Classics in Summertime

If Dylan was really, truly waiting for me, then he would have been waiting for a while, because the sun was almost beginning to set by the time I was able to get away. I wondered if there was still a purpose in me heading over to his place, because hiking the woods at night didn’t seem like such a good idea.

When I knocked on Dylan’s door, he was quick to answer it with a smile on his face and a flashlight in one hand. He didn’t even give me a chance to say hello before he was shutting the door and holding onto my arm, pulling me off the porch and to the back of the house.

“You know, I was starting to worry you weren’t coming,” Dylan said as he dropped my arm, our footsteps matching each other.

“I’m sorry,” I said softly, tucking my hair behind my ear. “My dad had a million and one things he wanted me to do.”

Dylan looked at me with his nose scrunched up and an apologetic smile on his face. “I can’t help but think that was my fault.”

I shrugged my shoulders and laughed, giving him a reassuring smile. “It’s okay, really. It was all things that needed to be done and I still made it over here, although I’m not sure how well our adventure will go in the dark.”

Dylan laughed and raised his flashlight in the air, his bright smile returning to his face. “That’s why I brought this.”

When we got to the edge of the small pasture behind his house to the place where the forest began, I turned to Dylan with a curious look on my face.

“Where are you taking me anyway?”

Truthfully, even as long as I had lived next to the Smith’s I had never ventured onto their property, so whatever Dylan was going to show me would be news to me. I had to admit that I was rather excited to see what it was.

“You’ll have to wait and see,” Dylan said simply. “It’s a surprise.”

With that, I followed Dylan blindly into the woods, trusting him and him alone to find out where we were going and how we would get back, because I had lost my sense of direction the moment we had stepped into the trees.

It was a short walk of no more than fifteen minutes before Dylan began slowing down, and all at once, he reached back and grabbed both of my wrist, forcing me to stop. My heart was pounding in my chest for some strange reason, and I forced myself to keep my eyes trained on him.

He was smiling sweetly and had the most brilliant twinkle in his eyes. “Now, close your eyes. And no peeking.”

I did as Dylan said, and he was quickly pulling me forward until I could feel the trees split around us, turning into a small opening. I heard the small river before I saw it – the sound of it running over the small pebbles was very distinct.

“You can open your eyes now.”

I opened them slowly, my gaze falling on Dylan before I looked over at the river behind him. It was a small one, barely 15 feet across, but it looked like it could run for miles through the mountains. I could just imagine the look on Dylan’s face when he had found it for the first time.

“It’s beautiful, Dylan,” I said, looking back at him to find that his eyes were still trained on me. “I can’t believe I’ve never been out here before.”

Dylan’s smile widened. “You really haven’t? I figured it was a long shot you hadn’t been here before, but I’m glad I actually got to surprise you.”

“You did a great job.” I nodded my head and smiled back. “Thank you for showing me.”

“It’s no problem, really. I figured I owed you after you took me out.” He walked over to the edge of the river and sat on the bank, patting the place next to him. “Here, have a seat.”

I quickly obliged, sitting next to him closely enough that I could hear him over the water but far enough away that we weren’t in each others’ personal space. The two of us sat in silence for long moment before Dylan cleared his throat, turning to me with his face blank.

“So, did your dad say anything about me when I left?”

I looked back at him, shaking my head gently before I looked back out towards the river. “No, not really. Just tried to keep me busy.” I paused and bit my lip. “I’d rather not talk about him, though.”

Dylan nodded his head quickly, looking off at the river in the same spot I was. “Oh yeah, I get that. What would you like to talk about?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Anything.”

“Do you ever plan on moving away?” Dylan asked, leaning back on his palms as he turned his head to look at me.

I looked back at him and pressed my lips together. “I don’t know. I’m sure there are great things out there, but I’ve lived here my whole life and I just can’t imagine living anywhere else. My family’s here and the horses too. It would just be strange without them.”

Dylan nodded his head slowly, his lip turning up in a half smile. “I get that. Familiar is nice. I thought about going back home to Jersey, but I decided I needed a change instead. Sometimes change is good.”

“You weren’t scared to leave?” I asked, resting my hands in my lap. “When you moved to LA, I mean.”

“Scared? No. Nervous? Hell yes.” He laughed shortly before shrugging his shoulders. “But I knew there were better things waiting for me in LA, and I could always go home if I needed to. Home will always be there, Ev, even if you’re not.”

I bit my lip as I looked at Dylan, and he only paused for a moment before he spoke again.

“But, don’t leave on my account. I’d prefer it if you stayed here, actually. It’s nice having you right next door.”

“You really plan on staying there?” I asked, looking at him with my head tilted to the side. “You’re not going to go back to LA?”

“Well, I’ll have to go back eventually. My career’s taking off and I’ve come too far to go back now.” He paused as he ran his hand over the back of his neck. “But, it’s nice to have this place to come back to. I really do love it here.”

I let out a small sigh, which I quickly tried to mask with a smile. I suppose I should have expected that Dylan would be going back to LA eventually, but I hadn’t really accepted it until he spoke the words himself. I didn’t want him to leave, really, but things would probably be a lot easier when he was gone.

“I’m glad,” I said, nodding my head gently. “The place you bought is really nice.”

Dylan ignored what I said and looked me dead in the eyes as he spoke. “I won’t be leaving for a while, though. A month – at least.”

To Dylan that may have seemed like a while, but to me that seemed so close that I could taste. He really would be leaving sooner than I expected.

“It’s really getting dark, isn’t it?” I said, quickly changing the topic. I stood up from the riverbank and dusted off the back of my shorts. “We better start heading back.”

Dylan quickly stood up next to me, his eyes locked on me while he spoke with a blank expression on his face. “I wouldn’t just leave, you know? I wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye.”

“I really hope that flashlight of yours has batteries.”

I ignored him again and turned a bit, which caused him to reach out for my hands. He tugged on them a bit so I had to turn and face him. Our eyes lock and as hard as I tried I couldn’t look away.

“Ev, hey, you know I wouldn’t just leave, right? I’d always come back.”

I didn’t know what to say to him, because the look in his eyes was so sincere. Dylan and I had just met – had just barely become friends – and he was already trying to promise me things that no normal person would.

“It’s okay, Dylan,” I said softly, biting my lip as I looked at him. “I know you’ve got a lot going on back home.”

“But I still wouldn’t just leave,” he said quickly, holding more tightly onto my fingers. He kept his eyes locked on me and it was impossible for me to look away. “I promise, Ev, I’ll always keep in touch. You have to know that.”

“Dylan –”

“No, Ev, wait.” Dylan was shaking his head while he looked at me. “I want you to tell me that you know that. Tell me you know that I’ll never just leave.”

“But –”

“Say it, Ev, because I know you don’t believe me now, but I promise that I’ll make it true.”

Even though Dylan and I had met not many days before, I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was going to make good on that promise. I had always been a stubborn person, so I hated to admit it, but I nodded my head gently.

“I believe it,” I said softly, which caused a small smile to return to his face. He didn’t say anything else for a long moment, so I spoke again. “Now, we better start heading back before we get eaten alive by mosquitoes.”

Dylan chuckled, smiling as he nodded his head. “Only since you asked nicely.”