You've Found Oliver (You've Reached Sam, #2)(30)

Ellensburg doesn’t have much of an art scene, but there’s a mural of a phoenix rising from the ashes outside of the Davidson Building. It symbolizes the rebuilding of the town after the Great Fire burned most of it down in 1889.

“How did the fire start?” Ben asks curiously.

“Phone charger. A real hazard back then.”

Ben rolls his eyes and walks off. I love making him laugh. There are a few more shops we could check out, but I want to take him somewhere special. Especially after he took me stargazing on the rooftop. There’s this endless golden field just outside of town. Julie took me there once before. I bet he’s never seen the stars more clearly anywhere else. But there are more clouds today than I’d expected. So I’ll save it for another time. Thankfully, I have another place in mind.

There’s a dirt path at the end of the street, leading to the main hiking trail, but that’s not where I’m taking us now. We go off the path, cutting through trees until it comes into view. Sunlight bounces off the mirror-like surface of the lake. It’s been a long time since I’ve been back. Ben glances at the water and back at me. “I’m guessing this is your secret spot,” he says.

“I’m trusting you’ll keep it that way.”

Sam and I used to spend the summers here, lounging on the grass. It doesn’t take long for the memories to return. If I close my eyes for a second, I can hear his voice echoing through the air. Admittedly, it’s a little strange to be here with Ben instead, but I wanted to show him something different from the city views he’s used to seeing. Ben stares at our reflection in the water. “Do you come here by yourself a lot?”

“It’s actually been a while.” I slide my hands into my pockets. “It’s a lot nicer during the summer. I like to pretend it’s my private lake in the Hamptons.”

Ben smiles. “If only we could go for a swim.”

I glance at the clouds above us. “I was hoping it would be warmer. Although I have jumped in when it was snowing.”

“Oh, really?”

“It was an accident,” I admit. “The lake froze over and I wanted to see if I could stand on it. Turns out I was…heavier than I thought.”

“And how did you get out?”

“A friend was with me. I probably should have listened to him in the first place. He was pretty upset with me afterwards.” I was sick in bed for a week, but I decide to leave that out.

“I’m guessing it was Sam.”

“Yeah, it was. He was the one who showed me this place.”

Ben nods and stares at the lake again. I stand beside him, taking in the world around us. I remember there being more flowers in the springtime. Maybe I’m misremembering things.

“My brother and I used to go hiking a lot,” Ben says out of the blue. “Back when we lived in Sacramento. Sometimes, we went out way farther than we were supposed to. I remember finding a place that looked like this. I kinda forgot about that memory until now. Haven’t thought about it in years.”

“So you have your own secret lake?”

“Or maybe it’s the same one,” he says, looking at me. “And we’re just entering different portals to get there.”

I think about it. “How would we test this theory?”

“I’ll have to show you mine. So we can compare them.”

“How scientific.”

“It’s been so long I hope I can find it again.”

I smile at the thought of this. The two of us taking a trip together. I would honestly go anywhere with him. Maybe that’s how you know you’re falling for someone. When you don’t care what the destination is.

We stare at each other for a long moment. His hair is almost glowing in the afternoon sunlight. I resist the urge to run my hand through it. I wish I had kissed him that night on the rooftop. Maybe this is my second chance to do it. I swallow my breath and lean forward— But his phone goes off.

“Sorry, that’s my alarm—” Ben turns it off.

“What’s it for?”

“It’s a reminder to look at my research fellowship application,” he says. “But I’m practically done with it. It’s with the European Space Agency. I’m hoping to work at this observatory in the Netherlands.”

“That’s sounds cool,” I say.

“I didn’t get it yet. But we’ll see.”

“I’m jealous you already know exactly what you want to do,” I admit. “I can’t even decide if I should sign up for a meal plan next quarter.”

Ben slides his phone into his pocket. “I guess that’s a nice way of looking at it. But there’s always a trade-off, right?”

“What kind of trade-off?”

“For one, I didn’t have any friends like Sam or Julie growing up,” he says. “I spent most weekends alone studying in my room.”

“Well, you’re not alone anymore,” I say. “Now you have me.”

“I wish we didn’t live far away.”

“That hasn’t stopped us so far, right?”

Ben smiles again. “No. It hasn’t.”

If we were going to kiss, the moment is gone. At least for right now. We still have the rest of the day together. I check the time on my phone. We should probably head back into town soon. I still need to give him a tour of campus. We hang around the lake for a moment longer. I hadn’t really thought much about why I wanted to bring Ben here. But I think I just needed to see it again—and I didn’t want to be alone. On our walk back, I turn to him and say, “I’m glad you came today. If I didn’t mention that already.”