Faerie Tale by Raymond Feist

walked slowly along the path as the circle of light swept along before them, revealing the twigs and other impediments to easy passage. Gabbie had insisted Jack walk in the woods with her, in search of the fairy party. The flashlight flickered, then dimmed for a minute. “Shit!” he said. “Damn batteries are weak.”
    “I declare,” she said with a broad southern accent, “such language! And you a gentleman, sir!” Jack grinned, half-seen in the gloom. “It’s okay, Lancelot. I’ve heard a few Anglo-Saxon expletives in my day. I’m a liberated girl-Jack laughed quietly. “So I’ve noticed. And something special, too.”
    Gabbie turned silent as they walked, then said, “You’re not just saying that, are you?”
    He stopped, letting the flashlight point down. In the light reflected back from the path they studied each other. He said nothing, but leaned forward and kissed her gently. She froze a moment, then stepped in to him, letting his arms wrap around her. She could feel the strength in his body, and her heart pounded with a rush of excitement. After a time, she gently pushed herself away, softly saying, “Ah … that was a pretty good answer.”
    He smiled. “I guess.” Slipping his arm around her waist, he resumed walking slowly, Gabbie matching his pace. “I do think you’re special, Gabbie. You’ve been through a lot, I know, but it’s made you thoughtful. Most of the girls your age I’ve known are a lot younger.”
    She leaned her head against his arm. “I try to hide it sometimes. You.… I guess I trust you.”
    “Thanks.”
    She let a moment go by where the only sounds were their feet on the path and the breeze through the trees. The evening was warm and damp and the moon hung nearly full in the night, giving the woods a little illumination. Finally she said, “I.… You seeing anyone special?”
    “No one special,” he answered without hesitation. He paused, then added, “I had a girlfriend, back at Chapel Hill, Ginger Colfield. We met standing in line at junior registration, Cole, Colfield. We were sort of serious. At least, Ginger was serious. But when I came here it got kind of hard to hold things together, you know? Ginger’s down in Atlanta now, working for Coca-Cola, in advertising. I think she’s engaged. Since last year, nothing worth talking about. You?”
    “Just a high school boyfriend, two years ago in Arizona. Nothing since then. Just dating around.”
    Jack said, “Never do much of that. I tend to land in a relationship and stay there a long time.” He paused. “The last one sort of left me a little beat up, you know?”
    Gabbie felt both comforted by the revelation and troubled. She liked Jack a lot, as much as any boy she’d met in a long time, but she was also worried things might get out of hand. “You don’t think much of long-distance romance, huh?”
    He stopped and said, “You’re going back to California in September, right?”
    She turned to face him. “Yes.” Suddenly she was angry at herself for rushing. “Look, I don’t mean to make a big thing out of this, okay?”
    He looked away, as if seeking something in the night, then said, “Maybe it is a big thing.”
    She tensed as if not knowing what to do next. Her feelings were surging up from some deep place, surprising her with their intensity. She was suddenly very scared of Jack Cole and the effect he was having on her. But she also knew that what was said in the next few minutes would have a major impact on her for at least the rest of the summer, and perhaps for a great deal longer thanthat. With a sigh, a releasing of that sudden energy, she leaned forward, resting her head on his shoulder. “Man … what are you doing to me?”
    He held her, saying nothing. She felt as if her heart were trying to burst out of her rib cage, as if she couldn’t get a breath of air. Softly he spoke into her ear. “You could transfer to Fredonia. I might still be able to get accepted into the program at UC