Page 45 of Gripp

April snorted, then looked ahead. “First of all,” she began, “girls are children. I am a woman, got that?” He nodded, intrigued by her tone. “Second of all, there are lots of women out there who wouldn't mind something like that. I think you just haven’t interacted with enough of them.”

She gazed back at him briefly, one side of her mouth curled into a smirk. Her bright eyes looked delicious in the dimming light of day.

Gripp raised two hands in the air as he trailed behind her, watching the curve of her ass as she walked ahead of him.

“I can appreciate that perspective,” he said.

April continued to trudge forward, and from the side of her face, Gripp could see that she slipped her tongue between her teeth. It was an adorable gesture that made him want to carry her across the swamp anyway.

The waters below them were a dark, sage green, with sections of lily pads and dirt floating on top like hovering orbs. The sun beyond was setting, leaving slivers of light along the water like gentle prison bars.

They moved through the area faster than Gripp had anticipated. April hopped out of the swamp onto dry land, then held her hand out to him with a prideful look on her face.

“Thank God you made it,” she said, biting her lower lip.

Gripp felt like biting it himself.

He took her hand, and she pulled him up. Of course, he was taller and heavier than her, but he would never mind having his skin touch hers.

They tumbled forward, laughing light and sweet. Birds hummed and sang around them, indicating the approach of nightfall.

April’s giggle was intoxicating, as was the way the loose strands of her hair fell around her angelic face. Gripp never wanted to leave. His feelings burst all around him.

He opened his mouth to speak, feeling his jaw unhinge. But fear engulfed him instead, forcing him to close it.

Gripp wasn’t sure, but he could have sworn that he saw a look of hope melt away on April’s face. She turned away, letting go of his hand, and began searching for the pathway again.

“We should get something to eat for the night,” she said. “I’m starving.”

Gripp agreed, and he showed her the direction that they had to be traveling. There would be a boat waiting for them the next morning, so there really wasn’t too far to go.

Gripp was annoyed and disappointed in himself. He followed April as she walked ahead, scouring the dying light for something to consume.

“It’s not like we’d ever starve here, though,” she said. “It’s like a buffet.”

Gripp snorted with laughter, surprising himself. She looked back at him, amused and delighted.

“That’s a good point,” he said, holding in his belly laugh.

They found a couple of rabbits that would be suitable for the night. Gripp continued to be impressed by April’s fortitude, helping him kill, skin, and cook their final meal. She was beautiful and surprising, but anxiety hung over the firelight as they waited for the meal to crispen.

“So this is home for you then?”

Gripp had been brooding as he stared at the embers of the fire. He turned to April, greeted by a curious face.

“I don’t know anymore,” he said. “It was once, but I haven’t been here in ages.”

April rubbed her hands up and down her arms as she looked into the fire. “Do you think you’d come back here, then?” she asked, looking thoughtful. “Since you were born and raised here, I mean.”

Gripp was trying to weigh how much of her questioning related to their relationship. He could ask directly, but the idea of her rejection scared him too much.

So he shrugged.

“I hadn’t really thought about it, to be honest,” Gripp said.

They sat opposite each other and waited for the rabbit to cook. When it did, they divided it up evenly and ate.

Silence pulsed in the air, the unasked question waiting to be answered. He wanted to tell her that he would follow her to the ends of the earth, and fuck, even beyond.

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