Downing my juice quickly, I smiled at Phoebe, "Let's hit the forest."
She nodded her head, her azure eyes sparkling in the window's light. "I was hoping you'd say that! It's a great little place... almost like the entrance to some fairy tale world."
I chuckled, taking my freshly-drained glass to the dish-washer. "Well, I hope we run across Sleeping Beauty. I gotta tell her to stop hanging with dwarves!"
Phoebe rolled her eyes at my terrible joke, but kept smiling. "That's Snow White, you dummy."
"Ehhh you sure?" I asked, scratching my head as if deep in thought. My friend responded with a playful shove.
"Honestly, I have no idea why I put up with you," she giggled, moving to the fridge to collect our picnic supplies. I glanced at her upthrust butt as she rumaged, ignoring the hormonal urges that told me to keep staring.
Me either, I replied in my mind. I was quite curious about this little excursion, due to the fact that Phoebe had never asked to be alone with me before. She had always been somewhat mysterious, but I wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth!
Soon, she had collected the supplies for our picnic, and we made our way to our bikes. I took one of the bags of food while Phoebe hooked the other onto her bike's handle. "Ready?" she asked, brushing her brown hair aside.
"I was born ready!" I growled, adjusting my bike.
"Good!" Phoebe smirked. "Let's see how fast you can ride, buddy!"
Instantly, she peeled down the street towards the forest. Never one to shirk a challenge, I bolted after her, admiring her taut body as she screamed down the street. She looked back with a laughing grin. "Is that it? You'll never catch me!"
Growling at the challenge, I pumped my legs harder, dodging parked cars and trash bins.
After a half-hour of riding, we were deep in the woods, well off of the riding trails. Tired but exhilirated, we emerged into a small clearing. Just as Phoebe had said, it was like something out of a fantasy novel. Almost perfectly circular, trees lined the edges of the strangely short grass. The air was hazy, and an occasional butterfly drifted lazily between the leaves.
"Pretty cool, huh?" Phoebe smiled, her blue blouse damp with sweat.
I nodded, breathing heavily. Hopping off of my bike, I set it down near the edge of the clearing. Kneeling down to pick up the picnic bag, Phoebe suddenly yelped.
Spinning on my heels, I looked to see...