“God, I would kill myself if I lived here.”

“What did you expect? We’re in the country.”

I bought a Cornish pasty from a vendor on the street, which was delicious. It was filled with spiced meat and vegetables. Then we drove to a pair of villages called the Slaughters and parked the car. I wanted to walk around and really get a feel for the place. I had never seen such beauty. The feeling of being sucked into a fairytale book was overwhelming. The stone cottages side by side, the quiet, little rivers woven through the village, the beautiful green trees and farm fields surrounded us. Everything was so moist and green. I couldn’t believe how quiet it was. It was strange to not hear the sounds of construction, of cars, of anything, really, except songbirds and the rustling of squirrels in trees. I had never been in such a place. I felt totally removed from civilization and I experienced a peace that I never felt before.

We walked along the river, passing by people quietly tending to their gardens, and came upon a mill on the river, which was next to a souvenir shop. Behind the shop was a path to the next village: Upper Slaughter.

Will walked beside me and I gave him a smile. I had to keep resisting the urge to pinch myself. How could this be real? The dirt path followed the river and on both sides were fields of grazing sheep. There was nothing but the sounds of our feet walking, the gentle river playing and the baaing of sheep. I stopped for a moment just to appreciate it and felt the strangest sensation as I looked over the fence to gaze at the sheep quietly grazing. It was like this quiet, sleepy village cast a spell on me.

“Getting ideas for designs?” he asked as he joined me on the fence.

“Yeah.” My brain was already freezing images in my head: the yellow stone cottages, the river, and the green fields. “I’ve never been to such a peaceful place.”

“I don’t know. I think it’s kind of boring.” He pushed himself off the fence and threw small rocks into the river, upsetting a white swan gliding downstream.

I rolled my eyes. Of course Will would find it boring. This was completely the opposite of his home in San Francisco, which was always bustling with noise and activity. In general, it was hard to find peace and quiet in California, where the brown hills were slowly filling up with little boxes. This place looked like the Shire in Lord of the Rings. I took pictures of everything so that I could refer to them later.

He stood close to the river and I was suddenly overcome with an urge to shove him into the water. I was still a little bit angry about how he treated me, and it would be wonderful payback. Let’s see how little rich-boy handles getting his feet wet.

I tiptoed silently. He still talked to me as if I stood far away. Excitement pounded through my rapidly beating heart as I raised my palms to his back and shoved.

“What the fuck?” he roared.

Will stumbled forward, his right foot sinking into the icy river. He turned around with an extremely offended look as I doubled over and laughed, tears squeezing from my eyes. He looked around as if someone else must have been responsible.

“You did this? What are you, five?”

I clutched the fence, still crying with laughter as Will hopped onto the trail and shook out his drenched tennis shoe.

Through my laughter I managed to squeak out, “That’s for being whiny about this place.”

“I’ve got water in my fucking shoe!” He looked at me dangerously. “Oh, you’re going to pay for this.”

I screamed and sprinted down the trail as he came after me. Luckily, there was no one else around to see us behaving like idiots. Despite his exhaustion, he caught up to me easily and yanked me into his chest. Before I knew it, I was flying in the air and he was cradling me in his arms, smirking.

“Will! WILL!”

He carried me somewhere—I couldn’t see.

“I can’t believe you did that,” he said, smiling down at me. “That’s so out of character for you.”

My face was on his shoulder. He smelled incredible—like pine and cedar. I was caught between the ecstasy of being so close to him and fear that he was planning something terrible. “Will! Put me down!”

He raised his eyebrows. “You sure? Okay.”

“No! Wait!”

There was a slight splash and I knew that Will held me over the river, ready to throw me inside. He looked crazy enough to do it. He loosened his grip and I slid down slightly. I grasped his shoulders and he tightened his arms around my waist. I was absolutely giddy from being this close to him and I was sure my face was burning.

“Apologize,” he demanded, grinning. “Or I’ll throw you in.”

I glared at him. He wouldn’t really throw me in, would he? “No.”

He shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

Icy water sank into my shoes. “No, stop! Ok, fine! I’m sorry!”

Laughing, he stepped back and I found solid ground. I never saw him look so happy. “I can’t believe you did that.”

“Me neither,” I said, my breath caught in my throat. I was back safely on the ground, but his arm was still wrapped around my waist. I could feel every contour of his muscles and his rapid heartbeat. If I just lifted myself on my toes, I could kiss him.

The laughter slowly died and Will’s eyes looked at me with something entirely different. His fingers splayed on my back and he seemed to finally be aware that he was holding me.

He bowed his head, still smiling. All of his heat surrounded me; I felt his lips claiming mine, my mouth open in shock. The gentle heat I felt in my heart amped to a blazing forest fire. His hard body was against mine, his hands almost lifting me up. I actually dug my fingers into his wild hair and loved how soft it was. His kisses were filled with gunpowder; they were nothing like the sweet pecks Ben always gave me. I leaned into him and bit his bottom lip.

Somehow, we stumbled back against the fence. Will’s mouth weakened me over and over, and then he was planting searing hot kisses under my jaw and down my throat. I moaned as his hands swept around my waist and moved up my abdomen. Then he seemed to become aware of where we were and he pulled away. Not completely, just enough to make me really disappointed.

My nerves and skin were tingling all over, oversensitive. When Will’s fingers grazed my neck, I seized as if I was in pain.

That was amazing.

I wanted to kiss him again, but Will winked at me and stepped back.

“C’mon.”

A bit of awkwardness followed that intense make-out session. How were we supposed to behave after that? Will didn’t make any attempt to touch me again, but when he looked at me, it was in a completely different way than before. He gave me a secretive smile that made me confused and hot all over. I didn’t understand it. It was like being a kid again, discovering a new crush.