Page 53 of All I Want Is Love
“Obviously, it’s nothing I plan on doing immediately,” he says. “But I am not planning on letting you go. So, whynotdream about a future together?”
Again, my heart makes a dangerous leap of joy. “I want a place with a garden,” I say.
“Obviously.”
“For Barkley and our future alpaca.”
Soren laughs. “You are really not letting go of that alpaca idea.”
“I mean, I have a vet at home, don’t I?”
“You do!”
“So, it’s safe. We probably could have any pet.” I grin. “Even a snake.”
“No,” Soren says seriously. “Because the only snake—"
I cover my ears, picking up my pace. “I don’t want to hear it!”
“You don’t even know what I wanted to say.”
“Probably some lame ass, sex joke.”
Soren looks at me sweetly. “Talking about ass…”
I groan. “See? Come, Barkley, save me.”
Barkley indeed saves me by jumping around me excitedly and urging me to throw snowballs for him. Soren just walks next to us, smiling whenever our eyes meet. It only strikes me later that he probably did all that to distract me from the exhausting first part of the hike.
The last part we walk over a smooth area, which is probably a meadow during summer. Then, protected by strong rocks and big trees, I spot the hut. “Is that it?” I exclaim.
“Yes.” Soren takes my hand. “We made it.”
“Finally!” I let out a sigh of relief. “My feet were getting tired.”
“You really did amazing, though. This was not an easy hike, especially due to the fresh snow.”
I feel the endorphin rush again, just like during my first hike. There is something about the way my heart pumps and my body feels after such a hike. I am tired, but not in a bad way. My body feels exhausted but sated, and my mind feels a lot calmer too, almost like I was meditating. I hope during the summer, we can truly get up a mountain and reach its peak.
With Barkley hot on my heels, I run towards the hut.
Behind me, Soren laughs. “I can’t believe you still have the energy for a sprint!”
“The comfort of the hut is already drawing me in!” I call back.
“Well, you will be happy to know that they have a hot spring.”
I halt, almost dropping over into the snow. Soren catches up with me and grabs my arm. “Careful,” he chuckles.
“A hot spring?!”
“Yes. One of the owners, the wife, is from Japan. They built an outdoor hot spring into this hut. It’s pretty amazing. Just to have a hot bath while being outside in the snow.”
My mouth drops open. “You didn’t mention it before! That’s awesome!”
“It was supposed to be a surprise.” He looks at me. “Good or bad?”
“Fantastic!” I exclaim, wrapping my arms around him and kissing him. Before he can deepen the kiss, I pull away, though. “If we get started like this, I won’t be able to check everything out before the sun sets.”
