“To be honest I was going to ignore you. I wasn’t going to message you back because I thought you were asking me out only because you felt sorry for me.”
She said as she turned to look at me, she continued to say,
“but my best friends told me something.”
I look at her with a curious expression,
“How can I know if you are different from those in my past if I don’t give you a chance? If I don’t give you a chance, then would I ever give anyone a chance?”
I watched her expression change to one that seemed hurt but quickly faded back into her smile.
“I’m tired of living like a caged bird. I want to be free.”
She says and I feel a tightening in my chest when she smiles at me and takes my hand. I keep telling myself in my head this is going too far, this shouldn’t be like this. She snaps me out of my thoughts and says to me,
“Thank you for this, I love this view it's absolutely-”
“Beautiful”
I finished her sentence though I wasn’t looking at the view but at her. She turned her head to me, and I felt myself become absorbed in her deep brown eyes, it was like she was seeing through me. As if she was trying to search for who I truly was.
I want to reach out to her and hold her face in my hands and just stare into those beautiful brown eyes until the end of time. But I know that isn’t possible. I clear my throat, breaking the tension and she shudders. Looking back into the distance when she asked,
“So, you said your mother used to bring you here? What's she like?”
I grew cold at the mention of my mother. It had been years since I talked about her. Any time I did sit down and think about her I remember that moment 15 years ago.
“She was my best friend,”
I began to tell her and could feel her gaze on me.
“She was always there making me laugh and taking me on little adventures. That's how we found this place. We called it our haven. She always made me feel like I had a choice in anything and everything.”
I say to her, and I can see sadness in her eyes as I tell her this.
“So, your mom, she’s passed away?”
she asked me and I grew rigged.
“Yeah, she did.”
I shudder at the memory when I suddenly felt her hold my hand. I look down at our hands and then look up at her and she has a painful expression on her face, and I lift my hand about to reach for her when suddenly I hear her stomach growl.
“I oh gosh I’m so sorry!”
She says and I can’t help but chuckle. I get up from the bench and reach out for her hand.
“Come on Lillypad let's go to dinner.”
I said and I walked her back to the bike. I helped her put her helmet on and tap the top of her head. She laughs and it makes my heart skip a beat. She is changing me, and I don’t know if I should continue this way. I got on the bike, and we ride off. My mind is still a pool of thoughts I have to sort.
Lillian
We pulled into the Hill Country Cafe’s car lot. It’s been a while since I've been here, but my family used to come often. I get off Adonis’s bike and take the helmet off, I turn to fix my hair and as I turn back around, he is there just watching me, I look into his eyes suddenly becoming aware of how exposed I feel under his gaze.
“Can I help you?”
I smirk and he inhales sharply like I had just interrupted something very important.
