Sun and Moon

Thirty-Seven ♡

Luna's POV:

"Where are we going?" I asked, reminding myself of another night when I was in the car with Hope, when I was so excited about his surprise I could hardly stand it.

That same excitement of our first official date with the swan boats remained, but it was tinged bittersweet now. I knew there was only one way this night ended: in a morning with a not-so-temporary goodbye.

I tried to shake this thought from my head as he answered, but his response only reinforced the feeling. He smiled that same sweet, beautiful smile which seemed to light up the car in the dwindling light, and said, "You'll see soon. We're almost there, beautiful."

His voice, though, had changed. Maybe it was my imagination, but his natural cheerfulness had given way to a more serious tone, and I thought I heard a hint of sadness in his words.

I was afraid to look his way, afraid to have it confirmed in his face, so instead I just squeezed his hand and said, "Okay," and went back to watching the palm trees pass by the car window in a blur of green, yellow, and light brown.

We'd stopped off at my apartment and gotten changed after dinner, Hope's driver handing him a large bag containing clothes he'd packed earlier and waiting to exchange it for the suit Hope was wearing. He zipped it up in a garment bag and put it away in the car, nodding his goodbye as he left. Hope had asked if it was okay that we take my car the rest of the night, which I agreed to without a second thought. He was an excellent driver, maybe even better than me.

"What should I wear?" I stood in front of my closet, turning to Hope. I couldn't help but admire how effortlessly attractive he was, sitting casually on my bed, his legs crossed, in baggy jeans slung low on his hips and an oversized button down that was probably more expensive than my rent, not quite hiding the white body-hugging tank beneath it.

I didn't know how it was possible, but this outfit was more distracting than the gorgeous suit he'd been wearing earlier. I privately hoped it was dark where we were going or I might not be able to keep myself from undressing him with my eyes, or hands, for that matter, all night.

He distracted me from my indecent thoughts when he got up suddenly and came up behind me, his long arms sliding around me and pressing me to his hard body, his breath brushing my ear as he said, "Something comfortable and warm, jagi. No one will see you but me."

I genuinely felt a little breathless, my heart thumping wildly against my ribs. Goosebumps rose in the wake of his words, and my thoughts slid right back into the gutter as I thought about how his hard body felt pressed against mine and how we were just steps from my bed. I knew I could turn around and probably, with a few strategic touches, convince him to take me to bed right now and just stay here together, shutting out the rest of the world until morning, letting our bodies say the goodbyes our lips couldn't. But somewhere inside me, there was still a small logical part that hadn't been completely overcome by his charms yet. And she knew that wouldn't be fair to him. He had the night planned out, and it wouldn't be right to derail his plans. Besides, my curiosity was piqued now. I was excited and anxious to find out what he had in store for me.

He brushed his lips across my neck, his breath tickling me, and I giggled, squirming a bit in his arms before breaking free and side-stepping him.

"Why don't you put that energy to good use and grab me a hoodie then instead of tickling me? Any of them is fine," I said, smiling and waving a hand behind me at the closet as I headed for my dresser, where my jeans were folded.

Chuckling to himself at my response, he headed to the closet about his task as I tossed my jeans on the bed and began trying to unzip the back of my dress. I got it about an inch down, but was struggling, my arms both reaching behind my back and grappling with it.