"Want some candy?" Laura offered, pulling out a box and handing it to me. I grabbed a piece and popped it in my mouth--it was orange-flavored, one of my favorites.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
Laura smiled, her fingers tapping the steering wheel. "Didn't I say you'd find out if you just followed me? You're a big guy; are you really worried I'm going to sell you off or something?"
I kept my head down, sinking into a heavy silence.
Laura glanced over at me. "Still thinking about what I said back at the hotel? Do you think I was trying to stir things up between you and your girlfriend?"
She let out a playful huff and continued, "I swear I wasn't. Maybe it's just that I'm offering a bit more, right? Your girlfriend mentioned she wanted to work with me long-term. She set up this hotel to give me a better experience."
I looked at my phone, still silent with no new messages, and thought back to how Angela had cried earlier, her voice thick with emotion, and how she had pulled away from my kiss.
After a few moments of silence, I shook my head. "I can't believe Angela would say that."
Laura wore a calm expression, her smile reassuring as she said, "We'll be there soon."
An hour later, we reached the mountain peak, and my breath caught at the sight before us. The landscape unfolded like a painting, stars twinkling above, and a cool breeze playfully brushing against my skin.
This was the kind of view I had always dreamed of.
We lingered at the summit, soaking in the magic of the night until well past midnight before reluctantly making our way back down.
Among the few cherished memories I had, I could still picture my dad, an avid hiker, taking my mom and me on adventures to revel in the mountain vistas.
But after my parents vanished that fateful year, I ended up in an orphanage, and I hadn't set foot on a mountaintop since.
During military training in college, I'd told Angela how much I wanted to go hiking with her, to experience those breathtaking views again.
Yet, before I could finish, she spotted her childhood friend in the crowd and dashed over to greet him with that bright smile of hers. After that, I forgot all about it.
"Did you have fun today?" Laura's voice broke through my thoughts, pulling me back to the present.
I nodded, then asked, slightly taken aback, "Ms. Johnson, is it really worth spending this much just to have me tag along?"