Into the Darkness

“Oh I see.” I giggled because it was so unlike my dad to be shy. “Okay. Have fun on your date, Dad.”

It was a little over an hour when we met behind the library but instead he wanted to take me somewhere. We hiked about fifteen minutes up a trail until it unfolded before me, this beautiful cliff top. It was flat but covered in orchids, blooming all around us. The sun shone perfectly on it, and butterflies flew in the air. It looked like heaven, it was s

urreal.

“Lex, it’s beautiful,” I gasped.

“Just like you.” He stood behind me trailing kisses down my neck. I closed my eyes feeling his warm breath against my skin with the scent of the orchids fresh in the air. He took me by the hand and laid his jacket on the ground. As we both sat down he held onto me, humming a tune in my ear. “Baby?” he murmured into my ear.

“Yes,” I whispered. He didn’t realize that simple gestures like calling me baby awoke things deep inside, things I had never felt before. Like he was reaching that part of my soul that I was desperately trying to hold onto, that part that I knew if I let go of, it would be with him forever and no one else.

“Turn around, look at me,” he begged.

I shifted so that my eyes met his. A part of me was terrified he was going to tell me what I dreaded all along, that we needed to stop. His eyes shone bright, that beautiful emerald that mesmerized me every time, pulling me into a trance that nothing I felt or said could pull me away. It felt like minutes passed as his eyes gazed into mine, like playing a game of who will blink first but there was this eerie calm and neither of us would back down.

“Te amo mi nina,” he said.

With his eyes still fixated on me, my heart stopped. Because he’d said those words. Those words that no other person had ever said to me, those words that changed everything about us and who we were and what we were doing. I held my breath unaware I was doing so.

“I love you, my girl. I have ever since we ran into each other that night I came back. It’s you, it’s always been you.” He stopped, waiting for me to say something. “You don’t need to say anything. I just needed to tell you. I couldn’t hold it in anymore.”

“I love you too, Alex.”

“You do?”

“I can’t deny it anymore. I love you so much that it hurts. I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, and I can’t be this normal human being. It’s like it’s consumed all of me.”

He kissed my knuckles with his overbearing grin still evident. He continued to sing, the same song he sung to me that day at the piano. I ignored the painful memories attached to it, the day I thought my heart officially stopped beating. Instead I allowed the warmth to rush through me as he sang those words, and I couldn’t help but sing in return. The melody only added to this enchanted moment when nothing else mattered in the world, nothing but Alex and I. It was there in the middle of the meadow with the sun shining upon us, that the man who I loved and loved me in return, made sweet passionate love to me.

Chapter 26

Lex

There are certain moments in my life that I will never forget, certain moments that were so engrained in my memory that no measure of time would erase them. This was one of those moments.

She walked towards me and like I was suspended in time, her beauty hypnotized me. The red dress was simple but elegant, it accentuated her stunning figure. Her long brown hair flowed down and nestled over her shoulder to one side with the soft tendrils framing her beautiful face. Her eyes mirrored mine, shining bright as her smile radiated across her face, one that really reached her eyes. I was never one to be rendered speechless but her beauty astounded me. For tonight she would be mine and although I agreed to be friends because that's what she needed from me, every part of it screamed torture. The no touching thing was gonna kill me, that I had no doubt. The no invading into her personal life and asking her if she broke it off with that fucker, I was probably gonna bite my way through my lips on that one. I have always controlled what I did, nobody dictated terms for me, but here I was seven years later trying to start a friendship with the girl who was my reason for breathing. How the fuck was I going to get through tonight without mauling her in the car?

“Are you trying to kill me, Charlotte?”

“I'm not sure what you're referring to but since your eyes have not left this dress my answer is no. I happen to really like this dress and a friend wouldn't kill another friend now would they?” She batted her eyelashes as she asked the question.

“So, yes, you're trying to kill me.”

The car drove off and I sat there beside her. Every now and then a soft breeze would come my way and her scent would linger causing all sorts of uncomfortableness. I was so fucking screwed.

“So where are you taking me tonight?” she asked.

“You'll see.” I smiled. I didn't want to tell her what I had planned even though I knew she was desperate to know. Instead she sat there quietly watching the city pass us by. She looked confused as we arrived at the harbor. I thought it was fairly obvious but then again I was over the top with my gestures, and why the hell not, you only live once right?

“Now will you tell me?” she whined.

The car stopped and I walked round to her door and held it open taking her hand as she climbed out. “You see that yacht over there?” I pointed out.

“The one marked with ducks?”

“No, Charlotte. The one behind it,” I said rolling my eyes.

Her face lit up in awe. Even I was amazed by the size of it. Mr. Vandercamp was kind enough to lend it to me on the night of the charity ball as he wasn't sure how much longer he would have it for. That should teach him to keep his dick in his pants next time.