Page 14 of This is Why We Lied

She kissed him again, and he decided now was as good a time as any. At least if she was disappointed, it wouldn’t be in front of an audience.

Will said, “Let’s sit down.”

He helped her with her backpack. The plastic plates clinked against the tin silverware as it hit the ground. They’d already stopped for lunch overlooking a meadow full of grazing horses. Will had gotten fancy sandwiches from the French pastry shop in Atlanta, which had cemented his belief that he was not a fancy sandwich man.

But Sara had been delighted, which was all that mattered.

He gently took her hand as they sat on the ground across from each other. Will’s thumb automatically went to her ring finger. He played with the thin wedding band that had joined the ring that had belonged to his mother. Will thought about the ceremony, the feeling of euphoria he still hadn’t been able to shake. Faith, his partner at the GBI, had stood with him. He’d danced with his boss, Amanda, because she was more like a mother to Will, if your mother was the type of person who would shoot you in the leg so the bad guys would get to you first while she sprinted away.

Sara asked, “Will?”

He felt an awkward smile on his mouth. Out of nowhere, he was nervous. He didn’t want to disappoint her. He didn’t want to put too much pressure on her, either. The lodge could’ve been a terrible idea. She could end up hating it.

She said, “Tell me your favorite part about the wedding.”

Will felt some of the awkwardness leave his smile. “Your dress was beautiful.”

“That’s sweet,” she said. “My favorite part was when everybody left and you fucked me against the wall.”

His laugh was more like a guffaw. “Can I change my answer?”

She gently touched her fingers to the side of his face. “Tell me.”

Will took a deep breath and forced himself to get out of his head. “When I was a kid, there was a church group that did summer activities with the children’s home. They’d take us to Six Flags or we’d go to the Varsity for hot dogs or to see a movie or whatever.”

Sara’s smile softened. She knew that his life at the children’s home had not been easy.

“They also sponsored kids for summer camp. Two weeks in the mountains. I never got to go, but the kids who did—it’s all they talked about for the whole rest of the year. Canoeing and fishing and hiking. All that stuff.”

Sara pressed together her lips. She was doing the math. Will had spent eighteen years in the system. Not being able to go to the camp at least once was statistically improbable.

Will explained, “They gave you passages from the Bible to memorize. You had to recite it in front of the whole church. If you got the lines right, then you got to go.”

He saw her throat work.

“Shit, I’m sorry.” Leave it to Will to make Sara cry on their honeymoon. “It was my choice, not because of my dyslexia. I could memorize the verses, but I didn’t want to speak in front of people. They were trying to help us come out of our shells, I think? Like, learn how to speak to strangers or give a presentation or—”

She gripped his hand.

“Anyway.” He had to move this along. “I heard about the camp at the end of every summer—kids wouldn’t shut up about it—and I thought it would be nice to go there. Not camping, because I know you hate camping.”

“I do.”

“But there’s an eco lodge that you can hike into. You can’t reach it by car. It’s been in the same family for years. They have guides who take you mountain biking and fishing and paddle boarding and—”

She interrupted him with a kiss. “I love everything about it.”

“Are you sure?” Will asked. “Because it’s not just for me. I booked you a massage, and there’s sunrise yoga by the lake. Plus, there’s no Wi-Fi or television or cell reception.”

“Holy shit.” She looked genuinely astonished. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to fuck you against every wall in the cottage.”

“We get our own cottage?”

“Hello!”

They both turned at the sound. A man and a woman were twenty yards down the trail. They were dressed in hiking attire and carrying backpacks that were so new Will wondered if they had taken off the tags in their car.