a circle and we each claimed a spot and sat down. Everyone except Emma.

“I’m not going to sit down on that rock,” she protested. “It’s basically like sitting on the ground.” The rest of us shared amused glances but didn’t say anything.

“The options are my lap, the rock, or the ground,” Max replied with patience that seemed tested almost to its limit. “It’s up to you.”

She folded her arms and glared at him, the rock, the woods, and everything. Finally she sat with a huff on the rock beside Max, angrily taking the sandwich he offered her. I wasn’t sure what to make of this woman. She didn’t really seem like the kind of girl Max would go for. Although, it had been years since we’d seen him with anyone, so maybe his tastes had changed.

Once we had all finished eating, Jace jumped up from his rock. “Let’s play a game.”

“What kind of game?” Ro asked eagerly. Hazel and I exchanged a look. Ro insisted that nothing was going on between her and Jace, but she seemed awfully interested in him and his ideas. We’d have to wait and see what happened with them. Ro was stubborn, and if we pushed too hard, she’d shut everything down purely on principle.

“I was thinking tag or hide-n-seek,” Jace replied, glancing around excitedly at everyone.

“I think there might be too many trees and things to trip on for tag,” Hazel said, ever the voice of reason.

“Okay, hide-n-seek then.” He grinned broadly.

Emma stood, brushing as much dirt as she could from her pants. “I’m not about to get lost out here, so probably not that either.”

“We can play in pairs,” Ro suggested.

“We do have an odd number though.” Hazel gestured to herself, noting that she was the odd one out in that math.

“There can be one group of three,” Max said, smiling briefly at Hazel. I realized with a start that I hadn’t seen Max smile much the whole day. He’d laughed when we’d talked about the hike and skunk, but that was the only time I could think of. Max wasn’t as happy and exuberant as Jace, but he used to smile more often than that. I made a mental note to talk to him later about his life and how he was doing.

“Are you okay with that, Hazel?” Dean asked. She nodded and smiled reassuringly before moving to stand by Ro and Jace.

Jace clapped his hands in excitement. “Great. Let’s do this! We can be the seekers first. Try not to get too far away and let’s focus on hiding back down toward the trailhead. That way it'll get us closer to the car.” We all agreed and then Dean grabbed my hand and tugged me into the trees.

“Come on,” he whispered. “We can’t let Max and Emma win.”

“Why are you whispering?” I laughed.

“Shh,” he hissed. “We have to be sneaky.”

I laughed harder but tried to keep my voice down as we weaved between trees and ducked under branches. “You’re sure taking this seriously.”

“Hide-n-seek is a very serious game, Kasey,” he said, grinning over his shoulder at me. His smile was infectious. It filled me up with more warmth than the sun, and I couldn’t help the grin that spread over my face as well.

Dean kept winding through the trees, angling us slightly downhill and toward the beginning of the trail. Despite his insistence on whispering, there was no way we wouldn’t be heard. The ground was littered with red and orange leaves, and we made plenty of noise as we crashed through the trees. Dean scanned the area around us as if looking for something.

“What are you looking for?” I asked, curiously.

“The perfect hiding spot, of course.” He stopped suddenly, and I almost plowed right into his back. “And I think I just found it.” He took a few steps toward our left and stopped in front of a tree with large rocks all around it then looked back at me expectantly.

“How is this bunch of trees and rocks better than any of the other trees and rocks we’ve passed by?”

“Because this one,” Dean said, “is hidden.” He reached out and dramatically swiped some branches aside to reveal a little alcove made from the large rocks piled up and leaning against each other.

“How did you see that?” I asked in amazement.

Dean shrugged and grinned mischievously. “I can’t reveal all my secrets.” He gestured me forward. “Now in you go. No point in having the perfect hiding spot if we don’t hide in it.”

I ducked under his arm and then lowered to my hands and knees so I could crawl into the small space. “This is going to be a tight fit,” I called over my shoulder.

“I guess we’ll just have to get cozy.”

I snorted and scooted as far back as I could, pulling my knees up to my chest to make room for Dean. He crawled in after me and let the branches fall back into place. The leaves blocked any direct sunlight from reaching us, but the way the rays shone through the fall leaves cast a magical glow all around. Dean did his best to squeeze in next to me, but there really wasn’t enough room for both of us.

He grunted as he shifted around on the ground. Finally, he gave up and grabbed my legs. I gasped in surprise as he draped them across his lap and scooted even closer to me. We were touching everywhere, and I was practically sitting in his lap. I fidgeted for a minute, trying to get comfortable, but eventually just did my best to relax even though I knew my butt was going to be cold soon.

“How long do you think we’ll be in here?” I asked, trying to peer through the leaves.

“Why? Are you in a rush to get out?”

I laughed softly and turned my head to look at Dean, only to find his eyes already on my face. My breath caught. The light filtering through the leaves was shining all around Dean, lighting up his face and making his blue eyes dance. He was beautiful. So beautiful it made my heart ache. He was smiling at me, and those dimples that always taunted me were right there, begging to be touched.

So I reached up, ever so slowly, and brought my hand to his face, lightly touching the dimple on the left and then right side of his mouth. He inhaled sharply but didn’t move. I don’t know if it was the dim lighting, the close proximity, or the heady smell of autumn, but whatever it was, it made me bold. I didn’t stop with his dimples. I placed my hand under his chin and slowly ran my thumb across his bottom lip. His mouth parted and his warm breath fanned across my face.

As I pulled my hand away, Dean moved to grasp it, holding it to his mouth and lightly placing a kiss to my thumb. A shiver ran through me as he kissed each of my fingers in turn. He was only kissing my fingers, but I felt the touch of his lips all the way to my toes. My heart was beating wildly, and I was sure that Dean could hear it.

As if he could read my mind, Dean took my hand and laid it against his chest where I swear I could feel his heart beating as erratically as my own. I tried to focus on my breathing, but Dean’s gaze was tender and intense, and it would have stolen my breath away if I’d had any to steal. He reached up and tucked a few strands of loose hair behind my ear. As he lowered his hand he skimmed his thumb across my jaw. My eyes drifted closed, and I held my breath, waiting.

It’s not like I’d never been touched like this before. Over the years, I’d had a few boyfriends, and it had been fun. But I think somewhere in the back of my mind, I had always been holding out hope for Dean. Because none of them had ever lasted more than a few months. But this? This had been worth it.

I felt him shift as he leaned even closer to me, replacing his thumb with his lips along my jaw. He kissed a slow path from my ear all the way to the corner of my mouth before he switched and repeated his trail of kisses on the other side of my face. I was melting into a puddle on the ground, and only the wall of rock behind me was keeping me upright. I sighed as Dean made it back to the corner of my mouth.

His hand cupped the side of my face and urged me closer to him, as close as he could get me. And then his lips were on mine. At first, the kiss was soft and sweet. His lips moved against mine almost tentatively, as if asking and waiting. And at my clear answer, Dean wrapped his arms around me and deepened the kiss, somehow bringing me even closer to him. But somewhere in the foggy recesses of my mind, I knew that I could never be close enough to him.