OCEAN VILLAGE

50. promise me✨

—Kairi—
-can't mess around with someone like me, if it's safe to love you then promise me-
-jack and jack-

Athena crawls onto my lap, a book in her hands and my sweater on. I pushed the chair on the balcony, keeping her on me as we watch the sun start to fade. The sky a purple and orange color.

"What are you reading?" I turn her to the side a little. Her legs left up over mine, one of her arms wrapping around my waist.

"Great Gatsby." She rests her head against my shoulder.

I kiss her head, answering some of my emails on my phone while she flicks through the book.

She wants me to tell her how i fell in love with her but i don't know where to start.

She clears her throat, "He looked at her the way all women want to be looked at by a man." She reads quietly, "You look at me like that."

I smile, "Oh yeah?"

"Yup, you look at me as if i'm the only girl in the world." She closes the book over, "You remind me of Gatsby, quite a bit."

"How so?" I've never had anyone give me that resemblance before.

"Give off the same..." She clears her throat, "I'm rich and cocky, im going to make my whole world about one person." She lowers her voice to attempt to imiatate me, "Vibe." She finishes. "Let's hope it doesn't end the same though." She bares her teeth.

I laugh, "Fair enough."

She closes her eyes, resting her head back. "He had one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in a life time. It faced, or seemed to face, the whole external world for an instant and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favour." She recites, "You."

My smile is rare but when i'm with her it's common.

"How many other quotes do you know from this book?" I run my fingers in her hair.

She opens her eyes, "It's my favorite book, can recite the whole thing."

"Clever woman." I smile, trying to remember any quote from the book.

I remembered one.

Said by Jay Gatsby himself.

"I knew it was a great mistake for a man like me to fall in love."

She looks at me, smiling fondly. "You read?"

"When i take you to Hawaii, i'll show you my bedroom. You'll have a field day." I built a whole bookshelf.

"You surprise me everyday." She wraps both of her arms around me. "Go on, i'm curious. How did the book-reading, tattooed body, artist, FBI agent, moody, short-tempered man fall in love with me?"

I smile, very good description of me.

Lifting her hand up, she intertwines our fingers.

Where the fuck do i even start?

"You talk back to me a lot." I say, knowing she was a bit confused, i elaborate. "Everyone knows i'm moody and short tempered so they just listen to me, you don't. You won't let me get my own way and i admire that."

"I feel connected through being able to relate our trauma to each other. Whenever you told me about your mom, the only thing i wanted to do was hold you, never let you go because i know how much it sucks. Yet, i admired how strong you are compared to me."