Love & Light (8 page)

Kori frowns. “Do you have other plans?”

“No. It’s not that. I need time to plan. I don’t want to just take you to see a movie, Kori. I want our first date to be incredible. Unique. Nothing you ever expected.” I’m not sure what that is, but I’m determined to come up with something great.

~Landon~

T
he week passes in a blur in anticipation of my first ‘real’ date with Kori. All week, she’s asked me what we’re doing, and I’ve had to play coy with her. Maybe I’m being silly and I should have just jumped at the chance to see a movie or go to dinner, but Kori is different and that calls for a different kind of date.

Ever since my mom died and I realized how short and fragile life can be, I’ve tried to live by the motto ‘go big or go home.’ I want to live life to the fullest and make every single minute count. And now I want to show Kori how to embrace life the same way. The best way I know how to do that is to remind her of the beauty of the world, and that’s why I want to take her to the most beautiful place I’ve ever been.

I’ve spent the whole week planning it, then have a last minute freak out the night before that has me calling home for advice. Not from my dad, though. I want to talk to a woman to find out if my idea sounds completely off base, and I’m glad Liz is around. I give her a quick run-down about how Kori finally agreed to go out with me—leaving out the whole Amanda mess—and that I want to make it special.

“So what do you have in mind?” Liz asks.

“A hike and a picnic,” I say. “The weather’s supposed to be great tomorrow, and I know Kori likes being outside.” I’ve got a major case of spring fever myself.

“Hmm. That sounds nice,” Liz says. “There are supposed to be some good trails around Plymouth.”

There are, and I’ve already hiked a few of them. For this, though, I have something bigger in mind. “They’re okay, but not what I had in mind. I’m taking Kori to Mount Monadnock.” It’s got thirty-five miles of hiking trails, and on a clear day, from the summit of the mountain, you can see as far as a hundred miles away.

Liz whistles. “Wow, Landon. You don’t do things half way, that’s for sure.”

“No,” I say. “There’s no point.”

“What do you need my help with, then? It sounds like you have it all figured out.”

“Maybe, except for lunch.” This will be an all-day thing, especially if we hike all the way to the summit, and I want to be prepared. “We could always go to one of the restaurants down there, but that may be better for dinner. I think a picnic might be nice for lunch. And romantic.”

“That sounds lovely,” Liz says.

“So if my dad was planning a romantic picnic for you, what would you like?” I ask.

“Me? Crab salad, fresh fruit, especially grapes, and a good bottle of Chardonnay,” she says, laughing. “Which is probably no help to you.”

“No, not really, seeing how I’m too young to buy wine and operating on a college-student budget,” I say. “Any other suggestions?”

“Yes,” she says. “Pick up some nice deli sandwiches from that place by campus, and something non-alcoholic that you like to drink, and pack something to keep them cold. Oh, and Landon?”

“Yes, Mom?”

“Stop stressing and have a good time. The company matters a lot more than the food.”

~Kori~

I have to hand it to Landon. He sure knows how to keep a girl in suspense. All week, I’ve been trying to get him to tell me what we’re doing or where we’ll be going, and he always just says “You’ll see.” That’s fine, in a way. I’m not opposed to surprises. I would like to have some idea how to dress, though, so I call him the night before to see if I can fish for some information.

“You have the whole day free, right?” he asks.

“Yes.”

“Good. I’ll pick you up about eight.”

That causes me to do a slight double take. “In the morning?”

“Yep. We have to drive a little ways to get where we’re going,” Landon says, “and I want to make sure we have plenty of time to do everything.”

I bite my lip and roll my eyes. Can he be any more vague? Still, he promised something unique that I would never expect, and it’s hard not to get excited about that. It makes me feel like he thinks I’m special. Otherwise, why would he go to such lengths to make the first date special?

“So where exactly are we going?” I ask. “And what are we doing.”

“It’s a secret. A surprise,” he says. “I can’t tell you.”

I sigh. “Fine. I need a hint, though. I’m a girl, after all. I need to have some idea what to wear,” I say. “Should I wear a skirt and high heels?”

“No!” he says, a little more forcefully than I expect, which piques my curiosity even more. “No heels. No skirt. I mean, I think you’d look great in them, but something more casual would be better. And comfortable shoes. Very comfortable.”

“Casual. Comfortable shoes. Got it.” That actually helps a lot. “Anything else?”

“Yes,” he says after a minute. “Make sure you bring a sweatshirt or a jacket. Or preferably both. It might get cold where we’re going.”

“But you still won’t tell me where that is?” I try again.

“Nope.” He laughs, like he’s enjoying this. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

“Like at eight o’clock tomorrow morning?”

“Exactly,” he says, not budging. “I’ll see you then. And Kori?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m really looking forward to spending the day with you.”

His voice is soft, and causes my heart to do a flutter. “Me too,” I say. “Very much so.”

~Kori~

I
’ve never been picked up for a date at eight in the morning before. Granted, my prior dating experience is limited to Remy, but this is kind of unusual. I’ll say one thing—college dorms are quiet places at eight o’clock on a Saturday. There’s no one in the downstairs lobby except me.

I’m there, though. Dressed in jeans and my most comfortable tennis shoes, and a long-sleeve shirt and sweater. I’ve also got a jacket too. I still have no idea what Landon plans for today, but I’m pretty sure it involves something outside, so I want to be prepared.

It’s eight on the dot when he walks into my dorm. “Hey,” he says, greeting me with a smile. “Are you ready?”

“That depends.” I stand up and hold my arms out. “Am I over-dressed or under-dressed?”

He gives me a look of appraisal. “Neither. You’re perfect.”

“Oh, I doubt that.” I chuckle a little. I can’t help it. It’s so easy to relax around him. “You hardly know me.”

“Maybe, but I’ll know you a lot better after today,” he says. “And you look great.”

His car is parked right out front, and he opens the door for me. “Are you finally going to tell me where we’re going?” I ask. “And why we have to leave so early?”

“Do you like hiking?” He fastens his seatbelt and starts the car. “I hope so, or I may have to re-plan this whole day on the fly.”

“No need for that,” I assure him. “I do like to hike, and this should be a good day for it. Where are going? The Heritage Trail?”

Landon shakes his head. “Nah. A little bigger than that.” He turns his head to the side to face me. “Have you ever been to Mount Monadnock?”

My mouth drops a little and I’m sure I’m gaping. “We’re going to Mount Monadnock?” That’s definitely bigger than hiking the trails in Plymouth.

“Is that okay? Have you been there?” he asks again.

“Never been, no.”

He grins. “I think you’ll like it, Kori. It’s the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen. Really.”

That’s high praise, but he seems earnest. I’m still a little blown away. He sure wasn’t kidding when he said he wanted to make this date something special. “It’s a long ways from here,” I say.

Landon nods. “About two hours, yeah. That’s why I wanted to leave early. I’ve packed lunch, though, and we’ll have plenty of time to hike to the summit and back,” he says. “Then we can eat dinner at a restaurant down there before we drive back.” He gives me a sheepish smile. “Assuming you can stand spending the whole day with me.”

He’s so cute when he smiles like that, and it makes me smile too. “I can handle it.”

“Great. By the way, there’s donuts, hot chocolate and coffee in the bag by your feet.”

I pick it up and peer inside. “You thought of everything, didn’t you?”

“I hope so. I sure tried.”

We munch on donuts as we head out of town, making small talk between bites. When we finish breakfast, I pull out my phone.

Landon glances my way. “Do you need to make a call?”

I shake my head. “Nah. Just looking for a little game to play to pass the time. We’re a little too old for counting cars.” I scroll through the screen until I find what I’m looking for. “How about ‘Would you rather?’” I figure it’s a safer first date option than Truth or Dare or Never have I ever, but still a chance to get to know each other better.

“Sure thing,” Landon says, keeping his eyes on the road. “Give me a good one.”

I glance at the list of questions I found. “Okay. Would you rather be the worst player on the best team or the best player on a poor team?’

“Oh, man. Seriously?” He glances at me. “That’s like asking me do I want to win or do I want to be good.”

“Exactly.” I know it’s a tough question, especially for an athlete, and I really want to know what he’s going to say.

“It’s tough.” Landon says, exhaling. “I like individual honors. I want to be the best. I can’t lie. But there’s also something special about being on a team and experiencing success as a team. So I’ll go with worst player on the best team.”

His answer surprises me a little bit, because in the short time I’ve known him, I’ve seen  how hard he pushes himself to be the best. “Okay, here’s another one. Would you rather dump someone else or be the person getting dumped?”

“So do I want to hurt someone or be hurt myself.” He shakes his head. “These options suck.”

“That’s kind of the point of the game,” I say. “Which is it?”

“Isn’t it your turn?” he asks. “What about you?”

“I don’t even have to think about it.” No. My answer is easy. “I’ve been the one dumped, and I hated it. So maybe it sounds cruel, but I’d rather be on the other side.”

Silence follows, and Landon passes another car on the highway. “Want to talk about it?” he finally asks.

I have no idea why I picked that question out of probably a hundred on the list. Maybe it’s because I do need to talk about it. “There’s not much to tell. High school boyfriend, pretty serious. We even talked about getting married down the road, after we both finished college.” I put my cup to my lips even though I’ve already finished the vanilla latte. “Then my mom got sick, and I got moody and flaky. It turns out Remy only wanted to be there for the good times.”

“Then Remy is an ass,” Landon declares. “And you aren’t moody and flaky, Kori.”

“Are you kidding?” I laugh out loud. “Of course I am.”

“Ask me something else,” Landon says, changing the subject. “An easier one.”

I’m happy to oblige. “Okay. Would you rather go on a sight-seeing tour through Europe or a Caribbean vacation?”

“Both, of course.”

“You don’t get both.”

“Why not?” Landon challenges. “I’m only nineteen. My best years are ahead of me. Plenty of time to do both.”

“Time can be cut short in an instant,” I say. “You know that.”

“That’s true. It can. But I don’t want to live my life thinking about when and how it will end, and you shouldn’t either. There’s a lot of beauty in the world. Stick with me and you’ll see it.”

I don’t answer him, instead leaning back in my seat and looking out the window. I know he’s right though, both about the beauty and helping me see it.

~Landon~

I admit I have a double motive about bringing Kori to Mount Monadnock. I do think it’s a special place, and I want her to be able to see—and appreciate—the beauty of it, but that’s not all. From a personal standpoint, I want to find out if we’re compatible.

Sure, she’s pretty and nice, and I’ve found out she has a good sense of humor when she lets her guard down a little bit, but there are plenty of attractive girls on a college campus. I like being active. I like being outside. It’s a big part of who I am, and I want someone who understands that. Had Kori balked at the idea of hiking, I would have had to rethink some things. Instead, she’s embraced the adventure.

I choose the White Cross trail up to the summit because it’s one of the shorter ones, but it’s still a good hour and a half hike, and the terrain is sometimes rough. A few times, I take Kori’s hand to help her with her footing, which she always accepts and never complains. If I’d tried to take Amanda hiking, I doubt we’d get more than fifty feet from the car.

We go through a couple bottles of water and a few granola bars, but don’t stop much along the way. It definitely gets cooler the closer we get to the top, and I’m glad Kori listened to my advice about bringing a jacket.

Finally, we reach the summit. “This is it,” I say. “3100 feet of elevation, so now you can say you’ve climbed the tallest mountain in southern New Hampshire.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been up this high,” Kori says. “Well, I have an aunt and uncle who live in Denver, so technically I have. But not climbing and standing on a mountain...”  She looks around. “The view is great.”

“It sure is,” I agree. “You can see for a hundred miles in either direction, and see parts of all of New England.” I point to the North. “That’s Mount Washington that way.” I point another direction. “And Mount Killington, Vermont there.” It’s a nice, clear day and the visibility is great. “My brother-in-law is a Photorealism painter and he likes to come up here and take photographs to paint from,” I tell her.

“He’s from Boston, right?”

“Yeah,” I say. “You want to see Boston?”

“I’ve seen Boston before,” Kori says. “But there’s no way you can see Boston from here.”

“Sure can.” I take her hand and we walk a little further to the South, then I point again. “See that tall building? That’s the Prudential Tower right there.”

“This is incredible,” she says. “So pretty.”

“Hey, I told you there was beauty in the world.” I hold my arms out wide. “And this is part of it.”

Kori lets out a laugh. “Is this where you proclaim yourself King of the World, like in that movie
Titanic
?”