“Have I ever?”

Finally, her mother smiled. “No. Never.” Her expression turned serious. “Tomorrow, we celebrate, though. Yes? Just the two of us, all the things you love for dinner. You can have your friends over on Friday and we have a cake. But, tomorrow, just us girls.”

Donika smiled. “Just us girls.”

The path emerged from the woods in the backyard of an older couple who were known to shout at trespassers from their screened-in back porch. Donika had never experienced their wrath and wondered if they didn’t mind so much when a girl crossed their yard—maybe thinking girls didn’t cause as much trouble as boys—or if they simply didn’t see her. As she left the comfortable quiet of the woods and strolled across the back lawn and then alongside the house, she watched the windows, wondering if either of the old folks were looking out. Nothing stirred inside there. It hadn’t been dark for long, but she wondered if they were already asleep, and thought how sad it must be to get old.

When she reached the street, she saw Josh sitting on the granite curb at the corner, smoking a cigarette. Her sandals slapped the pavement as she walked and he looked up at the sound. One corner of his mouth lifted in a little smile that made her heart flutter. He flicked his cigarette away and stood to meet her, cool as hell in his faded jeans and Jimi Hendrix T-shirt.

“Hey,” he said.

Donika smiled, feeling strangely shy. “Hey.”

Josh pushed his shoulder-length blond hair away from his eyes. “Your mom kept you waiting.”

“Sorry. Sometimes I think she stays late on purpose. Maybe she figures if she keeps me waiting long enough, I won’t go out.”

“So much for that plan.”

“I’m glad you didn’t give up on me,” Donika said.

They’d been standing a couple of feet apart, just feeling the static energy of the distance between them. Now Josh reached out and touched her face.

“Never happen.”

A shiver went through her. Josh did that to her, just by standing there, and the way he looked at her.

His hand slipped around to the back of her neck and he bent to kiss her. Donika tilted her head back and closed her eyes, letting the details of the moment wash over her, the feel of him so near, the softness of his lips, the strange, burnt taste of nicotine as his tongue sought hers.

Only when they broke apart, a giddy little thrill rushing through her, did she look around and remember where they were. Lights were on in some of the houses along Rolling Lane, and anyone could be watching them.

She felt pleasantly buzzed, as though she’d had a few beers, but she slid her hand along his arm and tangled her fingers in his.

“We shouldn’t be doing this out here. I told my mother Sue and Carrie and those guys were gonna be here and we were going to get pizza. If anyone ever saw us and told her, she’d have a fit.”

“She doesn’t think you’ve ever kissed me?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t plan to ask,” Donika said. “God, she already thinks I’m slutty just for wearing cutoffs and hanging around with boys.”

Josh arched an eyebrow and took out another cigarette. “Boys? Are there others?”

She hit him. “You know what I mean.”

“Your mom’s pretty Old World.”

Donika rolled her eyes. “You have no idea. She burns candles for me and puts little bunches of dried herbs and stuff under my bed, tied in little ribbons. Pretty sure they’re supposed to ward off boys.”

“How’s that going?”

Donika only smiled.

Josh kissed her forehead. “So, do you want to go get pizza?”

“Only if you’re hungry.”

Josh laughed softly, unlit cigarette in his hand. His blue eyes were almost gray in the nighttime. “I could eat. I could always eat. But I’m good. We could just hang out. Why don’t we walk downtown, get an ice cream or something?”

“Or we could just go for a walk in the woods. I love those paths. Especially at night.”

“You’re not afraid?” Josh asked as he thumbed his lighter, the little flame igniting the tip of his cigarette. He drew a lungful of smoke and stared at her.

“Why would I be?” Donika said. “I’ve got you with me.”

She led him by the hand back across the street and through the yard of the belligerent old couple. Josh’s cigarette glowed orange in the dark. The moon and stars were bright, but as they passed alongside the house and into the backyard of that old split-level house, with the canopy of the woods reaching out above them, the darkness thickened and little of the celestial light filtered through.

“Goddamn you kids!” a screechy voice shouted from the porch. “You’re gonna burn the whole damn forest down with those cigarettes!”

Donika started and looked at the darkened porch anxiously. Josh put a hand up to try to keep himself from laughing, and that started Donika grinning as well. The voice was faintly ridiculous, like something out of a cartoon or a movie. On the porch, in the dark, another pinprick of burning orange glowed. The old man was smoking, too.

Josh paused to drop the butt and grind it out with his heel. Then, laughing, they ran into the trees, following the path that had been worn there by generations.

Hand in hand, they followed the gently curving path through the woods and talked about their friends and families, and about music.

“I love talking about music with you,” Josh told her. “The way your eyes light up…I don’t know, it’s like you feel it inside you more than most people because you can make music with your guitar.”

Donika shuddered at that. No one had ever understood that part of her the way that Josh did. He liked the sad songs best, the tragic ones, just as she did. Their conversation meandered, but she didn’t mind. All she wanted was his company. Mostly, they just walked.

The paths had been there forever, or so it seemed. There were low stone walls, centuries-old property markers that had been built up by hand and ran for miles. Old, thick roots crossed the path and small animals rustled in the branches above them and in the underbrush on either side. An entire system of paths ran through the woods. They reached a fork and followed the right-hand path. The left would have taken them up the hill toward her house, and that was the last place she wanted to go.

“You seem far away,” Josh said as they passed through a small clearing where someone had built a fire pit. Charred logs lay in the pit and the stones around it had been blackened by flames.

Donika squeezed his hand and looked up at him. “Nope. Just happy. I love the woods. Being out here…it’s so peaceful. So far away from other people. I walk through here all the time, but having you here with me makes it so much better.”

Josh stopped walking and gazed down at her. The moon and stars illuminated the clearing, and she saw the mischief in his eyes.

“Better how?” he asked.

She gave him a shy little shrug. “Just feels right.”

He kissed her again and she could hear music in her head. Or maybe it was her heart. His hands slid down her back, pulling her close, so that their bodies pressed together. She liked the feel of him against her, his strong arms wrapped around her. Through his jeans she could feel his hardness pressing into her, and she liked that very much. Just knowing that she had that effect on him made her catch her breath.

His hands roamed, fingers tracing along her arms, and then he stepped back just slightly so that he could reach up and touch her breasts through the thin cotton of her tank top.

“Josh,” she rasped, enjoying it far too much.

“Yeah.”

Donika took his hands in hers and kissed him quickly. “I think maybe I want ice cream after all.”

“But it’s beautiful right here.”

He grinned and ducked his head, kissing her again. Their fingers were still intertwined and he made no attempt to pull his hands away, to touch her again. Donika felt her body yearning toward him, missing the weight and warmth of him.