[https://em.wattpad.com/39f79cf8f0ddbc3e8d3708f64f8a81dc48784518/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f396376535763784379656f394e673d3d2d3932343236333737362e313632336365353432323763396236623436323137343936363035332e706e67]

The trail was a dirt path several feet wide. Plenty of room for me and Ira to walk side by side as we entered the forest.

“How far does this thing go?” I asked, watching the way it curved out of sight.

“All over the place,” Ira said. “It branches off by the lake, goes deeper in the woods, and the advanced trail goes all the way around the mountain to the other side of the town.”

“Wow,” I said. “Have you ever taken it?”

“Actually, no,” he said. “I’m not really from Rossberg.”

Getting him talking about himself might reveal something I could use. “Oh, yeah?”

He nodded. “There’s this little town wayyy on the other side of the lake. I grew up there.”

“So you’re just a small-town boy, huh?”

“Something like that,” he laughed. “How about you?”

I hesitated. If he was Damned, I would have to kill him. If he wasn’t, I would never see him again after this case. Either way, there was no reason I couldn’t be a little honest.

“I’m from all over the country,” I said. “ My dad moves around a lot for work. We never really settled in one place.”

“Did you like that?” Ira asked. “My family’s been in the same town for--generations. Always wondered what it would be like to travel.”

“I loved it,” I replied. “I've been to every state in the lower 48. Seen everything from major cities to a single gas station that called itself a town.”

And had found the Damned in almost all of those places. Why wouldn’t they be in Rossberg?

His voice was wistful when he said, “That sounds amazing.”

“Why don’t you travel?” I asked.

The tour guide flickered over his face before he said, “Family stuff.”

“You’re doing it again,” I said.

He sighed. “It’s just the family convo is more like a third or fourth date thing.”

Stolen story; please report.

Convo must mean conversation. Then it hit me what he said. “...Date?”

He cast me a wry glance. “Oh, are we still pretending I’m just showing you the sights?”

Called out, I had to look away. “Why did you come here then? Don’t you have a girlfriend?”

“Don’t you?”

“...Touché.”

“We’re open, by the way,” Ira said. “Me and Zo. What about you and…?”

“Beni,” I said.

“And?” he asked. “Are you open, are you cheating, or is she a beard?”

“Beard?”

“Yeah, a girl you date so no one knows you’re gay.”

“Oh,” I said. “Um, Beni knows. It’s just...family stuff.”

“That ‘real religious’ one you mentioned?”

That’s when I saw my opportunity.

“I’ll talk about mine if you talk about yours.” He squinted at me, and I flashed a winning smile. “Isn’t that what dates are for? Getting to know each other?”

“You drive a hard bargain,” he grumbled, but his real face was back.

“I already told you about my dad,” I said. “Your turn.”

With slanted lips, he said, “Good thing you’re so cute.”

“If you say so,” I demurred.

“I do.” Then he went on before I could object. “My parents are divorced. Haven’t talked to my dad in years.”

“Like, at all?”

He shook his head. “Nope.”

“That must be hard,” I said.

“What about you?” He asked. “You’ve mentioned your dad, what about your mom?”

With as little emotion as possible, I said, “She died when I was a baby.”

He winced. “Shit, I’m sorry.”

“It was a long time ago,” I breezed. “I don’t even remember her.”

Cautious, he said, “Can I ask...does that make it easier or harder?”

“Some ways, it’s a little of both,” I said. “What about yours? She owns the truck stop?”

“Yeah,” he smiled. “When she divorced my step-dad, she used the settlement money to start a business.”

I laughed. “Sounds like a badass.”

There was a soft, little-boy smile on his face when he said, “She is. Okay, your turn. Any siblings?”

I shook my head. “I have a cousin named Harley. We grew up like brothers, but we haven’t really spoken since I tried to come out to him.”

“Damn,” Ira said. “That’s harsh.”

“Other than that,” I continued, “just Beni. We’ve been best friends my whole life.”

Evan would stay a secret for now. Ira hadn’t seen him, so there was no reason to mention him. Keeping a surprise may prove crucial to the mission.

As we’d been talking, the woods had deepened. The further in we went, I started to wonder if it would darken enough to see his Shadow. I was learning things Espy could put to use, but nothing that could confirm his status.

A rushing sound started rising, and I tilted my head into it. “That water?”

“Yup,” he said. “There’s several falls that feed into the lake. We’re nearly to the first one now.”

Almost as soon as he said it, the trail led us around a large outcropping of rock and the roar of a waterfall intensified. I stopped dead.

Water plunged down the rocky face, had done so for millions of years judging by the canyon it had carved through the earth. A quaint wooden bridge spanned the divide. Nothing rickety or decrepit, just floating above a river that was merely a ribbon of light beneath it.

Slowly, I walked over and peaked down. All...the way...down.

Ira saw my reaction and asked, “You aren’t afraid of heights, are you?”

“If you had asked me in the parking lot, I would have said no,” I answered. “But that is a long way down.”

And then his fingers were weaving through mine (getting fresh, he went straight for the interlace), surprisingly warm for what I suspected about him.

“Don’t worry,” he rumbled. “I’ll protect you.”

I rolled my eyes. “How gallant.”

But I didn’t pull my hand away.