I braced myself for whatever may come, the pain, or the pleasure, I’d surrender to it all.
Our fingers touched and then our palms. She intertwined her fingers with mine and...and...it felt good! I wanted to scoop her up in my arms and shout for joy.
“You have no idea how happy this makes me. It wasn’t a fluke, it was real.”
I cupped the top of her hand with my free one and engulfed her creamy skin with my blue.
“It’s very real,” Ashley giggled.
I pulled her hand to my lips and before I even knew what I was doing, I gave her a gentle kiss. The sensation sent tingles down my spine.
I pulled back to see her eyes had grown wide with surprise.
“Sorry, I’m just very excited,” I ran a hand through my hair.
“Did it hurt when you kissed me?”
“Not really,” I breathed.
“Maybe we can work on that sometime too.” Her words were quiet, but I hung onto every last one of them.
“I’d like that.”
We stared at each other for a long moment until she looked down at the ground and tucked her hair behind her ear.
“Did you have a good hunt?”
“Yeah, I got two hoppers. They should provide enough meat to last us for a few days.”
“What about you? Did you keep yourself entertained while I was gone?”
Ashley’s face flushed pink and she looked down at the ground again.
“You could say that.”
“Well, what’d you do?”
“I, uh,” she bit her bottom lip and glanced up at me, but then quickly looked away again.”
“I made a discovery.”
“What kind of discovery?”
“I know I said I wouldn’t explore the tunnels.” she began, and my heart quickened. I didn’t like the idea of Ashley exploring the tunnels alone. “But I wanted to find more clay.”
“You didn’t.” I knew where this was going and I didn’t like it.
“I was smart about it, I swear. I even laid down a trail of moss so I could find my way back.”
She got up and tugged on my arm, encouraging me to follow her.
“See?”
My heart was racing and a million thoughts were racing through my mind. Ashley was a capable adult and I had no business telling her what she could and couldn’t do, but I also hated the idea of her wandering around lost, and cold, or even hurt. I couldn’t bear the idea of her getting hurt, especially not now, not when I finally get to touch her.
I nodded my head and grunted.
“You’re mad.” Her face looked crestfallen.
