It seemed like a long time when he helped me up. We climbed some more rocks, all the way down to the river on the other side where I got a refresher course in skipping rocks. Not that I wasn't completely competent in this pastime what with so many older siblings, and a house on a lake in Alaska we went to every summer, where my mom held an actual skipping rock contest--- but what the heck. I had to listen with rapt attention to Rafe's instructions, because that's what one did when they were falling in love.

            We biked from there up the road to the loop. There was another trail over the side, by the loop, overlooking a glacier. Here we saw mountain goats and rock chucks, although technically rock chucks are not chucks at all but yellow bellied marmots. We took the day packs and headed up the trail till it split, then we went quite a ways up the higher side, toward the promised chalet, I have only been to once, and I knew was about fourteen miles and too far for us to hit today. Clouds were rolling in, and the sunlight was blocked above, but we found some nice rocks to sit on overlooking the back side of the valley, and some amazing peaks in the distance, looking north.

            Here we perched to eat lunch and talk about other hikes, and other bike rides, crashes and amazing scenery. He'd seen a lot more than I had, although I had my fair share of summer vacation trips to account for. I wasn't completely untraveled.

            "Aubrey."

            "Yeah?"

            "Just an observation with you. But--- it's easy here."

            "Easy?"

            "To share things. I sound like I must talk all the time, but you have to know. I don't."

            I took that in with a smile. I thought it was easy talking to him as well. We shared well, and we listened well. The wind was blowing the clouds across the sky at a wisping fast rate, but we ate our sandwiches and shared some nuts and an apple. I contemplated that we got along so well, but kept a little bit of myself reserved for the 'what if' thought. What if--- we were on our best behavior? What if we were to let down our guard? Would we still be as good at listening as we are today? Do people know that in advance? Or do all couples who are getting to know each other try on their best behavior?

            I broached that subject lightly.

            He rocked back on his elbows and smiled thoughtfully. Then those deep blue eyes pierced mine. "Yeah. I think all newly attracted couples--- that's what we are right? Newly attracted to each other? Well--- I think that people like us do put on a show at least some, to impress the other person, and draw them in. And there's nothing to fight about yet."

            I swallowed, thinking for the hundredth time already that his eyes were the deepest, loveliest eyes I'd ever seen. But I addressed the thought we were discussing. "Did you know that actually, our brains release a chemical when we meet new people that are compatible with our--- physiology shall we say?---."

            "People we are attracted to." Rafe supplied.

            "A chemical that solidifies attraction, that encourages those feelings of attraction, even enhances feelings of need--- sort of like a craving?"

            He nodded. "I heard that." He agreed. "So, you're saying I could become addicted to you?"

            He was joking, and so was I—basically--- but I said it anyway. "Yeah, that's what happens. The dopamine is released in quantities telling us we should anticipate sex. The serotonin gives us great feelings of satisfaction and well-being. It's all designed to keep the attraction going."

            "Hence we are on our best behavior--- like snakes."

            My eyebrows rose. "Snakes?"

            "Deceptively sneaky." Then he sat forward, tickled my neck, my back and my stomach, making hissing noises like a snake.

            "Well---." I screeched. "Man is actually similar in that sense to animals!" But he was tickling me so much I wriggled lose and scrambled up, grabbing a day pack and trying to run. I didn't even make it back to the trail before he'd tackled me, tickled me, and swung me close in his arms. He was looking into my eyes for just a few seconds, and then he whipped out his phone, and took a selfie of us, with the mountains and the rocks behind us, the wind whipping my hair. Then he pocketed the phone, looking at the wondrous scenery, and then turned to me.

            "This is all I need, Aubrey. Beautiful days like today, and you."

            He kissed me slow, lingering inside and around and outside us, commanding, yet, giving so much. I felt cherished--- as I never had before, and the thought actually went through my head--- I really do feel like I'm falling in love. I've never felt this way before. Warm and peaceful; and excited.

            The rest of the afternoon was spent biking up the road, stopping to take more pictures of spectacular glacial views and waterfalls. We didn't get to the top before I told him it was time to turn around and get back, so we would be in time for dinner.

            Rafe joked a lot of the time... not as bad as my brother Zack, or even Fallon, who pulled terrible pranks, but he made us laugh. I liked his sense of humor immensely.

            We got back to the car, loaded the bikes together, and then he decided to drive and I napped for about twenty minutes.

            When I woke up we were still in the park, but closer to the exit. Rafe was singing under his breath, and his eyes were loosely taking in all the vistas from this direction, and I knew, each way you traveled the scenery was different. Coming or going.

            But my thoughts had turned to other things. His singing had prompted it. "Can I ask you something?"

            "Shoot."

            "A lot of your songs.... Are about breaking up, or having sex."

            "Some." He corrected. "Some of my better known songs that get a lot of media air play are about breaking up, or about sex."

            I thought of a few I knew, agreed that I hadn't listened to the whole album and then asked him why.

            "To sell albums the songs need to be commercially viable. Guys think about sex about 90 to 95% of their day, did you know that."

            "So, your target audience is mostly young guys?"

            "Old guys think about sex about as much or more."

            "So your target audience is just all guys?"

            "Girls think about sex 90% of the time."

            "So, your target audience is people who think about sex?"

            "Sex is on my mind."

            "Really? Ninety percent of the time?"

            "Well, things trigger my thoughts of sex. Shapes of girls breasts. Shapes of girls butts."

            "So, your songs encourage promiscuity and immorality."

            His eyes narrowed in the rearview mirror, as they slid to mine defensively. "I didn't say anything about morality, Aubrey. People are free to listen to whatever music they want, and think whatever thoughts they want."

            "And then, by your standards, we are not our brother's keeper, and we are not responsible for putting immoral and impure thoughts----"

            "Aubrey, you're spouting religion."

            "I'm not." I said hotly, my feelings starting to surface. "But if your songs are eliciting immoral acts, and encouraging people to have immoral thoughts and possibly actions, then----"

            "Aubrey--- my music sells."

            "So, you wrote it specifically to make money on----."

            "Human nature."

            "The carnal and devilish nature of man."

            "There you go again with religion."

            "Well, you already know I'm religious. Why, knowing what you know, are you writing songs about and acting on your baser instincts?"

            "Seriously?"

            "And you said you have a porn addiction."

            "I did not. I said I like porn."

            "You like exploiting women?"

            "Free will porn. I'm not into other stuff."

            "And you can tell the difference?"

            "Yeah." His eyes slid to mine, and they were uncomfortable.

            "Look, I'm right there with addictions and overcoming them. I'm down with people having problems, if they are working on them, and if they need to be educated, then I'm down with that too."

            "But you're big into judging."

            "We are told to judge righteously."

            "Are we told to be prideful?"

            "Do you think I'm prideful?"

            "I think your opinions are bordering on thinking you are better than other people."

            I held my piece at that, thinking that I'd struck a chord. He was into porn, and into sex, and he actively sought to encourage others to be the same.

            "I like porn, Aubrey. Porn makes the world go round."

            "Porn exploits women, and makes a mockery of the God given gift of procreation and love." I huffed into my seat and turned to look out the window, feeling unnecessarily angry with him.

*****