See Me

Bonus Chapter: 12

The blindfold around my eyes had completely blocked out any light from my surroundings.

I was completely blind, and by the sounds of Zane's satisfied chuckles, that meant everything was going exactly to his plan.

I rolled my eyes, not that anyone could see them, as I felt the car come to a halt. We had been driving for some time now, and I was clueless as to where we were going. I had told Zane that this wasn't necessary, I told him that I didn't need the surprises or the planned dates.

He had to realize, didn't he, that our relationship was so far past that? Even though it's only been a month since the sunset at the cliffs, it didn't feel like that. It felt like we had been together for years. I guess that's what happens when you share your soul with someone.

"We're here," Zane announced, the amusement ringing clear in his voice.

"Where's here?" I asked him, my curiosity getting the better of me.

"Sure, Seren, let me tell you the surprise. I went through all this trouble of blindfolding you just to let the secret out before we even left the car," Zane told me, and I could picture him shaking his head.

I couldn't help but let out a giggle at his sentence, I had been seeing a different side of Zane lately, and I couldn't help but fall even further in love with him. He wasn't just serious, and kind and caring anymore. He was all those things, but he was sarcastic too. He was funny, he joked. He was playful. He was lighter.

"Well, are you going to lead me there, or do I have to guide myself through whatever terrain you've led me to?" I asked him, throwing my hands up in defeat.

Zane didn't answer, except for a laugh. I heard his car door open and close instead, and I counted down the seconds I knew it would take him to open my own door. Right on time, I felt the rush of cold night air flow through my now open door.

I felt Zane's hand, it wrapped itself around one of my wrist. His other hand found my waist, as he gently pulled me out of the car. Once I was out, he wrapped both of his arms around me, his chest resting against my upper back.

"Now, Ms. Garcia," Zane whispered into my ear, goosebumps forming on my arms from the sound of his low voice. "You're going to have to trust me, and listen to my directions if we want to get there without you falling. Can you do that, babe?"

I felt the blush come to my cheeks, my stomach suddenly doing backflips, "I can do it."

"Okay," Zane answered, "you need to walk straight."

Zane kept his arms around my waist as he walked behind me, whispering directions into my ear every other minute. I knew we were on some sort of trail, or path, from the way my feet were feeling the earth.

"Okay," Zane finally whispered to me. "Stand still. Slowly, you can sit down."

I did as he said, feeling the material of a blanket under me. Once I was seated, I looked up towards where I thought Zane was, waiting for further instructions.

"One minute, babe," Zane breathed out. I heard his footsteps all around, but he was silent. I took my time to try and feel my surroundings with my remaining senses instead. The air was chilly, which wasn't surprising since it was night time. There was water in the air, I could smell it, I could hear it rushing.

"Okay," Zane continued, after a couple of minutes. I felt him sit down beside me, and then I felt his fingers around the blindfold, slowly lifting it off my eyes.

His face was the first thing I saw, his brown eyes staring at me with anticipation, his small smile on his lips. He looked a mixture of nervous and excited.

The light flickering in every other direction was the second thing I saw. I looked around us, seeing the assortment of white candles lit, placed in varying places. There had to be dozens of them, all different sizes. The flames all danced as once, casting soft light onto the rock we were sitting on.

It took me a second to look away from them, hypnotized by the beauty of them. But, once I did, I instantly knew where we were. Zane's taken me here before, to the small wooden bridge. It was even better than it was that day, surrounded by the candles, but another vast difference was the stars shining brightly above us. We were away from the city now, an uninterrupted view of the twinkling lights on display.

Finally, after looking over every detail, I turned back towards Zane. He grabbed both of my hands, and he didn't give me a chance to say anything, because he spoke first.

"I've been taking my time to do this the right way, because you deserve things done the right way, Seren. You deserve the candles and the stars and everything else I could ever give you. You deserve the romance, you deserve to feel special," Zane told me, his voice sincere.

"I've been trying to find the perfect way to say these things to you, but then I realized it didn't have to be perfect. We're not perfect, and our story isn't perfect, and in spite of that, we ended up being perfect together. I love you, Seren Garcia."

I felt the rush of emotions in my chest as I remembered the day I had told him those words. I hadn't expected to hear them back then, and I haven't been waiting to hear them, either. My love wasn't conditional on the fact that Zane loved me back. But, they were everything coming out of Zane's mouth.

"And, I've been in love with you for so long. I've been in love with you for longer than I even admitted it to myself. But, I think the day I realized I was in love with you was the day I brought you here. That was the day I realized I would always love you. It was always going to be you," Zane told me, stroking my hand softly.

"So, I'm going to ask you officially. Seren Garcia, will you be my girlfriend?" Zane asked, his eyes focused on my own.

"Yes." I answered immediately. I didn't need to hesitate, or think about it.

Zane was right, it was always going to be us.