“Definitely the extra powerful one. I hate bugs and they unfortunately love me.”
He chuckled and passed it over to me. I couldn’t keep my eyes from observing him as he applied some sunscreen to his face, then his arms and legs. I was glad I’d chosen to wear some thick pants and not leggings. With less skin exposed, maybe I’dend up with only a couple of mosquito bites by the end of this hike.
Enoch noticed my stare and winked. My cheeks heated and I busied myself with looking around the parking lot before he finally handed me the sunscreen. I placed my hat on top of the car. Using my reflection in his car window, I applied the product to my face and then every other inch of exposed skin.
When I finished, we took turns spraying each other thoroughly with the bug spray. I stepped out of the cloud of chemicals with acough, waving my hand in front of my face.
“I hope this stuff works,” I muttered as he closed the trunk and slung a backpack of his shoulders.
He picked up my hat from the roof of the car and placed it on my head, adjusting it until it was sat properly on my head.
“If you hate it, we can turn around anytime and do something else,” he offered, motioning for me to walk towards the trailhead.
I nodded and eyed the signs warning about being aware of wildlife. I shuddered and eyed Enoch. He didn’t seem perturbed, a soft smile on his face as we passed a huddle of hikers lingering near the entrance.
“Have you been on this trail before?” I asked.
“No. But my coworkers recommended it. Says it’s got beautiful views and it’s not difficult.”
I nodded, following Enoch further along the trail.
“Random question, but did you ever finish high school? Or get your GED?” he asked, keeping step beside me.
“Oh,” I paused, a little stunned by the question, “no. I didn’t.”
Enoch nodded and when the sound of our feet crunching against the ground got too loud I asked, “Did Jae ever force you to finish watchingBlack?”
Enoch chuckled, his laughing turning into a shake of his head. “No. We, um, kind of couldn’t watch K-dramas anymore. It was too hard.”
I swallowed, sadness washing over me. “Right, makes sense. I guess that’s probably a good thing for Jae. I mean, he was concerningly obsessed with fictional tv characters.”
Enoch laughed, shooting me a smile and the sad tension dissipated.
“So, I know it’s kind of public, and crowded, but there’s an air show coming up in two weeks and I was wondering if you wanted to go.”
“An air show?”
“Um, yeah. It’s like a bunch of jets and planes showing off, doing stunt work and maneuvers and stuff. It’s cool if it’s not your thing. I’m only going really because I have to work our booth for one of the days, but I know Jae was planning to attend.”
“No,” I said, brushing his arm with my hand. “That sounds kind of cool.”
“Really?” he asked with doubt.
“Yeah,” I shrugged. “Where is it?”
“On base, but it’s open to the public so it’s not like you need to get a special pass or anything. And I’m able to sponsor you on anyways if you needed it.”
I nodded, considering it. “And it’s really big you said?”
“Um, I’ve heard it’s pretty crowded, yeah. But, if you want you can just keep me company at my booth, so you don’t have to brave the crowds or anything. But I also totally understand if it’s too public. I don’t want to put you in danger.”
I chewed my lip in thought, allowing Enoch to usher us to the side of the trail as a runner behind us passed with a dog.
“I’ll think about it.”
Enoch smiled and we continued on.
I sucked in breath of fresh air, the dirt, trees and whatever the tall grass was that was growing beside us smelled good. I closed my eyes for a moment. I listened to the sound of birds in the distance, the wind rustling the trees.
