•DESTINED•

•Chapter Eight•

"I prefer walking," I say after Evan asks me if I want to drive with him or walk.

"I thought you might say that," he says as we walk up the steps of his Manor.

I smile at his back, cautious to not let him see me watching his back muscles move beneath his T-shirt.

We walk into the quite hallway and walk to his modernized kitchen with it's marble-top counters and silver double doored fridges with a water dispenser.

Evan pulls out two energy drinks and two bottles of water. He moves to the cupboard where he pulls out snacks such as chocolate bars, Oreos and chips.

He shoves them into a Nike shoulder bag and then walks towards me, his body towering over me.

He looks confused and then I realized that I'd been staring and that I was standing in the doorway.

"Sorry," I step aside.

He nods and makes his way out, expecting me to follow. I did, obviously.

Then we walked a different route. To the stretch of land behind his Manor.

For a while, it was just dusty paths in between wildgrass until we were at the bottom of one of the small hills we walked over.

A thin river snaked it's way through long blades of grass. Tiny white flowers, water hemlock, stretching from beneath the slow moving water - waiting for someone as dumb as what I was to go and smell it.

Then I spot different white flowers, growing in between the tall grass, a long with pink flowers and magenta glowers.

There were orchids growing nearby by the water hemlock and bundles of white lilies.

Then I spot something captivating. Further down the river but not too close to the water.

Lilacs.

"This is so pretty!" I breathe, spinning around to take everything in.

"Here's some flowers that smell nice, and that won't make you pass out," Evan says from behind me.

He's holding out the tall stems of those white flowers beside the water hemlock and a few of the pink flowers from in between the grass.

"These look like those flowers there," I point to the water hemlock.

"They're not. These are actually just weeds."

"Gee, thanks," I take the flowers from him.

He smiles, "Smell them, Violet. Before you judge."

I do. Surprisingly, the weeds smell so sweet. Almost edible. Something I'd spray on myself if it were a perfume.

"Wow," I say.

"Never judge them for what they are. It's the same for people if you think about it," Evan says.

"That's sweet. The boys from the city would never care for the little things in life... Like flowers. Just girls, music and, sorry to say, sex."

Evan smiles, but he's not stunned, "I also care for girls and... Sex."

"Is that so? It's perfectly normal but I mean for someone to admire things like flowers. It's different."

"I know what you mean, Violet," he says gently.

"Oh good," I smile, "I wouldn't want to explain to you what I mean."

Evan smiles and shakes his head, "Did you see the Lilacs?"

"Of course I did," I begin walking towards them, "come!"

I start running towards the bush of tiny purple flowers. Then I inhale and smell the sweet aroma that pours from the flowers.

"They smell like spring!" I say excitedly.

"Maybe you should start putting the petals into the net bags before you start losing them from all your excitement," Evan suggests.

"You sound like a mother," I tease.

Evan raises an eyebrow, "I didn't know making a suggestion classifies someone as a mother."

"Ssh," I hold up a finger to his soft lips as I lean towards the flowers and take another whiff of their aromatic scents.

I feel Evans fingers gently wrap around my wrist to move my finger from his lips. I don't look at him. I just let him move my hand.

Then, slowly, I pull a few flowers off.

•••

The walk back to his home is beautiful. I only picked the tiny weeds that smelled nice and the lilac's, of course.

So far, there's been awkward glances and tiny smiles that we shared because none of us finds anything to say.

The wind whispers around us, the cold air acting as a ghost that draws us closer together for the feel of body heat that seems to be radiating off our bodies.

I pause. I've spotted a tiny blue flower. I pick it. It smells like damp soil.

"That doesn't smell nice, does it?" He asks, noticing my facial expression.

"No... But I'll keep it because it looks pretty," I say confidently.

Evan nods and continues to walk.

I follow close behind him, taking in the clean afternoon air that whisks around us and everything else.

The green grass seems to dance whenever the wind blows, encouraged by the trees that nudge it on.

I smile at my imagination. I'm going to sketch all this later. I actually can't wait.

Evan and I eventually arrive at his home. I doubt it's to get something to eat because we both devoured the snack bars and chips. As well as the water.

"Movie?" Evan asks, opening the large front doors.

"Uhm... I need to get the flowers into a pressurized space... You know, to make them flat?"

He nods, "I've got books, you know?"

Heat crawls to my cheeks, "Sure... They're thick?"

"Yes."

"Then sure. A movie sounds great," I say, contemplating my actions, "but first the flowers."

"That's fine, Violet."