The Impostor, A Love Story (13 page)

“Emily, get the door.”

“No, you get it. I have to get ready
still.”

“One more minute,” I yelled through the door.
I can’t believe I slept in
. I needed at least five more
hours to make myself presentable. Not five minutes. The vetoed
outfit I had fallen asleep in was the winner by default. I had no
time to change.
I can’t believe it’s my first date and I look
like this.
I grabbed a jacket and ran to the door.

“I’ll meet you outside.” I rushed out. “I’m
so sorry. Our alarm didn’t go off.” I combed through my hair with
my fingers again, fixing the clip. “I’m sorry I look so bad.”

“You are beautiful.” Dylan smiled.

“So, is this okay or should I change?” I went
for the jeans and sweater look.

“You look perfect.” His eyes had this sparkle
in them, and he made me feel like there was no one else in the
world but me.

“Emily will be right out, Chris. We did
literally wake up when you all knocked on the door.”

“Well, you clean up pretty fast.”

“I know I look rough.”

“Shh,” Dylan said. He put his finger over my
mouth as if to say, “Stop putting yourself down.”

Before long, Emily came through the door. “So
where are we off to?” she asked, getting in the front seat.

Dylan and I climbed in back. Just sitting
next to Dylan still gave me goose bumps. He took my hand in his. I
sat quietly, too nervous to say anything at first.

We drove through some of the most
breathtaking scenery I had ever seen. The mountains’ whitecaps
glistened against the sky—such a brilliant blue, it could have been
brushed on with the purest of acrylics.

The trees, still painted vivid shades of
amber, flashed by as I laid my head against Dylan. His chest felt
so warm. Just being there in his arms was worth taking the day off
work.

“So, what have you done so far?” Dylan tried
to make conversation.

“Besides Seward, Chris took us horseback
riding. I made the mistake of telling him I had ridden before, and
he almost killed me. But it was breathtaking.”

Chris piped in, “When I asked if you’d been
riding before, I meant horseback riding—not just sitting on a
pony.”

“I didn’t think we were going to gallop at
full speed through the forest at night while trees tried to
decapitate me. And I certainly didn’t think I’d be left alone in
the woods as prey.” I laughed. “Truth is, going out with you,
Chris, and whale watching in Seward have been the best times we’ve
had so far.”

“You took them riding at night?” Dylan raised
his eyebrow.

“Time got away from me. A picnic and a couple
bottles of wine later, the sun started setting. It’s easy to lose
track of time with these ladies.”

“I can see that,” Dylan squeezed my hand
slightly.

The beauty went on forever as we traveled the
Alaskan highway. About an hour later, Chris pulled onto a road off
the highway. Soon we passed a sign that read:
Alaska ATV Tours:
Explore Alaska’s scenic backcountry on an easy-to-operate Honda
four-wheeler
.

“Oh my god, I’ve always wanted to ride an
ATV.” I exclaimed.

“You’ve never been on one before?” Dylan
asked, delighted we were trying something new.

“No, this is so awesome!”

“You’ll love it. It’s an excellent way to see
wildlife. Do you want your own or would you rather ride
together?”

“Are you kidding? I want to drive!”

“That’s great. I love the spirit.”

They geared us up in these goofy-looking
overalls and unflattering helmets, but I was so excited, it didn’t
matter. I have always wanted to ride an ATV, but never had the
money. We traveled the scenic route through the forest in Bird
Creek. Dylan and Chris led the way—fast. In no time, we got to a
river.

Dylan pulled up next to me. “You have to
stand when you go across,” Dylan yelled over the engine.

“What? We’re riding through the river?”

“Don’t let up. Just keep going.”

We were stopped far enough away to give us
the speed we needed to get across. I was really nervous.

“I don’t think I can,” I admitted.

“Yeah, I know I can’t,” Emily echoed. The
river cascaded fast.

“You can do it,” Dylan assured me.

But I really was scared. What if I stalled in
the river? I thought I was doing good speeding through the
wilderness over the bumps and mini-jumps, but this . . . this was a
little freaky.

“I’m scared. I’m sorry”

“It’s fine, Nicole. Don’t worry, I’ll ride
you over.” Dylan patted the back of his ATV. “Come get on
mine.”

I peeked at him, then studied the river. “You
really think I can do it?”

“I know you can, Nicole.” His face lit up as
he encouraged me.

“Okay, then. I want to try.”

“You sure?” he asked. “How about you, Emily?
You up for it?”

Emily glared at me as if to say, “What the
hell, Nicole!”

Dylan began our instruction. “You can’t let
up on the gas till you get to the other side. You have to keep
going, no matter what, okay?” We nodded and he continued. “And
whatever you do, don’t sit down.”

“Breathe,” I reminded myself. “Breathe.”

“You ready?” Dylan asked.

I revved up the engine, let go of the brake,
and stood up, holding onto the handlebars for dear life. As the ATV
hit the water, it splashed all around me. Now I knew why we were
wearing these goofy, yellow, waterproof overalls. As droplets of
water hit my face, the intense cold exhilarated me. All my senses
were charged. The world went in slow motion, although I traveled at
record speed. Everything intensified as I splashed my way to the
other side. Climbing the bank of the river, I had to let go of the
gas and put on the break. I had to stop. I’d forgotten how.

“Brake!” I could hear someone scream as I
made my way toward some really huge trees.

Shit!
“How? I’m going to die.”

“Brake!” Dylan screamed.

I finally found the brake and squeezed it as
hard as I could. The ATV flipped over, and I went flying off the
front. I laid there for a moment.

“Am I dead?” Dylan, Chris and Emily were
hovering over me.

I broke out in laughter. “That was
crazy.”

Dylan put his hand on his chest. “You gave me
a heart attack.”

“You idiot, you scared me to death!” Emily
hit me.

“Are you okay to get up?” Dylan seemed
nervous.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I admit my body hurt
everywhere, but somehow I ended up flipping into a thick pile of
leaves. I was alive. Dylan leaned over and carefully helped me
up.

“I’m fine.” I dusted myself off. “Where to
next?” Luckily, I didn’t break anything—on my body or on the
ATV.

“Are you sure you okay?” Dylan repeated. “Do
you want to ride with me?”

“I’m fine. I really am. That was incredible.”
I got back on.

We were off again. This time you could see
that the guys were holding back. I think I freaked them out a
little bit.

Taking the route across the river up more
than 2000 feet to the Hidden Valley made me feel like I could do
anything. The mossy, limestone peaks towered over the colorful
alpine meadows, embracing this remote valley.

We stayed there for hours absorbing the
scenic view, climbing on rocks, and just soaking it all in.

Then we turned in two of the ATVs so we could
go faster. From a personal note, I enjoyed having a reason to hold
on to Dylan’s body. We took the trails to a place they call the
Sanctuary. When we got down the mountain, we decided to take the
short hike down to the waterfall.

Chris took out his magic package of wine, and
this time also brought an amazing spread. For several more hours,
we sat on the picnic blankets talking as we watched moose make
their way through trees. From a safe distance, we witnessed bears
trying to catch the salmon that had come there to spawn. Lying on
the blanket, we watched eagles soar overhead and examined the
shapes of the immense white clouds, laughing at the absurdity of
our observations.

It was so beautiful, but as my eyes scanned
the surroundings, I sat up for a moment. I thought I saw someone
watching us. My eyes darted back to a figure hidden in some brush.
I stared for a moment, but the figure seemed to disappear.

I opened my mouth to say something to the
others but decided it was my imagination. I had been reading too
many of those stupid articles on that serial killer and was still a
little shaken up by that hunter—that pervert-- Chuck. I took
Dylan’s hand for security; he gave my hand a gentle squeeze and
kissed it. I felt safe with him.

It was finally time to make our way back. I
held on tight to Dylan as the four of us raced through the woods.
The wind stung my face. When we got out of our hideous overalls and
got back to the car, Dylan asked if we were ready to go
shopping.

“What?” I asked.

“They’ve got some great shops here. Let’s go
buy you something.”

“I thought you were joking about that,” I
confessed.

“No, there is this shop over here that my
sister loves. I’d love to relax a little and just watch the two of
you try on clothes.” He put his arm around me.

“You really don’t have to do that. We have
had an awesome day.” I held the hand that wrapped over my
shoulder.

“It’s not over yet.” Turning to face me, he
put his hands around my waist, pulling me close as if I had no
choice.

“You will love it,” Dylan began. “I was just
there a few months ago when Brenda was getting ready for the
wedding.”

“You really don’t have to do this. It really
has been an amazing day.”
Who is Brenda?

“You will love this place. Let’s go,
Chris.”

“Emily, it will be fun. As you all try on
clothes, they serve wine. It’s a win-win.” Chris put his arm around
Emily.

“Really, it’s fine. You have done enough,”
Emily agreed.

“Are you sure? We can do whatever you like—we
can see a show, or we can get you all dolled up and go to an
elegant dinner. This is your day off. I want to make it memorable.”
Dylan smiled at me.

“It has been wonderful, Dylan.” I looked into
his eyes and sighed. I so loved being in his arms. “I really have
to get back. I promised I’d call home at seven o’clock. The
different time zones and all make it hard to get in touch with my
parents, so we have to schedule calls.”

I needed to call Jessica before it was too
late.

As we got in the car, Emily turned to me,
pointing. “Nicole . . . Nicole, look. Isn’t that the guy who tips
really good at the club?” She pointed to a sandy-haired guy getting
into a blue truck. As we pulled out of the parking lot, the man
pulled out just behind us.

“Yeah, I think that’s him. I wonder what he
is doing all the way out here,” I replied.

When we got on the highway, I waved to the
truck behind us—just in case it was Steve. He didn’t respond.
Instead the truck slowly drifted back even farther, as if it were
going to turn. Maybe it wasn’t Steve. And then a horrible thought
entered my mind. What if it had been Chuck? What if it
was
Chuck that I had seen in the woods? It was hard to make out who the
man was from so far away. I glanced back out the window, but the
truck was no longer there.

Dylan leaned against the door, and I lay
against him. He wrapped his arms around me, cocooning me in
security, as we made our way back to Anchorage. He gently ran his
fingers through my hair as we drove. I drifted off to sleep.

When we arrived at the motel room, Emily and
Chris said their goodbyes, and Emily went inside so I could say
goodbye to Dylan.

“We’ll pick you up in the morning for
breakfast and take you to work tomorrow,” Dylan confirmed. He
didn’t even try to kiss me goodbye. I was really surprised because
of his reputation.

“I had a lot of fun, thank you,” I told him.
He had walked me to the door of the hotel.

“I really thought I had killed you for a
moment when you flipped that ATV.” Dylan took my hands.

“I thought I had killed myself for a moment.
I was a little scared to open my eyes, but what a blast! Really,
thank you so much.”

“Till the morning.” He leaned in to kiss me
on the check, then gently squeezed my hands, still holding them as
he took a few steps backwards, focusing on my eyes.

“Goodnight,” I somehow managed to say.

When I got inside, I was beaming. I lay on
the bed, playing with the locket around my neck.

“I guess he’s okay,” Emily admitted. “But be
careful. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“
I just have waited for so long to
experience your lips.”

~Dylan Richardson

It had been over a week, and Dylan hadn’t
even tried to kiss me, so every touch felt accentuated. When he
took my hand or his eyes met mine, a tingly sensation still
overwhelmed me—like when my infatuation first began. But this
wasn’t just infatuation. It was so much more. Dylan stunned me.
Everyone warned me that he was a player, but I had never met such a
perfect gentleman in my life.

Every moment we could, we spent our time
together. One afternoon, when he picked me up, he told me he had a
surprise for me; it was our first date alone. He took my arm and
led me to the art museum. Walking through the doors, a sudden
anxiety pierced my body. We were entering a world I had long
forgotten about. Dylan had no way of knowing the layers of hurt
that were connected to anything dealing with art.

I took his hand for security as we made our
way to an oil painting from the Victorian Era. Trying not to show
my apprehension, I commented on the way the artist used color and
light to create intensity.

A lady walked toward us with a tray of wine
glasses. We each took a glass and studied the piece.