“You’ll love it. It’s nicer than the other park in town. It’s a little ways away, but as long as you’re ready for it, let’s go,” I told him.
We turned right and walked up the street, past my neighbor’s houses. Our fingers were interlocked the entire time. I had feared there would be some awkwardness between us after our kiss the day before, but there was none of that. It just felt natural to be around him.
“How was your night?” he asked, as we turned the corner out of the neighborhood and onto a dirt trail that would eventually lead to William’s Park.
“It was fine. Just hung out with my friend, Caroline.” I looked over at him, squinting slightly in the sun. “How was yours?”
“Nothing too exciting. I pretty much just unpacked some boxes all evening and worked on some new updates for my latest project. And for dinner, I ate macaroni and cheese, since I didn’t have any food in my fridge at all,” he said. “It was kind of sad. I haven’t eaten mac and cheese and called it a meal since college.”
“You need to go grocery shopping, silly,” I told him with a laugh. “I’m not sure how long you can live off of mac and cheese, but I doubt it’s very long.”
“Do you want to help me with that?” he said, as we continued our walk along the dirt path. The only sound other than the two of us was birds and the soft summer breeze. “I absolutely loathe grocery shopping. I always intend to buy a bunch of things to stock up on, but as soon as I have one meal in my cart, I’m ready to leave.”
“Well, I love grocery shopping,” I said with a laugh. “So, I'll make it fun for both of us.”
“Let’s do that soon,” he said. “Or else I'm going to starve.”
We walked quietly for a little while and I just savored the moment. The air was crisp and clean with the promise of heat later in the day. The smell of vegetation along the dirt path brought a wave of nostalgia. It reminded me of when I was younger. Tommy was still a little kid then, and would come with me to William’s Park to try to catch frogs near the river.
“Have you been playing Monster GO at all?” Jacob asked, drawing me from my memories.
“Actually, I have.” I pulled out my phone and opened up the app. “You know what’s really funny though?”
“What’s that?” he asked, pulling out his so we could play together.
“Do you remember the other day when you asked what I thought would make the game better?”
“Yeah, I do.” He cocked his head to the side as he remembered. “You mentioned something about wanting to be able to see a larger area on the map to make it easier to find monsters.”
“Yes, exactly. Well, guess what?” I passed my phone over to him. “Looks like they made the change. Must have been a pretty good idea, because I wasn’t the only one to see the need for improvement.”
“Maybe you have a future in game development,” he said. “It was a really good idea.”
“You never know,” I said, slipping my phone back into my pocket. I tried to keep the discouragement out of my voice. “I’d sure love that, but I’m having a hard time visualizing it ever happening. The job search has gone nowhere. I haven't even gotten a callback on anything yet.”
“Just keep at it,” he said, giving my hand a squeeze. “You’re obviously smart and clearly beautiful. There's two things that I don’t have, and I’ve been able to somehow make things happen for me. There’s not a doubt in my mind that things will work out for you.”
I smiled at the compliment. I couldn’t remember the last time someone called me both smart and beautiful in the same sentence. “You’re too sweet,” I said. “But you're smart, too.”
For the next fifteen minutes or so, we just walked and talked. We shared stories about college and our families. I learned that his parents lived on the East Coast, so he didn't get to see them as often as he would have liked. They sounded like they were wonderful people and I found myself hoping that I would someday get to meet them.
A few times, our phones buzzed in our pockets and we pulled them out to catch a monster or two. They were ones that I already had, though, so I didn’t get too excited. I was more interested in being present with Jacob and less with the game.
“Come here. I want to show you something,” I said, pulling on Jacob's hand as we entered the park.
I walked quickly across the grass with Jacob right behind me. We darted off of the main path and into some nearby bushes. They were so thick that if I hadn’t known about the river there, I probably would have just ran right by it.
“Where are taking me?” he asked, followed by a chuckle. “I can hardly fit through here.”
“Just push through here.”
“I'm not even going to say it,” Jacob replied, laughter echoing through his words.
After clearing the bushes, and getting snagged on just about every branch possible, we stepped into a clearing alongside the river. When Jacob popped out, he had pieces of grass and debris all over his clothes.
“You’re a mess.” I carefully reached out and took a blade of grass from his hair. It felt like such an intimate gesture that I immediately blushed. I didn't pull away, though.
“This is beautiful,” he said, looking around the area and thankfully not at my blush.