Slow and steady. Steady and slow. Thats the way to go.

I hear those words in my head like a mantra as I delicately tiptoe my way across the slick rocks. I think those words were from the childhood book, “The Little Engine That Could.” I try to picture the book on my childhood bookshelf. Was it next to the Berenstain Bears? Or Eloise? I can almost picture the binding…green? Not that any of this matters. Yet, the distraction is helpful. I need to stay upright while making this trek quickly.

Why did I agree to do this? Why would I meet him out here in the middle of nowhere? What normal person wants to meet for a blind date out in nature? A normal person would choose a coffe shop. A restaurant. A bar. But of course…I chose the one person on tinder who thought this was a good location..He’s probably an ax mirderer. Just my luck. He’ll probably bury me in the sand dunes. There will be no footprints left with the slick rocks…

Don’t do that, I tell myself. This time, it will be different. This time, the guy won’t be a creep. There seems to be real potential…