“You will be expected,” I say, “to enjoy yourself.”
“That sounds suspiciously like pressure.”
“It’s not. I promise. I’m doing the work tonight. Your only job is to be here.”
She goes quiet for a while. Not tense. Just thinking.
Eventually she says softly, almost shy, “I’ve never done anything like this before.”
“You’ve never been blindfolded in a stranger’s pickup and driven into the countryside?” I tease.
She snorts. “Oddly enough… no.”
“Well, then,” I say, “first time for everything.”
“Is this something you usually do?” she asks suddenly.
The question is so earnest, so quietly vulnerable, that I answer without hesitation. “No. Not even close.”
She lets out a breath I don’t think she meant me to hear.
We approach Stone Meadow. At the gate she grips my hand when I move.
“Where are you going?”
“Unlocking the gate,” I reassure. “I’m coming right back.”
When I return, she relaxes instantly at the touch of my hand again. That simple reaction nearly undoes me.
We drive a few more minutes until the valley opens around us. I park in the centre of the field, kill the engine and help her climb down.
“Don’t take the blindfold off,” I remind her, voice soft.
She grips my jacket lightly as I guide her to the back of the truck.
I fold down the tailgate, remove the cover from the small mattress I picked up from my house on the way to her cottage, arrange the duvet, lanterns and pillows, and place the picnic cooler where we can reach it.
“Right,” I say, turning to her. “Up you go.”
I lift her gently onto the tailgate; she yelps in surprise but doesn’t pull away.
“Reach back. You’ll feel the mattress.”
She taps for the edge, finds it, shifts back cautiously. I take off her shoes before she settles fully. Then I climb in beside her, my own trainers discarded to the grass.
“Lie back,” I whisper.
She hesitates. I touch her hand lightly.
“I’m right here. Trust me.”
She exhales slowly and lowers herself onto the mattress, hands resting lightly on her stomach. I kiss her forehead gently, then brush her hair aside.
“Close your eyes,” I say. “And only open them when I tell you.”
She nods.
I slip the blindfold free, letting the cool valley air brush her cheeks.
