Free Fire Down Below by Andrea Simonne Page B

it. “It’s awfully
steep.”
    “I know, but it’s not as bad as it
looks and it’s only a short climb. I’ll help you as much as I can.”
    “Okay, let’s do it.” I mean, what
else could I say? We’d come all this way and he’d obviously be disappointed if
I told him I’d just as soon stop now.
    We climbed together with Ben giving
instructions and telling me where to put my hands and feet. I knew this was
small potatoes for him, but this was by the far the steepest thing I’d ever
attempted to climb in my life. I did everything he told me to and concentrated
on moving upward, never checking to see how much further I had to go, nor looking
down as I was too nervous about falling. Eventually we made it to the top and I
flopped down on the ground to catch my breath.
    “You did very well, Kate. Are you
okay?”
    I nodded. “I think I’ll live.”
    “Come and see where we are.”
    I took the hand he offered and stood
up. Standing on a flat grassy area, I had to admit he was right about the view—it
was spectacular and encompassed the whole valley.
    “It’s incredible.”
    Ben grinned. “It is, isn’t it?”
    “And so peaceful.” I gazed around in
every direction. The hills were covered with a myriad of trees ranging in
colors from deep gold to brilliant green, not a single house or road in sight.
The only sounds were the occasional bird cry and the buzz of crickets.
    “I used to come out here a lot.
It’s a great place to sit and think.”
    I nodded. “That’s easy to imagine.
It’s really beautiful.”
    Ben moved and stood behind me,
wrapping his arms around my waist and burying his face in my hair. “You smell
good.”
    “I smell awful—I’m totally
sweaty.”
    “No, it’s lady sweat. I like it.”
    “Lady sweat?” I started to laugh.
    “Are you hungry?”
    As soon as he asked me, I realized
I was ravenous. “God yes, what do we have to eat though?” All I could picture
were those horrible energy bars and I didn’t think I could manage another one
of those no matter how hungry I felt.
    “I packed us a picnic lunch. Come
over here and I’ll show you.”
    Ben sat down beside his backpack
and began pulling things out. I was amazed when I saw how much stuff he had packed.
I felt guilty because while he’d been carrying everything, I’d been treating my
backpack like some sort of purse. All I had in mine was a bottle of water, sun
block, and a tube of cherry flavored lip gloss.
    “You should have given me some of
that stuff to carry.”
    Ben shook his head. “Don’t worry,
I’m used to it, and I didn’t want you to be dragged down with a heavy pack.”
    He unfolded a blanket and handed
it to me so I could spread it on the ground, while he began pulling out all
sorts of yummy things to eat. His pack had a pocket inside that kept food cold
and so we had ham and cheese sandwiches, a block of brie, crackers, grapes, and
two pieces of chocolate cake. He even brought a bottle of apple cider with wine
glasses for us to drink out of.
    As I sat there watching him, I
felt moved by his thoughtfulness and glad that I’d agreed to come on this hike,
since it obviously meant so much to him.
    “Thank you,” I said. “This is all
so sweet of you.”
    “So you’re having fun?”
    “I am.” I looked around at the
view and then all the delicious food. “This is really romantic.”
    “Well, you know....” He was silent,
gazing out at the view in concentration. I couldn’t quite place the expression
on his face.
    “What is it?”
    Ben shook his head. “Nothing. It’s
your first hike, so I wanted it be special.”
    “Yeah, but it’s not really my first hike. That last hike was my first time.”
    He smiled at the double meaning. “I
know, but I wanted to make up for that. Besides they say the first time always
hurts right?”
    “It sure does.”
    “But not the second time?”
    “No, the second time feels good.”
    Ben handed me a glass of cider and
then put his glass up for a toast.