What happens when you're just a story written under the moonlit sky? What happens when the only boy you love becomes a faded memory of just someone you used to know? What happens when you can't get your heart back, but that boy left you tattered and...
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The trees rushed by as I ran through the woods in a race to beat Mia to the creek bank. Right as I got to the clearing, I let out a squeal as two strong arms enraptured me to a hard chest that was shaking with a slight laugh that held a shallow huskiness that turned my insides to honeydew.
His lips skimmed against my ear and sent palpitations ricocheting throughout my entire body. "Shh." His thick laugh rumbled against my back. "I want to take you somewhere."
I glanced back at Zachariah. The past year had been amazing on him. He started working out more and took some self-defense classes at a local gym. Daryle didn't much pick on him anymore. That day outside of my house, Daryle had told him to stay away from me or there would be consequences. So, Zachariah wanted to protect me. This is how he did that.
In just a short year he had gained even more muscle, and he had even talked about going into the Navy. He was now eighteen and legally he could when he graduated this year. But in my heart, I hoped he wouldn't. I wanted to spend as much time with him as I possibly could. Besides, he still owed me all of my firsts.
I looked away from him in search for Mia. Zachariah interlaced our hands and pulled me even deeper into the woods. The sun was high in the sky, and the humidity was at a record high. That didn't matter though. All I cared about was how his hand felt holding my own.
He finally pulled me to a spot that had a small clearing, but it was still away from everyone. He grabbed his phone and started playing a slow song. Then before I knew it, he was pulling me into his arms. We swayed together as the woods creaked with sounds of the creek, the animals, the crickets. It was a peaceful melody. But then he started singing along with the lyrics, and my insides turned to goo as his voice was a poetic harmony.
"Can't you see girl, you're all I am.
If I'm standing here with you and you make me feel like a man.
You hold me close, and we sway like the trees.
Cause here in your arms is all that I need."
I studied his face. The way his blue eyes held so much that he wouldn't voice aloud. The shape of his full lips. His perfect nose. Even the slight dark blonde stubble on his jaw. I wanted to remember this moment. It would be one for my journals to behold. Looking into his azure eyes as we swayed. I knew. In that one moment. I knew he would always be an immense part of my life. I could feel it. In my heart as it was beating fast against my rib cage. As it beat a love made just for him. A love I would never get back.
I lay my head against his chest so I could hear his own. I wanted to know if his beat a love for me. Even though I knew I loved this boy, I wanted to hold him close to me. I wanted to hold my truth about my feelings inside. Scared I would push him away.
When the song ended, we still swayed. I didn't want to lose a moment of our time together. I didn't know exactly what would happen once he graduated, but what I did know was he planned on leaving. He was leaving me behind and I didn't know if I could endure that. That was another reason I didn't want to tell him how I felt.
"What's wrong darlin'?" His chest rumbled against my ear as he spoke. His hand grasped my chin and pulled my gaze up to meet his own. "What's going on in that pretty head of yours Remi?
What would I say though? I love you. Don't leave me. How do you feel about me? I wanted it all out there. But I couldn't scratch the surface with the words bubbling up inside of me. "Just thinking." I simplified.
His blue stare penetrated me in the spot I stood in. "What are you thinking about?"
With a deep breath, I asked a question I wanted the answer to. "What are you doing after school?" I kept my gaze on his cheek, because I couldn't meet his eyes. "I know this school year just began, but I just wanted to know."
Even though I couldn't meet his eyes, I felt his as if they were scolding my skin. He was quiet though. So very quiet. Then he finally spoke. "You know I have been thinking about the Navy." He was quiet again. What was he thinking? "Now ask me what you really want to know Remington."
Could I? Could I be that brave? I took a deep breath and asked the one question I wanted an answer to. "What are we?" My voice trembled.
I finally caught his stare. They held so much truth. A truth I wanted in on. But you see he kept me at arm's length. "We are about as real as it gets darlin'." What did that even mean though? He must have seen the question in my eyes. He cradled my face in his big hands. One hand brushed through my hair and slightly tugged my face up to meet his. The sensation caused me to gasp, but also sent a wave of calm throughout my whole body. "You are the most real thing in my life. You know me better than anyone, even if you don't realize that."
With those words hanging between us, his considerable lips came down on mine and took all of me that he could get. He took and took and took. But I freely gave him everything he wanted. He could have all of me, and I still could never get enough of him. If we were a love story, he would forever be the captivating hero, and I would be the lost girl, whose only light was the light she found in him.
When we finally pulled away, the orange of the sunset flickered in front of my eyes. I watched the way he looked cast in the colors flickering behind him. I saved it for later as well. I wondered if he knew how I felt without saying it. I wondered if this was the last year I would ever get with Zachariah. In a way it was. In a way it was just the beginning.
"You want to go swimming now?" He asked me. The answer was simple. No. It also wasn't simple. Mia was waiting for me and was probably wondering where I even went off to. He saw though, didn't he? The confliction I held on to. "We can spend time together afterwards. We can go for a ride."
I grinned up at him. He knew I loved riding on his Harley. It gave me a sense of freedom I didn't know was possible to have. "Okay." I told him.
With his hand holding my own, we took off back through the trees to the creek bank. We heard splashing and laughing before we even got there though. It made me giddy to swim with this boy. That soon disappeared when we came to the bank. There laying out was the girl who he had dated just a year before.
My hand went loose in his, but he tightened his grip on mine. A silent notion, telling me he was here with me and only me. Then he did one thing, I never expected. He leaned in, and very slowly touched his lips to mine. It started slowly, then became fast and untamed. I went up on my tippy toes and ran my hands through his blonde hair. I couldn't get enough of his kisses.
A whooping noise caused me to pull away, but he left his hands firmly placed on my hips. I heard Mia telling us to get a room, but I couldn't take my eyes away from the trance his kept me in. "Don't get intimidated by her, when it's her who should be intimidated by you. You are like the sun Remington. There is only one sun, and the stars just burn out." I couldn't help the smile that blossomed to my face at his words. Everything he said was a poetic notion of who he was. He may have looked rough and tough, but that would be just a foolish notion of the words inside the book of Zachariah.
