Chloe smiled even wider despite the blush that crept across her face when he chuckled at her. She felt lighter than she had in quite a while, truly free for the first time in ages. The shadow of her parents was gone from her shoulders now for the next week and she hadn’t realized until now just how much they had been weighing on her mind. Perhaps spending some time away from them is just what she would need to find the strength to stand up for them once and for all. She would think about that later though. For now she would breathe in the clean air, soak in the sunshine, take in the view, and enjoy her time with or without Darius. Things happened for a reason and she would go with the flow.

Darius invitation wasn’t unwelcome and while she would normally have felt a bit reserved about accepting his offer, today was a different day she decided. ”That sounds lovely,” she said warmly, confidently. She hoped it would imply her interest in him. If she had been reading the signs correctly she was pretty sure he was interested in her as well. What exactly did she expect from this if things went further? A hookup in the woods? That was really the most she could imagine happening at this point. She lived halfway across the country and a long distance relationship would hardly develop over the course of a weekend or even one week. Still, life had a way of turning things around in interesting ways and who was to say a hookup would be terrible? It wasn’t something she would usually consider but the idea was alluring and if things went sour the distance from here to New York would work in her favor.

Pushing these thoughts aside she asked, ”How long are you staying?” wondering if he was just here for the weekend or rather for the week like she was.