Chasing Aurora
Chapter 4

The next morning, I loaded Samson into my SUV and strapped my mountain bike on the back. Samson was so excited his entire butt was wagging. He loved when we went out to the countryside and he could run free. He loved going for adventures and I tried to mix up the trails we went on. He was very well trained so I could let him off leash and he could just run to his heart’s desire.

Once we were on the highway, I rolled down the windows so Samson could stick his head out. I put on some music and jammed as I drove. I always felt so peaceful while I was driving. This moment alone where it could just be me without any of the pressures of the outside world. Just pure serenity.

I pulled off the highway and began driving farther into the countryside until I reached the bush. I drove through the side roads until I could replace a trail opening. I parked my car and looked over at Samson. “You ready to go run boy?” I asked. He let out an enthusiastic bark in response. I got out of the car and went to the back of the car to grab my bike. Once I had it off I double-checked it to make everything was working properly. It was only then that I let Samson out of the car. He waited patiently beside me as I put my water in the water bottle holder and made sure I had my GPS pulled up so we didn’t get lost.

I mounted my bike and looked over at Samson sitting right beside me. “Good boy Samson. Come on, let’s go.” I started slowly peddling as Samson trotted along in front of me. As we both got warmed up, we slowly increased our speed until we were flying down the trail. I kept track of every turn we took in my head. Samson was having a ball. I was glad I was able to do these kinds of things with him.

After a while I could feel myself start to tire. I stopped my bike and pulled off the trail. I let out a whistle and Samson came trotting right on back to me. “That’s a good boy! Do you want a treat?” He barked happily as I reached into my backpack and pulled out a treat for him. I took a long drink of water before grabbing the protein bar I had packed for myself. I sat down on a log and Samson laid down at my feet. I leaned back and looked at the green leaves above me with the sunlight just starting to peak through. When I closed my eyes, the only sounds were Samson’s pants mixed with the chirping of birds. A slight breeze trickled through the trees sending the leaves rustling.

With my eyes closed a gentle melody started playing over the breeze. As the voice became clearer, I realized it was a woman singing. Samson perked up and started following the music before looking back at me. I smiled and stood grabbing my bike. I followed him as he tracked the singing through the forest. As we got closer, I could make out even more of the words to a song that sounded like it was straight off Broadway. Whomever she was, she had the voice of an angel and I needed to see that angel’s face.

Samson darted off the path suddenly and ran through the trees. I swore as I jumped off my bike and ditched it just a few steps off the path. I dropped my helmet off right beside it and followed the white streaks of fur through the trees. I wanted to call out to him, but I was worried that I would spook the woman singing.

Suddenly the forest ended, and I found myself standing in the middle of a clearing. The woman’s voice had stopped, and I couldn’t immediately see Samson. No use in trying not to spook the woman now. “Samson! Samson! Here boy!” I called out as I ran to the middle of the clearing. It was as I was running did I realize that the clearing had a little dip on the other side.

“I’ve got him!” A magical voice answered. That voice sounded so familiar. I ran to the top of the hill and looked down into the hidden dip to see a woman with beautiful blonde curls bent down petting Samson. Samson looked up at me with a smile and barked. It was then that the woman looked up at me with her startling green eyes that instantly made me froze. I could see the shock mirrored on her face as she shot to her feet. “Piper?”

“Aurora?” My feet moved of their own accord walking towards her. Aurora, just standing there in the middle of the clearing absolutely frozen. The girl of my dreams was right in front of me in the flesh and I didn’t know what to say or do. All I knew was that my feet just kept moving towards her until I came to a stop right in front of her. I found myself examining every inch of the face I had known for so long. Her sun-kissed skin decorated with freckles. The eyes were that beautiful shade of electric green I had chased. Her full pink lips slightly parted just begging to be kissed. She was everything I had dreamed about and so much more because she was here right in front of me.

“How?” She asked.

“I don’t know.” I reached for her hip and it was like a thousand volts travelled through me. Gone were the dulled sensations of dreams. Those sparks between us were now a live wire that was impossible to ignore. Just from that single touch, I knew that Aurora was it for me. No cheap imitation would do now that I had the real thing in front of me.

I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers. I could feel her smile into the kiss as she wrapped her arms around my shoulders pulling me in deeper. Every fibre of my being was attuned to her and only her. Every move, every sigh she made caused every hair on my body stand on end and scream.

Just as I was getting lost in her Samson barked. Aurora laughed as she pulled away looking down at Samson. I couldn’t take my eyes off her though. As she pulled away to bend down to pet Samson, I missed her warmth beside me. “Is mommy not paying enough attention to you?” She asked scratching him behind the ear right where he liked it. Samson let out a happy bark as his tail wagged. Samson instantly took to Aurora. I bent down and pulled off my backpack. I pulled out a chew toy and he perked up.

“Alright Samson, go play.” I tossed him the toy and he jumped up to catch it. I sat down on the grass. I watched Aurora as she watched Samson. I couldn’t help reaching out to capture a lock of her hair between my fingers. Just as soft and silky as I remembered.

She turned back to me with a smile. She scooted towards me and took my hand in hers. “Okay, so, you’re a real person.” She said biting her lip, “And you’re here. In my woods.”

“Yeah, I like to get out of the city with Samson a couple times a month. We are always looking for new trails to try.” I said. Samson padded over to me with his chew toy in his mouth. I took the toy from him and threw it. “I was taking a break when I heard you singing. Something told me that I needed to replace out who that voice belonged to.”

Her cheeks turned that perfect shade of pink that I loved. “Not a lot of people come to this part of the forest. When my aunts are being overbearing I can usually come out here and get away for a bit.”

Aurora’s aunts were characters from what she’s told me over the years. Not entirely competent, overly protective and always bickering, but they were the only family she had, “What did they do this time?”

“Nothing. I finished my masters thesis and needed some time to decompress after all the stress. Now there’s nothing to do but wait.”

“Congrats. I know how hard you’ve been working on that.”

“Thanks. Oh! How did your fight go last night? It was last night, right?”

“I won. Piper the Viper remains undefeated.”

“Still never going to call you that. You are stuck with Peanut Butter forever.” She laughed.

I grinned pulling her into me. My free hand went to the back of her head locking her in place. Her electric green eyes widened slightly as her pupils dilated. Her teeth captured her bottom lip causing a jolt to travel through me. “As long as that means you’re mine, then I don’t care.”

“Always.” She whispered. The air between us swirled with sparks as we were drawn together again. Her lips parted under mine as she let out the softest of moans. I twisted laying her down on the meadow floor. It was like a dance we had done a million times before but still every touch, every second was new. As much as I wanted to ravage her like I had done so many times in our dreams, I could feel myself holding back. I couldn’t treat Aurora like all those one-night stands that littered my past. Aurora deserved romance, the fancy dinners, the sunset strolls on the beach, and the bouquets of roses. Not the middle of a meadow after a long day of mountain biking.

I pulled away from her even as I could feel her try to keep me where I was. I rolled onto my side so I could lay beside her. “Can I take you on a date?”

Her face immediately screwed up in confusion. “What?”

“Can I take you on a date? We get dressed up, I pick you up, we go do something together, and then we make out.”

She laughed, “I know what a date is. I just wasn’t expecting it. Usually when you get me on my back like this, you’ve only got one thing on your mind.” Her eyes twinkled with mischief that took all my strength to resist.

“Trust me, I really want to. It’s just, this will be our first time in real life. I want things to be special for you.”

“Awe, that is so romantic! I would swoon but I’m already on the ground.”

I chuckled leaning down to give her a soft kiss. I felt so completely at peace with her in my arms. It was of course ruined by the large white dog that decided to jump on top of us. We both burst out laughing as Samson wiggled his way in between us. “Sorry, he’s not usually like this.” I laughed.

“Samson was feeling left out weren’t you boy.” She peppered kisses to the top of his head. Samson was absolutely loving the attention. “He is so much cuter than I imagined.”

“Yeah, I really lucked out with him.” I gave him a good scratch behind the ear, “I think he just needs to run around some more.”

“Well, why don’t we start walking back to your car? Then he can run around while we hang out.”

“Are you sure? It’s a long walk.” I asked.

“I’m sure. You can then drop me off on your way back to the city.” She pushed herself to her feet and brushed herself off. I stood up and took her hand leading her back to where I stashed my bike. I pulled out my phone to try to figure out a way back to my car. “There is a trail right through here that isn’t on the map. It saves us from having to go the long way around the beaver pond.”

“Lead the way beautiful.” I picked up my bike and began walking it beside her. I loved just watching her as she walked. It was like she was dancing to a song that only she could hear. Her long curls would catch the breeze and her face would turn up to the sky with the most serene of smiles. She was at home in the woods.

She led me down a path I wouldn’t have noticed if I had been on my bike. She danced ahead with Samson running around her in circles eager to play. She picked up a stick off the ground and threw it ahead for him. He took off down the path and she turned to look over her shoulder at me. She just took my breath away.

“Stay right there,” I said pulling out my phone.

“Why? What are you doing?” She asked.

“I want to remember this moment forever.” She gave me a brilliant smile and I snapped the picture. A perfect snapshot of the perfect moment with my girl.