Invisible String || H.S

Chapter 29

5 Years Later

The sun hangs high in the sky, and I can feel its warmth on the back of my jacket—a nice change from the cool, rainy weather that has coated New York the past couple of days. The hand in mine is calloused but warm as we walk through the gardens. His other hand is occupied by a picnic basket, and my other hand is carrying the blanket we're about to have lunch on. 

We find a spot under some lemon trees and begin to set up our picnic. Once finished with the setup, we both plop down. I reach for the strawberries and begin to put one in my mouth before it's quickly snatched from my hands and placed into the mouth of the one next to me. I let out a pretend scoff, and he laughs, and he tosses his head back into the sun. It's a laugh I've had memorized for the past two years.

The sight of him at that moment makes my heart squeeze. He looks down at me, and the smile grows deeper on his face as he dips down and places a kiss on my lips. His lips tasting like the strawberry he just stole from me. I smile. 

Reaching into the picnic basket, he pulls out the bottle of champagne he packed and proceeds to pop it open, and begins to pour the golden liquid into the two plastic wine glasses. I let out a small laugh as some of the bubbles start to spill over the top of the glass. 

"A toast to the smartest, kindest, funniest, most beautiful girl I know, who within three years of working at the Brooklyn Museum has been promoted to Director of Curatorial Affairs," he says while angling his glass to mine, and we clink them together. I take a sip of the champagne, and the sweetness of the golden liquid coats my tongue. 

I look over, and a strawberry is being dangled in my face, with a laugh I open my mouth and take a bite of it from his awaiting hand. 

"I'm so proud of you, Evie," he says and tucks a stray curl behind my ear. I lean over and fall into him. Our lips connect. He wraps his arms around me, and I feel my back press against the soft fabric of the blanket. With him, this is easy; everything feels easy and just right. We kiss for another heartbeat before I push his shoulders, knowing where that would have led to if I hadn't stopped it. He lets out a laugh but rolls over to his side. 

Digging into the rest of the food, we finish off the sandwiches and desserts that we packed. We then lay in the sun, our hands just grazing the others. He pulls out a book, one we have been reading together, and starts to read out loud from where we last left off. I turn to the side and lay my head on his chest, my eyelids turning heavy after the food we just ate and the sun coating us like a warm blanket. 

Slow circles are rubbed into my back as I start to wake up from a nap I don't remember taking. I blink a couple of times as my eyes adjust to the light, the sun still strong in the sky. 

"Someone was tired," I hear him say as he continues to rub circles into my back. I slowly sit up as a yawn escapes me. 

"Yeah, I guess I was," I respond, trying to move around so that the rest of my sleepiness escapes my body. 

"We do have to leave soon or else we're going to miss our reservation for dinner," he says as he stands and extends a hand to help me up as well. Packing up the supplies and blankets, he cheekily steals some lemons from the tree above us and places them in our picnic basket as I bat him on the arm. 

We walk hand in hand back to the car as the sun begins to start its descent behind us. He opens the passenger side door and I shuffle in. He tosses the picnic blanket and the basket in the backseat before coming to the front. He presses a button to start the ignition and the car rumbles to life. Pulling out we're quickly on the road. 

It takes us about an hour to drive back into the city. He pulls up to the front of the restaurant and the valet reaches for my side of the car. Stepping out I pull the strap of my purse back over my shoulder before I feel his presence next to mine. My empty hand is suddenly full as he hands the valet his keys before leading me into the restaurant. 

Once seated, we're almost immediately greeted by an eager server. We order wine and appetizers, and the conversation flows as we talk about our week. What new app his company is working on, what new exhibit the museum will have, my hunt for a house, etc. By the time the main course is brought out my cheeks are rosy from the amount of wine we've already had, and I can't stop my laughter from escaping as he tells me about something one of the interns did this week. 

When dessert comes, it's brought out on a plate with the words congratulations written in decadent chocolate letters. A slice of cake accompanies it, and a little blue box is placed in front of me as well. I gasp as I look up. 

"Baby... you did not have to do all this," I say with emotion filling my voice. 

"Yes, I absolutely did... open it." 

Grabbing the blue box, I grab one end of the ribbon and pull, watching as it comes undone. I open the lid, and a golden necklace with the letter E is inside. I take the necklace out of the box, words failing me. 

"It's ... it's beautiful. I don't even know what to say," I respond as I look up at him. His smile takes up the majority of his face as he watches my excitement over the gift. He quickly gets up, reaching for the necklace. I hand it to him and sweep my hair over one side of my shoulder, already knowing what he intends to do. A shiver goes through my body as I feel him clasp the necklace before he sits down in front of me again. I lean over the table and give him a kiss, hoping it can say the things I am unable to at the moment. 

We quickly finish the desert and head back towards our car. The drive back to his place doesn't take long. Traffic in New York always seems to miraculously disappear whenever he's driving. Putting the car in park once we arrive at his place, he leans over and trails several kisses up my neck. I let out a laugh once he reaches the spot he knows that tickles. He turns off the ignition, and we get out of his car. 

Once inside his place, I head to his bedroom and quickly shed my clothes. He comes in not long after but stops in the doorway when he sees me lying on his bed; the only thing on me is the necklace he just got me. It doesn't take long for him to get rid of his clothes after that. Our bodies are entangled as the moon now hangs where the sun just was, and pretty soon, stars start to dance across my eyelids as I'm brought to pure bliss by him. 

I'm exhausted by the time we're done, and it's taking everything in me to keep my eyes open as he softly kisses the freckles across my face. 

"Sometimes, I think I pulled you out from one of my dreams," I just barely hear him whisper. I feel my heart melt as his words and I bring his lips to mine again, this kiss soft and slow. 

"Goodnight, Evie, I love you," he whispers as he cuddles me to his chest. 

"Goodnight Kai, I love you more," I barely manage to say before sleep takes over, and my whole world is black. 

SURPRISE ! If you made it to the end without seeing who "he" really is, I just want to say I am so proud of you. this chapter was so so so SO fun to write and I am so excited for the second half of Invisible String. Thank you so much for reading, I can't tell you how happy I get whenever I come on here and see more and more people giving this story love. Chapters have been few and far between because I started Grad School but I'm at the point in it where I am hopeful that I should have more time to update more frequently! Xo