“No way!” I laughed.
“True story. The owners love her, though. She claims they should make her partner.”
“Bea really is something, isn’t she?” I chuckled.
“Oh, you have no idea. And wait until you hear about the time she stole Caspian’s car for a joyride.”
“Tell me more… “ I quirked an eyebrow and sipped my wine.
The night went on beautifully. The burgers were perfectly greasy, the kind of comfort food that made everything feel a little less terrible, and Dante started telling me stories about his siblings that had me laughing until my sides hurt.
“Your family is something else,” I said, wiping away tears of laughter after a particularly ridiculous story about the time Federico decided to go kayaking and led them all into crocodile-infested waters.
“They’re a lot,” Dante agreed, “but I can’t imagine life without them.”
“Yeah… you’re lucky like that,” I sighed and looked out at the distance.
We sat there for a while longer, quietly sipping wine as the night wrapped around us like a thick velvet blanket. The air had that crisp mountain chill to it, and for the first time in days, I felt my shoulders loosen.
After we finished eating and emptied the bottle of wine, Dante suggested we wait it out because his head still felt light. I agreed, not wanting him to be drunk on the drive back, and Dante lay back on the hood and tucked his behind his head to stare up at the stars.
I followed suit, kicking off my shoes and lying beside him.
“You see that one?” he asked, pointing at a particularly bright star.
“Nope,” I said, squinting. “I only see five dots.”
“Those dots, Alisa,” he laughed, and I smiled at the sound, “are called stars.”
“Are they really?” I pretended to be very surprised, and he laughed harder. This used to be a game we played back in the day, where we each took turns pretending like we didn’t know the obvious.
God, I’d missed this game. Missed him, without even realizing it.
A little while later, I felt my hand accidentally brush up against his. For a moment, I froze and wondered if he’d pull away. He didn’t.
Instead, I held my breath and curled my fingers slightly, just enough to feel the side of his knuckle against mine. It wasn’t a full touch. It was barely there—barely anything. But it sent sparks shooting down my spine.
I thought it would’ve been so easy to lean into him and reach for his hand fully. To turn my face, meet his eyes, and kiss him under the stars like no time had passed at all.
But right now, that felt… complicated.
Because the truth was, I still didn’t understand why he’d left me all those years ago without an explanation, and as much as I wanted to forget all that in the soft warmth of his presence, I couldn’t.
So I didn’t move, and neither did he.
But something had shifted just a little.
We stayed like that for a long time, but eventually, we decided it was time to pack up. Dante collected the cups, the empty wrappers, and the bottle while I stuffed the blanket back into the trunk.
We started walking a slow loop around the edge of the clearing, just for the sake of stretching our legs before the hour-long drive back home. It was peaceful, the kind of quiet that settled in your bones and told you the world was a beautiful place.
Until I heard a snap and froze.
“What was that?” I whispered sharply.
Dante stopped, too, and I saw the panic flash in his eyes. “I don’t know.”
Then we heard a louder rustle, and I held back a whimper when it was followed by the sound of twigs cracking under the weight of something—or someone.
