Page 30 of Don't Scare Me, My Love

“Nicholas?” I asked to make sure everything was all right. I waited for a second, but I didn’t hear a reply. “Nicholas?” I asked again, a little louder this time.

Why didn’t he answer me?

“Could you say something?” I took another step and bumped into someone I hoped was him. “That was you, wasn’t it?”

There was no response for another second, but then his giggle echoed through the forest. “Sorry. For a moment, I thought about trying to scare you again. But that would be too mean since you look pretty scared already.”

“I’m not scared…, okay, maybe a little.”

“The idea of scaring us on purpose is to make us feel alive, right? So, there is no shame in admitting it.”

There was another crack of wood under someone’s feet to our right. A flash of light, accompanied by a devastating clap of thunder, illuminated a skeleton just beside us.

Nicholas cried out loudly, and this time I joined him.

“For the love of… that was so mean,” I shouted, but Nicholas’ laughter drowned out my words.

The flash still lingered in my eye, even though it was long gone.

“Are you okay?” Nicholas asked. “For someone who said he’s never scared, this seems like quite a lot for you.”

Blood rushed to my head. I hated this. Not being with him or what he had just said, but feeling helpless because I couldn’t see well. And this isn’t the moment to get out my flashlight, which would solve my problem but ruin the mood completely.

“I don’t know if you want to hear that,” Nicholas said, “but you look bloody cute right now.”

“How can you seeanythingin this darkness?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that it’ssuper dark, and I can’t seeshit.”

“You can’t see my face?”

“You can see mine?”

“Yeah? Wait. Are you night-blind?”

I huffed. This wasn’t what I had hoped our night would be like.

“Do you want to go back out again?” Nicholas asked.

“No. You’re enjoying this.”

“I’m not if you’re not.”

“I do. It’s just…sorry… not being able to see anything in the dark is sometimes a trigger. I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want to spoil your fun. I’m more afraid of tripping over something than anything else right now.”

The women behind us appeared in the light of the small lantern while we were still standing in the dark, not moving on as we should.

“I’m sorry. I wouldn’t have suggested going in here if?—“

"I don't blame you. Or anyone,” I cut him off. “If it wasn't too dark for me, I’d enjoy this."

“Would it help if I held your hand and showed you the way?” Nicholas’ voice was calm. “I can see pretty well, and I could pointout if there’s anything on the ground you might trip over.” The rustling of his jacket told me he was holding out his hand to me. “It’s also a perfect excuse to hold hands on a date without having to figure out an awkward way to get there.”

A tingle ran down my spine.How the hell had he turned this situation into an opportunity to flirt with me?And, damn it, why did it work?The corners of my mouth twitched, even though I didn’t want them to.

"How are you single?" I asked, searching for his hand in the dark. This solved the problem, and,damn it,I had been dying to hold his hand for days.

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