BITTERSWEET

CHAPTER 30 / SUMMERTIME WALKS

woohoo, thirty! big 3 0! we're already here! 

That evening, Nana and Zane decided to head off again by themselves for another walk down the sakura. 

The most symbolic thing for the two were cherry blossoms (which shaped their entire relationship) and lucky for them, the island was covered in them. 

Walking hand-in-hand through the early dusk, Nana breathed in the new fresh scents, as Zane admired the short blooming cherry blossoms as they passed each tree. 

"What would it take for us to have our own orchard like this?" Nana asked softly, as Zane scoffed in return. 

"What? Is our own orchard not enough for you" He teased.

"Th-That's not what I meant, and you know it!" Nana protested, playfully hitting him on the shoulder, then pulled him closer. 

"Yes, Nana?" Zane questioned. 

"I'll ask again, what would it take for us to have our own blossom orchard? Say, why not around the stables."

Zane pondered at the thought and grinned. "That could be one consideration. Two of my favourite things all in one place."

Nana teasingly gave Zane a look and head tilt. "Hey, I said favourite thing, Nana, you, our family, is my whole world, my entire universe. I know you're joking, but I meant what I said, especially now."

With a grin, Nana regained her head's spot, on Zane's shoulder, as he kissed her forehead and pulled her closer after placing his arms over her waist. 

The couple watched in comfortable silence, listening as birds flew past, the waves crashed against the shore and the light rustle of the blooming Sakura trees, as they made contact with the slow breeze.

Nana brushed her finger past Zane's sleeved arm and drew them up to his pale cheek, dusted with freckles. The freckles he'd been ashamed of, and hid for years with the upper hand of the mask. 

"Y'know, I wonder how different things will be when the baby's born," Zane thought aloud. 

"How so?" Nana asked, continuing to trace her fingers along his chest and face. 

"Well, the baby may be the first child on Mystreet, apart from Laurance's little brother, Uhm..."

"Caleb."

"-Yeah, Caleb. Anyway, then there'll be our jobs, I don't know if you wanna keep working because I know how much you love the bakery. Then there are my shifts, which can be unpredictable and I don't want you to be left by yourself all the time. Then there's Twilight and-"

Nana cut him off. "Zane. Zane. Zane. It's just about July right now, the baby shouldn't be here until late December if all goes well. We have the entire summer to enjoy and then we can properly figure things out. Everything will fall into place when the time comes."

I know... I just don't wanna be unprepared. My parents managed to balance out their work life as much as they could to see us grow up. I'm scared, I just... knowing I'm going to be a father scares the crap outta me. I-I ...I don't..."

"Don't wanna mess up?"

"Yeah, heck, we're not even married, let alone engaged. So, when do we figure it out?"

"Zane, hun, listen to me. You'll be okay. I bet I'm as scared as you are, I'm not fit to be a mum. I still wear bows. Up until a few years ago, I acted like a child to cover up my past as well as I could. We've found each other in the middle of it all."

Zane smiled and turned to face his girlfriend, gently lifting her chin to gaze into her chestnut eyes. He brushed the back of his hand past her ears and down to cup her cheek. 

"Irene, I can't help but fall for you, you know that? I love you," He said softly as Nana smiled back, gazing up into his icy blue eye, pulling back the hair over his face. 

"I love you too," She replied and the two immediately connected their lips within another. As if this were a make-out session, Zane deepened the kiss and requested clearance for his tongue without saying it. She accepted, colliding their tongues as they repeatedly kissed. Pushed up against a tree, Nana pinned Zane against the damp tree trunk. 

Tightening the grip on her hips, Zane straddled her closer as she moved her hands to his curls on the back of his head, deepening the touch between their mouths and bodies.

With a defying snap of a branch,  Nana suddenly pulled back and latched herself onto Zane as if to use him as a human shield. Zane glanced around and looked back at Nana once he couldn't see anyone around. 

"Nee, let's go back."

"Yeah," she whispered, "Yeah, let's go." 

Her voice filled with worry and quivered over each word. Zane's heart sank as a bad feeling swept past his mind. Could something wreck something as heavenly as perfection?