The Girl in a White Dress

Chappie 17

Saturday...

Christian's POV

I woke up today feeling happy. Waking up next to Candice makes me happy. I played with her hair and tickled her ear with it as an attempt to wake her up. She pouted and furrowed her eyebrows. She opened one eye and said, "You have disturbed my sleep. I hate you."

I chuckled. She's so cute! "Get up! It's a beautiful day," I said.

She groaned and went back to sleep. "Oh, no. You don't," I said and I took the blanket away from her.

She sat up and gave me a flat look. "I hate you," she said.

"No. You don't! Now, come on. Let's go to the beach!"

"Okay, but I still hate you," she said while standing up.

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The whole day has been wonderful! We swam in the ocean, played beach volleyball with kids, and built a sand castle. Yeah, that's right. We built a sand castle because we're cool like that.

Anyway, we are now sitting on the sand while watching the sun set. I took a picture of the sunset, and I have to say, the picture is beautiful. I could be a photographer. I showed Candice the photo, and she said, "You know, the beauty of a photograph is nothing compared to what the eyes have truly seen." Seconds passed, and she continued, "That's an excuse of a person who is ugly in a picture." She laughed, and I joined her.

When our laughter died down, I snapped a photo of her looking at the horizon. I said, "You know, you're right." She furrowed her eyebrows so, I continued, "Because the beauty of this photo," I pointed to her photo on my phone, "is nothing compared to what I'm seeing right now."

She smiled and said,"Really?" while raising one eyebrow.

"Yes! Don't you know that you're beautiful? You know, you're beautiful, right? Have I told you lately that you're beautiful?" I said in one breath, and by the end of it, she's blushing! "But seriously, Candice, you truly are beautiful...in all sense of that word," I said while looking into her eyes.

She blushed even more and said, "Stop it," while looking away from me.

"I like it when you blush," I said.

She snorted and said, "How cliche."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot that I like to be original. Let me try again. Candice, I love seeing your cheeks tainted pink," I smiled.

She just shook her head while smiling.

Minutes passed, and she spoke again. "Let me tell you a story. There was once this girl who met a guy in high school. The girl tried to avoid the guy, but the guy always wants to be with her. The girl learned that the guy liked her. The guy started courting her—giving her flowers, chocolates, and all those stuff.

Finally, the girl became his girlfriend. They were known as the school's golden couple. They had a love story anyone would want to have. But soon, high school had to end. They promised to be strong, to never give up, and to always be faithful to one another."

Candice now had that far-away look in her eyes...as if she was taking a trip to memory lane.

She continued, "Four years passed, and they graduated college. They were still together...stronger than ever.

The next phase of their lives were not a walk through the park. There were a lot of moments when their relationship was challenged, but they got through them because after all, they were already nine years as a couple.