Love & Light by Michele Shriver

standpoint, I want to find out if we’re compatible.
    Sure, she’s pretty and nice, and I’ve found out she has a good sense of humor when she lets her guard down a little bit, but there are plenty of attractive girls on a college campus. I like being active. I like being outside. It’s a big part of who I am, and I want someone who understands that. Had Kori balked at the idea of hiking, I would have had to rethink some things. Instead, she’s embraced the adventure.
    I choose the White Cross trail up to the summit because it’s one of the shorter ones, but it’s still a good hour and a half hike, and the terrain is sometimes rough. A few times, I take Kori’s hand to help her with her footing, which she always accepts and never complains. If I’d tried to take Amanda hiking, I doubt we’d get more than fifty feet from the car.
    We go through a couple bottles of water and a few granola bars, but don’t stop much along the way. It definitely gets cooler the closer we get to the top, and I’m glad Kori listened to my advice about bringing a jacket.
    Finally, we reach the summit. “This is it,” I say. “3100 feet of elevation, so now you can say you’ve climbed the tallest mountain in southern New Hampshire.”
    “I don’t think I’ve ever been up this high,” Kori says. “Well, I have an aunt and uncle who live in Denver, so technically I have. But not climbing and standing on a mountain...”  She looks around. “The view is great.”
    “It sure is,” I agree. “You can see for a hundred miles in either direction, and see parts of all of New England.” I point to the North. “That’s Mount Washington that way.” I point another direction. “And Mount Killington, Vermont there.” It’s a nice, clear day and the visibility is great. “My brother-in-law is a Photorealism painter and he likes to come up here and take photographs to paint from,” I tell her.
    “He’s from Boston, right?”
    “Yeah,” I say. “You want to see Boston?”
    “I’ve seen Boston before,” Kori says. “But there’s no way you can see Boston from here.”
    “Sure can.” I take her hand and we walk a little further to the South, then I point again. “See that tall building? That’s the Prudential Tower right there.”
    “This is incredible,” she says. “So pretty.”
    “Hey, I told you there was beauty in the world.” I hold my arms out wide. “And this is part of it.”
    Kori lets out a laugh. “Is this where you proclaim yourself King of the World, like in that movie Titanic ?”
    She’s teasing me, and I like that she feels comfortable enough around me to do that. “Hey, it may be arrogant, and one of the cheesiest lines in cinematic history, but there’s some truth to it.” I wrap my arms around her from behind. “Because I feel pretty great right now.”
    She leans back, relaxing into my arms. “I do too. The best I’ve felt in a long time.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
    ~Landon~
    A fter I point out all of the different places you can see from the top of the mountain, we find a quiet place to have our picnic. I spread out the blanket that I brought, then get out the food. “I got some sandwiches from Easton’s Deli by campus,” I say. “There’s a turkey and provolone, and a ham and swiss. Your choice.”
    “Hmm. I’ll go with the turkey,” Kori says, and I hand it to her.
    “I’ve also got chips, which hopefully aren’t too crushed, and some grapes.” I pull the rest of it out of my pack. “And green tea. I’ve noticed you like to drink that.” It’s not my drink of choice, so I also brought Dr. Pepper.
    “Thanks.” She takes the bottle of tea I pass to her. “This is nice. I can’t believe you lugged all of this up here.”
    I shrug my shoulders. “Carrying it wasn’t a problem. I did worry about keeping it cold, but I think everything’s okay.” I unwrap the ham sandwich. It still looks good and feels pretty cold.
    “I know I said this before, but you really did think