Page 59 of Falling Slowly
His arms closed around me, raising a flood of warmth and feeling inside. It wasn’t fake for me, either. Even if it wasn’t my future. My chest squeezed as he kissed the top of my head, his hot breath like gusts of summer wind in my hair. The world lay at my feet, but I closed my eyes, captured by Charlie. Being able to give him what he needed, to make him happy, lifted my heart to my throat. I wanted it to be true.
When he finally released me, I stumbled, searching for balance.
He snapped his hand around mine, saving me from falling down. “That might have been longer than two minutes,” he confessed.
“That’s okay.”
The sun had dipped behind the tree line, reminding us that the day was ending.
“Should we head back?” I asked.
I had to force out the words, since I didn’t want to go back. Not even to beat the dark. I’d fumble my way out of the forest. Besides, Charlie would have his flashlight. It probably doubled as a disco ball if needed.
Charlie turned around, scanning the scenery as if looking for an alternative option. He must have been praying hard because that’s when it happened.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Bess
Ahigh wail, tailed by a low, trembling horn, reverberated through the forest.
“Elk!” Charlie cried out, pointing at a small clearing below us.
I detected some movement, but it was too far away to make sense of. “Are you sure?”
“Yes! That sound was a bull elk. It’s mating season so there’ll be a harem as well.”
“They have a harem?”
“About eight cow elks, usually. We used to watch them when I was a kid. My grandfather was a hunter. They’re fascinating. If we get a bit closer, we might hear them.”
“Is it dangerous?”
“If you get too close, sure. The male weighs about seven hundred pounds and they can attack without warning. But we won’t get too close, only close enough to use my new binoculars, okay?”
I was powerless against that pleading look of excitement and simply followed him down the hill, trying to memorize the way. Thankfully, the terrain was mostly rocky, the trees smaller and further apart, allowing us to weave through them in the general direction of the elk.
It wasn’t long before we heard them again. The shrill sound, now close and startlingly loud, made me jump.
“That’s the bull bugling,” Charlie told me.
He’d taken the lead, and I was happy for once to slow down, staying behind him. Heading for the direction of the sound, we made it to a large rock overlooking the clearing. The elk had congregated on the opposite side—one horned male and eight females, just like Charlie had said.
The male seemed to be chasing one of the females, who lazily skipped around the field, letting him get close, then stretching the gap between them before anything could happen.
“Are they actually mating right now?” I whispered.
Charlie grinned. “I think the female’s playing hard to get.”
As he said it, the cow elk slowed down and circled the male, hopping on its back, then quickly retreated.
“Isn’t that the female?” I asked. “Why is she mounting him?”
Charlie smirked. “Maybe she’s showing him what to do.”
The cow elk strutted off and the bull elk followed, his tongue flicking out. When they got to the edge of the forest, she allowed him to get close, presenting her hindquarters.
“Is he sniffing her…?” My mouth hung open as I stared at the scene.
