Pretentiously Simple | Kleo ✔️

14 | nights stood still

we were striding along the boardwalk, careful so the paparazzi wouldn't find us. as men and women of all different ages walked in what seemed like the opposite direction, the two of us chortled along, describing their lives like we were some sort of force against humanity. of course, we were not.

"okay, so see that man? his name's mark." i start to point to a man in a wheelchair, possibly because he was heavy and wouldn't accept to long distances. "erm, well...he's intelligent, but doesn't think so because his younger brother was a child prodigy and couldn't stop rubbing it in his face. he doesn't have many friends, just his wife and kids, and he was the one who planned their trip to los angeles for them even though he would rather stay at home watching the tele."

while my very detailed illustration of him was sprouting out into the air, my gaze moved back and forth from leo to the man i call mark. there was a smile perched along leo's face, as he listened to my description like it was the most fascinating thing in the world.

we walked past mark, never to see him again.

"impressive." he looked around for any paparazzi and once the coast was clear, enveloped my neck around his arm and kissed the top of my forehead. i hugged the side of him and stayed close until it was time to let go. anybody could know who we were, after all. it wasn't just the paparazzi we had to hide from.

"it's your go now." i told him. we continued to walk straight, on to who knows where. we had a day planned full of stuff and now we were just relaxing and doing whatever we pleased.

he moved his head around a bit, trying to find a good candidate. when he spotted one, he lifted his chin up a bit to indirectly point at her.

"that woman coming up...that's martha. she's in her mid fifties but clings onto her youth because she's afraid to die. she raised a daughter with a husband she doesn't really love, and is wearing that pink sport's shirt to look like she's fit, not that she actually is. let's see...her head went grey a few years ago, so she dyes it every now and then to a brown that isn't remotely close to her natural shade. she doesn't like staying at home because it reminds her that she's an empty nester, and she puts up the best halloween decorations weeks before halloween because she wants the whole neighborhood to be jealous." when we finally passed her, i let out a loud giggle, my forehead against his shoulder.

"that one was good!" i bumped his arm with my knuckle. "and you know what's so funny is that everything you said was completely true. no wonder you're such a natural at acting."

"what can i say? i have my quirks." he teased. i wasn't quite sure what was going through his mind, but for a bit it looked as if he was going to stop in his tracks for some reason. i furrowed my eyebrows.

"what is it, darling?" it wasn't like he looked completely worried or anything, i just knew how to read faces well. and i knew how to read his especially well. his head moved slowly from one side to the other, pointing his thousand watt smile at me for only me to enjoy.

"nothing, sweetheart, i just realized how fun this was, and how much i want it to be this way everyday." i tilted my head close to my shoulder, knowing what he meant by saying that. i rubbed his arm gingerly in hopes he would stop thinking about something like that when we were having the most amazing day.

"come on, now. hush, darling. we've still got a ways to go. i still have more than a week yet." we just discussed where we were in our relationship yesterday. it was too soon to begin thinking about leaving him. i just got him back.