He smiled, tilting his head, almost like a puppy, as she told him about it. ”Really? That's really cool.” he chuckled. ”Ya know, I can already imagine some idiot trying to jump into the water from up there. A bit morbid but I can still picture it.” he shrugged.
"Yeah, I can imagine that too," She said with a laugh, finally reaching the rock and leaning against it. Selina wasn't quite tired yet, but looking out over the water was nice, "This is the last time you can see the lake from where we're going, when we get there though we can see a different lake though, but it's not quite as pretty."
Frankie wasn't really tired yet either but he was a little relieved for the convenient resting point. ”I’m guessing that lake is a favorite of yours.” he smiled as he relaxed against the rock with her.
Selina chuckled and shrugged, looking out at the lake with a smile, "What made you guess? It's my absolute favorite place, out of the whole park and every place I've visited past the park. My little patch of paradise."
Frankie laughed lightly thought a faint blush rose to his face. ”Well, thank you for sharing your paradise with me.” he said, looking over the view below them. ”I can understand why you like it so much.”
"Even in the fall it's beautiful, the trees and leaves makes it so pretty," She continued, her smile growing as she looked over at him, "You're always welcome there anytime Frankie, you have my permission even if it isn't my land."
Frankie met her gaze and nodded gratefully at her last comment. "Thank you, Selina. I'm really honored." he smiled. "I can almost picture it with all the colors, but it'd be a bit too cold to go swimming for me." he chuckled
Selina shook her head and laughed lightly, "No, it's too cold to swim, but it is gorgeous. Winter is really pretty too, and the ice is usually thick enough to walk on." As she was talking, she was hit with a realization of how much she cared for Frankie, though she just labeled it as strong friendship since he probably didn't feel the same.
Frankie felt his face heat up at the thought of calling her gorgeous instead. She was very pretty and obviously had a strength that he didn't see in any of the girls he knew and all of that just seemed to draw him in. He was completely smitten.
”Y-yeah? That's always cool. Have you ever gone ice skating down there?” he asked, jutting his chin in a brief gesture to the lake as he tried to keep the conversation going normally. She probably didn't think of him that way.
"If I had ice skates I would, but no, I just slide around on the ice," She said, shaking her head and smiling, "The other thing to do is to get a running start from land and slide as far as you can on the ice. That's fun." Her mind went to wishing she could bring him to the lake in the winter and in the fall, but by then he would be gone. It was still a fun thought though and she felt her cheeks flush when she realized she was zoning out, "Sorry, got lost in my head, do you want to keep going? Or stay here a little longer?"
Frankie shook his head with a soft smile. ”No, it's fine. We can stay a bit longer if you’d like. It's quite a view.” he told her, blushing a little as he realized her point about skating. ”Honestly, your method of being on the ice sounds easier than actual ice skating. I tried it once and spent half the time on my butt and the other half hugging the wall.” he laughed.
(Sry its short)
Selina smiled and laughed lightly at his ice skating, "I've never gone but I bet that's still better than what I could do. I'd probably spend the whole time on my butt and holding onto the wall."
(It's fine.)
Frankie laughed kindly with her. ”It’s ok. Not everyone is good at it but’s still fun to try it once. And it's amazing to watch a professional.” he told her. ”I’m fine with my one time try. This is where I… where I’m most comfortable.” he caught himself from saying ’where I belong’ feeling that might be a little much… a little intrusive.
"I feel the same….out here is where I'm the most comfortable by far." She admitted, looking out over at the lake again and standing up straight again, "Well, should we get going again?" She glanced up at him with a smile, stretching her arms and looking up at the trail ahead of them, "We still have a lot of walking going on."
He smiled and stretched into a standing position. ”Yeah. I’m ready now.” he nodded, double-checking he still had everything. Nothing more embarrassing than having to backtrack because he forgot something. ”I know the day still isn't over but this has been the best day I've had in years.” he admitted.
Selina’s happiness grew with his last sentence and she felt like she couldn’t smile any wider. Frankie was actually enjoying being with her, or at least seeing the park, both of which she was happy for. “I’ve had one of the best days in forever too.” She agreed, looking around one more time before gently pushing his shoulder and starting up the trail again, “Let’s see if we can get to where I want to bring you and the day can be even better.”
Frankie's own smile grew to match hers because he really liked seeing her so happy and because he was happy too. She liked spending time with him? He hoped so. He laughed a little as she pushed him before following her back up the trail. ”I’ll take your word for it. I don't know how this day can get better.” he answered. ”But I do hope we get there in time.”
(Do you want to time skip to when they’re reaching the top or close to?)
“We just have to get up there before the sun goes down,” She said, grinning, “And trust me, this will make this day so much better, guaranteed.” Selina knew this next section of the hike wasn’t that easy, but it was still easy compared to the final little bit of hiking they would have to do to reach the top.
(Sure. I’m fine with a time skip. Maybe close to the top?)
”I can't wait to see it.” Frankie smiled back as he followed her. She knew this trail better than he possibly could so he would trust her. He was an adept hiker so he was sure he could handle the rest of the climb.
(Ok!)
“Almost there.” Selina called down to Frankie, scaling one of the giant boulders that made up the last part of the trail. It wasn’t hard to climb them, but it definitely was more difficult trying to judge which boulder path would get you to the top where the grass started again.
Frankie nodded as he pulled himself on to the rock below her. This part was more of a challenge for him but it was kinda fun too. He was grateful for his past experiences with rock climbing, even if he didn't get the chance to use his skill for it very often. In a way, the swimming they had done earlier was almost a little warm-up for this activity.
Selina was mostly focused on climbing, though she kept a sharp ear out for Frankie incase something happened. She didn’t know what to do if something did happen, but she was ready to help as she scrambled up one of the biggest slabs of rock and looked up at the final little bit of climbing.
Frankie bit the inside of his cheek to keep from cursing as he missed a foothold but he didn't lose his grip. He couldn't. It was way too high. He wasn't scared of heights… but the idea of falling did make him nervous. He shook his head to refocus his thoughts and continued climbing. As he reached up for another grip, he saw that he didn't have much farther to go. ”I don't know about you, but my arms are going to be sore in the morning.” he laughed a little.
“Yeah, mine are going to be too.” She called back, deciding to take a break before continuing. Selina sat down on the boulder, leaning against the next one and watching Frankie. If he even seemed to need any bit of help she would be there to help him, but her arms were protesting the work and felt like jello as she rested.
He climbed up the boulder and laid down beside her. ”I bet it'll be worth it when we get to the top.” he smiled at her, despite the burning in his arms. Frankie was really happy. Even with the slight pain, he enjoyed putting his energy into things like this. Moments like this one, getting to the top of this climb, were how he felt he was living. Really living. A good life, one that was worth living.