They walked over to the park, which was nearby, talking and laughing all the way. Jim was surprised to find her much more interesting to talk to than he had expected. She was keenly aware of the foibles of the people around them, much to his amusement. When she talked about Rick, he had to concede (grudgingly, in some cases), that she was dead-on.
After a little bit of walking, they came to the reservoir. Jim guided them into the woods, staying near to the water. Seeing where they were headed, Rebecca glanced up at him, grinning and asking, "Trying to get me away out of sight?"
He smiled back, "Could be. Do you mind?"
Her smile got wider. She answered, "Not at all. Why do you think we ended up so close to here to begin with?"
"I know a comfortable place in here to watch the clouds, although the path to get there isn't so comfortable, if you're interested."
"Lead away," Rebecca replied.
The area Jim mentioned was surrounded by briars, and hence, hard to find, but he knew a spot where they were fairly thin. He helped her get past them with a minimum of trouble. Inside was a small area about ten feet across, mysteriously clear of briars, and with a view of the sky, straight up.
They sat down, side-by-side. Rebecca looked up, and didn't see any clouds at all. "Not such a good day for cloud viewing, is it."
He leaned over towards her, saying, "There's plenty interesting here to see." With that, he kissed her briefly.
"I suppose you're right about that," she replied. Then she tackled him, bowling him over, and landing on top. From that position, she ducked her head down to kiss him back, more deeply.
It was at about this point, as Jim felt something trapped between them, that he realized that he had changed back to himself. Feeling, now, completely happy with the universe, he lost himself in the kiss, and the young woman in his arms.
