Lookout Mountain: A Short Story

The thin nighttime mountain air fills my lungs as the sunsets over the peaks. He reaches over and takes my hand in his. The breeze whips through my hair and shimmies through the fingers of the trees. Soft music drifts from the pavilion with the faint hum of voices, Haley’s in particular standing out. Kodi and I had less than fourteen hours left in the Colorado mountains together. Soon, he’d go back to Reed Springs and I’d go back to Willard and everything will be like it was before. But it’s not. At the church, Haley and I got in the van with the rest of our youth group, headed to Lookout Mountain. We were having our Daily Devotional and Large Group Gathering there that afternoon. We drove up the rolling humps of earth, my mind was racing. My heart was beating faster than the speed of a Nascar racer. I was
Yes I will,” I responded.
He leaned down and kissed me. My whole body caught fire, sending tingles down my back, into my arms, and all the way down to my feet. I smiled into his kiss and he laughed. I heard Haley and some other girls not far off laughing and giggling at us. But it didn’t matter. I was too distracted to notice any longer.
We walked over, sat on a boulder and looked out over the mountains. When he was holding my hand it seemed as if everything in the world was so right. We sang some songs as a big group and then went over our Daily Devotions. Then it was time to go back to the church. Since Kodi and I were in different vans, we had to say goodbye.
He told me he loved me, the next morning before we had to leave to go home. He hugged me tightly. Every part of me once again filled with the energy that connected us. I felt like flying but he was holding me down. He smiled at me and I smiled back. We walked over to his friends, his arm around my waist. His friends D.J. and John both gave me a hug before getting in their van. Kodi turned to me.
“So, I guess I have to leave,” he said, sadness spewing from his voice. “I wish you could come with