Wildest Dreams

e p i lo g u e

Morning sunrays passed through the blinds when the breeze blew by, basking my love in honey and amber glaze while sleeping peacefully beside me. Our naked bodies lied under a mess of sheets, sharing warmth and keeping contact.

When the sunlight hit her face, she glowed in the early hours and I watched how her curious but secretive eyes fluttered open. I held my breath, seeing an angel in front of me. She turned her body to face me and blushed. I smiled at her, pulling her closer to me.

"Good morning," she murmured to my chest. Her soft breath tickling my skin.

"Good morning," I whispered to her ear, brushing her hair from her face and giving her a kiss on her head.

She hummed. "You've been staring again."

"I can't help it. You're beautiful."

She giggled, snuggling her face to my neck. I took her hand, kissed it, and intertwined our hands together. We stayed in bed for a few more minutes, having small talks that created the rest of our morning.

. . .

We hopped out of the Cadillac when we arrived at our destination. I held empty boxes in my one arm, while holding Maple's hand with my free hand as we walked towards the house. She grabbed her keys from her bag and unlocked the front door.

I placed the boxes on the living room while she stood gazing at the walls of what she once called home.

"Have you made up your mind about this  place?" I asked, walking towards her.

"Yeah, I'll sell it," she answered straight.

"All of it?"

"Of course not. What do you think the boxes are for?" She smirked at me.

"You tell me," I said, grinning back at her. She turned her head back to the pictures above the fireplace. She held one, brushing her thumb over the faces of her grandparents.

I left her to decide which things she'd like to keep. Often, she would call me back in the room when she's stuck between two choices. By the time we were done with all the things here downstairs, it was almost lunch.

"What do you say we call it a day in here and grab lunch?" I came up behind Maple, placing my arms around her waist. She leaned onto me, smiling.

"Sounds good. Don't you have a lot of things to do for college?" She asked, looking up to me.

"Yeah, but I got a lot of time to waste. Don't worry about it." I kissed her cheek. "Shall we?"

We drove to the closest fast food take-out. After receiving our food, I continued to drive towards the highway, which piqued Maple's curiosity.

"Slow down, big guy. Where are we going?" She asked as she ate her burger.

I glanced at her, smiling. "It ain't a surprise anymore if I tell ya. Give me a fry."

She gave me a piece of french fry and sat back on her seat, raising an eyebrow at me. "You've been like this since the morning. Is it my birthday today?"

I laughed, turning smoothly to the left.

"And I'm pretty sure too we celebrated your birthday not long ago."

"I would know if it's my birthday," I replied. "Just wait and see, babe. You'll like where we going."

We travelled north for more than five hours. Three hours into the journey, Maple fell asleep so it came a surprise to her when we arrived. The sun was far from setting, it was the perfect hour to be with her.

"Maple, hey. We're here." I gently shook her shoulder. She opened her eyes, surveying our surroundings. We walked out of the car and closer to the green grass. Maple covered her mouth as she gasped, tears forming on her eyes.

"You didn't have to," she said to me.

I gave her a side hug, kissing her head. "I know you miss them a lot and I know you want to see them again, but after moving in to your own apartment, you didn't have time. So I thought, I'll bring you someday."

"Thank you." She hugged me.

She took my hand and led me to the grave of her parents. Their names were etched on white marble headstone, wild flowers growing on the corners.

"Hey Mom, Dad. It's been awhile," mumbled Maple. "Life's been doing better now. I graduated a week ago and I hope you're proud of me."

I gave her hand a gentle squeeze, assuring her that they're surely are proud.

"This is Glen Lantz, by the way. He's been with me ever since I moved to Ohio. I'm pretty sure you'll like him if you're here."

I took a step closer to them, politely bowing my head a bit. "Hello Mr and Mrs. Hartley. It's nice to finally meet you. Maple likes to talk about you all the time and you inspired her to be the person she grew to be. She's the most beautiful girl I've ever laid my eyes on. She's kind, funny, brave... I love her so much. So, I'm making a promise that I'll keep her safe always for you and I'll make her the happiest girl in the world."

Maple and I arranged the flowers on their grave. She stayed for a moment to tell more things to her parents. I went back to the car to prepare the second part of the surprise I have for her. I closed the trunk after, watching Maple talk to the refreshing breeze.

She came back, wiping her eyes. She smiled at me, telling she definitely needed to see her parents again. I opened the car door for her.

I turned the keys on ignition and turned to Maple. "Know any good picnic spots here? I was thinking I wanna watch the sunset with you."

Maple blushed, even if she tried to hide it. "Hmm, I might know one or two."

"Great, you be my guide."

. . .

The two of us set the blanket on the ground. I took out the soda cans and snacks from the trunk, setting it between me and Maple as we watched the clouds sailing above us.

"Any more surprises for me, Glen?" She asked.

I took her hand and kissed it, rubbing circles with my thumb. "Depends. If the sky gets clear by night, we could look at the constellations."

She leaned back on me and I wrapped my arms around her, intertwining our hands and slightly swaying our bodies. "You planned all of these? Since when?"

"Before graduation and before you moved. I gotta admit, Nancy helped me a bit."

Maple chuckled. "I'm kind of surprised you kept it that long from me."

"Hey, you're not only one who's a lot of secrets."

The sunset started a couple of minutes ago and I could see the pure excitement on Maple's face. Her eyes watched the scene in front of her, the sun setting and a burst of orange and violet on the sky.

But I admired the scene beside me instead. How she smiled, her dimples showing and her eyes twinkling. Her auburn hair running down her back and the strands on her face moved when she blinks.

It's like falling in love for the first time with her again, except she wasn't walking my way and we were strangers to each other. I have her already and she has me.

"I love you,"

         I told her.

Maple turned her head,
her smile growing bigger.

         "I love you too."