Page 63 of Kiss Across the Universe
Time travel and near-immortality tended to counter any arguments Alannah could make about age differences, anyway.
So why was she hesitating?
Alannah stirred and went in search of more dried wood for the coffee fire, her brain working hard.
By the time she found her way back to where Kit was waiting, she still had no good answers.
He’d dug a hole in the ground, a small one. He broke up her twigs and added them to the hole. Then he lit a tiny fire. Two green branches across the hole held up the pan, in which was what had to be lunch.
“What’s the white stuff?” Alannah asked.
“It will be chicken alfredo when it’s cooked.”
Her stomach rumbled. “Sounds like Bel Air level cuisine to me.”
“Bison is better for you. But the pasta will give you energy.”
She resettled her rear on the flattened grass on the other side of the fire to Kit. “Kit…”
He held up his hand.Stop. “No. Not before we’ve eaten, and maybe not then, either.” He’d guessed exactly what she was about to say. Was she that obvious?
“But—”
“Leave it alone, Alannah.” He lifted his chin and his black eyes bore into hers. “We’re in…strange circumstances. The time to talk about anything will be when we get back to normal.”
Disappointment touched her, but she nodded. It was a very sensible way to deal with this. Leave it until later, when there were not bizarre pressures swirling around them. “Very well,” she said, her tone a little stiff.
Kit went back to stirring the pasta with a fork.
She cast her gaze about. They were much higher than they had been this morning. She had never hiked this high. No orienteering contest would ask competitors to run this high, either. Not unless it was a feature of the contest and advertised well in advance so competitors could train for it.
Although the world class contest held in the mountains in Switzerland, one year, she remembered particularly well. She had stood at the 2,000 meter high point and looked out over the view, which had been breathtaking, with rolling glens and snow-capped peaks in the distance. It had been chocolate box-top pretty.
Only it wasn’tthisview. She hadn’t looked up at peaks soaring above her, almost as though they were leaning in over her, as they seemed to do here. The air here was crisp and clear.
Alannah studied the peaks visible over the top of the trees. They were grander than the Alps, but she couldn’t say why. They just were.
“Here, come closer. We’ll share the pan,” Kit said.
Alannah brought her gaze back to the little fire, and the pan that Kit was holding out. The pan steamed gently and she caught a whiff of garlic and her mouth instantly watered.
She shuffled closer and took the fork he offered and scooped up a forkful of pasta and meat dripping with sauce. The steam warned her to cool the food and she blew on it before eating it.
“Good, hmm?” Kit asked as she made appreciative noises. He scooped up his own mouthful with a spoon.
Alannah took the pan and rested it on the flattened grass beside the fire, and ate steadily. She was ravenous, and only barely managed to leave at least half of the meal for Kit.
When they had finished, he rinsed the pan with a little water, filled it with fresh water and put it back over the flames to boil, for coffee.
Alannah sat back, her knees up against her chest, her arms around them. Now she wasn’t hungry, she was happy to wait for coffee. She found her gaze drawn back to the peaks, but not for long. As Kit worked over the collapsible cup, making coffee, she watched him.
It was warm next to the little fire, which made Alannah aware of the slight chill of the air against her back, even through the light cotton jacket. She shivered.
“We can’t stop long,” Kit said, as if he’d spotted her shiver. “We’ll cool down too much and neither of us is wearing clothing that is good for high passes.”
“Just let me bolt down the coffee and we can go. Water’s boiling,” she pointed out.
“Water boils at a lower temperature when you’re higher up. We’ll give it another minute.”
