I pulled up to her house a couple hours before sunset. Katie was sitting on her porch waiting for me, bundled up in a warm jacket, hat and scarf. It was only in the sixties. I couldn’t wait to see her when it really got cold. She would look like one of those giant balloons from the parade they televised every Thanksgiving.

As soon as she saw me, Katie walked up to the car and got in. She was rubbing her hands together and breathing onto them trying to warm herself up.

“Hey,” she said, finally looking over. Her gaze didn’t quite meet my eyes.

Turns out our first date was going to be an awkward one. Not what I had wanted, but I'd been serious when I told her I felt the connection between us and I wanted to explore it. If that meant getting some unpleasantness out of the way first, so be it.

I wasn’t going to back down.

“I’m glad you are coming with me,” I said truthfully.

“It’s been a long time. I’m excited to see it again. There’s nothing like it in Florida.”

“Do you miss it?”

“The caves? Yeah.”

“No, I mean Florida. You’ve been back here in River Valley for a while now. Do you miss your home in Florida?”

“Right now, I’m missing the heat,” she said, as one corner of her mouth lifted and I was happy to see she was beginning to relax.

I forced myself to look away and watch the road instead. “It’s not even that cold yet.”

“This is full blown winter weather for my thin blood.” She sighed. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do when it gets colder.”

“So you think you’ll be here for a while, then?”

“Honestly? I don’t know. I’m not really sure what I’m doing anymore.”

I didn’t have a response for that and she didn’t offer up anything else. It wasn’t quite comfortable silence between us. I struggled for words to put her at ease, but was at a loss. I wasn’t ready to open up just yet, as I had promised. I offered up my only solution. “Want to listen to some music?”

“Sure,” she answered, but made no move to turn on the radio or plug in her phone.

I reached over turned the radio to a classic rock station. I didn’t even like it, but I had been blaring it ever since the rumors had started to circulate. Rock screamed rebel, tough guy. Might as well play the part if everyone thought it was true, right? I didn’t have to wait long to see Katie’s reaction to it.

I was surprised when she started to sing along. I thought she might scrunch her nose up at it. Her voice was soft and had the music been any louder, I would have missed it. She began to bob her head a little. It was cute to watch and I couldn’t help the smile that hit my lips.

“I didn’t peg you as a fan of The Who.”

“Oh, I’m not really, but my ex–” she bit her lip and stopped mid sentence.

She was going to say her ex-boyfriend had been a fan. The idea of her with someone else didn’t sit well. I hated that my mind created a mental image of her laughing with another guy, kissing another guy. I didn’t have the right to be jealous.

I had dated; she had dated.

Right now, it was the two of us.

“It’s okay,” I said, hoping to reassure her. “I mean, it’s not like we need to pretend we haven’t dated anyone else. I do wish you’d start singing again, though. It was adorable as hell”

She pressed her lips together, fighting a smile and shook her head, seemingly embarrassed. But a few seconds later, her voice started again, singing along with the band. I listened as songs changed and she sang to each one. Her voice was sweet and in stark contrast to most of the lead singers belting out their ballads.

This went on the rest of the drive out to the caves. We didn’t talk, but even in this, I could feel myself growing closer. I liked seeing this part of her. Carefree, uninhibited, comfortable. I didn’t want the drive to end, but when we pulled up to the caves, I turned the car off and the music stopped.

The caves were underground in the middle of nowhere. To find them, you literally just drove until you saw the top of a metal ladder sticking out of the ground with a few rocks around it. No fancy signs or parking lot.

It wasn’t a secret. In fact, people from all over the country would come and check them out. It just wasn’t a big attraction. If you didn’t already know it was out here, you wouldn’t just stumble across it.

In recent years the city had tried to discourage people from coming out, but it didn’t stop wannabe explorers, and it sure as hell didn’t stop the locals.

I was relieved to see my car was the only one parked out there. I wanted this moment to be ours. Something only the two of us would experience. That and the fact my entire plan would be ruined if another person showed up.

“Did you bring flashlights?” she asked.

“Of course,” I said, reaching for my bag in the back seat. It had a couple of flashlights, batteries and some bottled water in it. The underground cave got pitch black once you walked far enough in. Flashlights, and backups, were essential.

“I can’t believe you brought me here.” She said as she got out of the car and walked toward the entrance on the cave.

I followed her, after grabbing our supplies. “Don’t be. I’m here and I won’t let anything happen.”

Katie’s smile was tentative as she walked closer to the ladder. I watched as she wiped her hands on her jeans several times. She was anxious about something. Whether it was the cave or being alone out here with me, I wasn’t sure.

“You’re not nervous, are you, Katie?”

She peered over the hole and looked over at me, biting her lip. Once again, I found my eyes drawn to her mouth. “I might be. Isn’t that horrible?”

“No way. You’re fearless, Katie!” I teased.

“I wouldn’t say I’m all that fearless.”

“Really? Because the Katie I remember would be racing me down that ladder.”

She smiled, but it looked sad. “Remember, I’m not that girl anymore. I wish I was but…” She trailed off and looked at me, begging that I not push it. I stopped.

“Fine. How about this? I’ll go first. You can come down after me. That way, if you fall, you’ll land on me. Plus, I’ll get to check out your ass without you knowing,” I said winking at her.

This time when she smiled, it was genuine. “Well, lover boy, I think you missed the point of that entirely. If I know you’re trying to check me out, it doesn’t matter if I actually catch you.”

“Does that mean you don’t mind if I check you out? You know, as long as your privy to it beforehand?”

“You’re horrible. Stop it,” she scolded me and smacked my shoulder. With that one small joke, I could already see the nerves from earlier disappearing.

“I guess you could go first. I don’t mind if you check me out.” I wiggled my eyebrows at her and her cheeks darkened just a bit in a blush. I was having way too much giving Katie a hard time out here.

“If I go first, we might not make it down there tonight,” she said looking back and forth between me and the ladder. “Just promise you’ll catch me if I fall.”

“Deal,” I replied before starting down the ladder. The thing was old and rusted, probably one of the biggest contributing factors to the caves unofficial closure. I hoped it would hold. I had promised Katie I’d keep her safe.

That didn’t mean I didn’t take advantage of the view. I watched as Katie took step after step down the ladder. I couldn’t help it if her jeans fit snugly and my eyes kept going back to the way her hips moved as she stepped down.

“You really are checking out my butt!” she cried out after looking down at me and catching my gaze on her bottom.

“I said I would. Wouldn’t want to break my word.”

“Uh, huh.”

“Think about it. Checking you out actually makes me the gentleman.”

“I don’t think it works that way.” Katie shook her head and went back to focusing on where her feet and hands were.

I left her alone for the last couple feet of the descent. When we finally hit the bottom, Katie wiped her hands on her jeans again and looked around.

“Wow,” she said in wonder. “It might be better than I remembered.”

I tried to see it through her eyes. But all I could see were the remains of an old fire several feet away from where we stood. It was surrounded by empty and broken beer bottles and too many cigarette butts to count. The walls had so much graffiti on them, you could barely see the natural color of the stone beneath it.

Most of it was harmless. So and so was here. Couples’ initials. But there was the occasional lewd imprint against the wall of the cave.

“It’s like stepping into another world.” Katie hadn’t stopped spinning, looking at as much of the cave as the current light would allow.

I reached in the backpack I brought to grab the flashlights. I handed one to her. Within seconds Kate had it turned on and shining right in my face.

“Whoa. Not in my eyes, Katie.”

“Sorry,” she said, pointing it away from me and down the expanse of the cave. “This is great. Come on.” She started walking deeper into the cave. Fearless Katie was back. She just needed the right incentive.

She walked slowly, stopping every few feet to run the beam of light over the walls, across the ceiling, even on the dirt we walked on. We didn’t speak. I didn’t know what could be said. So I let her explore at her pace and watched her excited perusal.

The cave was basically a straight walk down and back. It wasn’t even that long of a walk. Just enough to get away from any light shining down the entrance.

“Do you trust me?” I asked, grabbing her hand and stopping her exploration as we neared the end of the tunnel.

She didn’t answer, just looked at me in confusion.

“Katie,” I said, more softly this time. “Trust me.”

She didn’t reply right away, just stared into my eyes as if looking for the answer hidden there. After what felt like an eternity, she whispered her response.

“Okay.”