watch the stars at night, in search of one that might be her. Now I have to find Blake as well.
I close my eyes, relishing the cool air. When I open my eyes, I see fire in the sky. The red night overtakes the stars, taking away everything I love.
Is this how it’ll always be?
I squeeze my eyes closed once more, hoping when I open them, the sky will return to black. Instead, something wet pushes into my cheek, and my eyes snap open. Panicked, I push myself up on my elbows and come face to face with a dog. I think it’s a lab—not exactly threatening. But why is he alone? His tail wags and he nudges me with his snout. I look around to see if his owner is nearby when a flashlight shines in my face and startles me. I throw my arm over my eyes to block out the light.
“I wondered what my dog was sniffing,” the man says.
The sound of footsteps grows closer, and the light drops to the ground. I see him emerge from behind one of the nearby trees. “Sorry if we scared you. I didn’t think anyone was out here this late at night, so I unlatched the leash.”
The dog investigates every inch of me, then covers my hand with kisses. I run my fingers down his back, giving him some attention so he knows I’m friendly. “Cute dog.”
The man comes a little closer, dropping his free hand into his pocket. With the glow of the moon and the one dim streetlight reflecting off of his face, I sort of lose the confidence I had a moment ago. He’s striking from what I can see in the little amount of light. I’m well aware of the dangers behind meeting a random man in a dark park at midnight, but in my somewhat-reckless state I seem to be stuck in, his presence is oddly calming. “It’s kind of late to be sitting here alone, don’t you think?”
“It was my intention to be alone in the dark,” I say. “What’s his name?” I scratch behind the dog’s ears, avoiding the stranger’s gaze.
“Her name is Lady.”
“Lady?” I repeat.
“Yeah, when I got her, I thought it’d be funny to yell ‘hey lady!’ every time she ran off.”
A small laugh escapes me. “Good one.”
The man closes more of the space between us and sits down beside me, pulling his dog in between his legs. A part of me wants to put more space between us, but I don’t.
“It really isn’t a great idea to sit in the middle of a park alone this late at night. And I wouldn’t be a good citizen if I didn’t warn you of the dangers, of course.” He smells like the outdoors, maybe pine mixed with a trace of cologne. It’s nice. “I’m Hayes Peyton.” He reaches his hand out to me.
I hesitate at first, but there’s something intriguing about him, so I offer him my hand. His fingers warm my cold palm. “Felicity.”
“Well, Felicity. I hope you carry pepper spray or something. I could be a creep.”
I’m not sure the thought of encountering a creep scares me the way it should right now. But I suppose even this man who looks like he just walked off a photo shoot for a high-end magazine could most definitely be a creep. Two weeks ago, I may have had a can of pepper spray on me—if I had even been dumb enough to go strolling through a dark park in the middle of the night. But tonight, my thoughts are fuzzy. My common sense is distorted. And my lack of care for my own safety is a bit frightening. “Nope. Can’t say that I do. Guess I’m a risk taker.”
As of today.
“All joking aside, Felicity, you should be me more careful.” He looks at me with concern, like I’m a baby bird that just fell out of the nest. He stands up and takes his dog by the collar. “It was nice meeting you. It’s not every night you run into a beautiful woman, alone in the middle of a dark park.” I’m glad it’s dark, or he might see my cheeks flush at his words. My heart speeds up again, but for other reasons this time. It’s different from the slow, dying beat of the last few weeks—a tiny spark that flickers and gives me an ounce of hope that I might pull through this.