Road to Evergreen | #Wattys2016

s e v e n t e e n

As the performance ends, the crowd animates into an applaud. And they are hooting for an encore. Adam draws his mouth to the microphone and says, "Thank you for being an amazing audience like always, but I have to call it quits for tonight." He addresses the audience. "I have a date waiting for me," he then addresses me.

Adam steps down from the stage and heads in my direction. I notice that his eyes are beaming with bright green, with joy.

"Well aren't you full of surprises?" I ask.

"I try," he laughs.

He then picks me up and embraces me in a hug while spinning me around. My arms are on his shoulders, hugging back and my face is buried in his neck. I take in his scent, and wish I could hold on to it forever. At this very moment, I feel safer than I ever was in my life. He makes me secure in him, myself and life. I think, he might be the best gift I ever had.

He stops and puts me down gently until our faces are on the same level. He leans in, and our lips collide. I feel like the world stopped around us but I get awakened by the crowd as they are cheering to the sight of us. We break our kiss and look around. I hear voices shouting, "way to go," and "kiss, kiss, kiss."

And we both burst into laughter. He cups my cheeks with his hands and says, "we can't disappoint our audience."

"Oh, no that would be just wrong," I say as I attempt to make a very serious face. His smirks stretches and we collide again and again and again.

I withdraw from the kiss and open my mouth to speak but my voice comes out unsteady, "Adam?"

"Yes?" He replies while his green eyes reflect into mine.

I clear my throat, "I understand.."

He looks down to scan our interlocked hands, and exhales, "I know."

For a while, we keep staring at each other as silence surrounds us and Adam is the first one to speak, "let's sit down." And so we do. We are now seated face to face, taking in each others sight.

"So, since when do you sing?" I ask. "You were incredible up there," I say with enthusiasm as I gesture to the stage.

"It's a long story," he says.

"I'll try to catch up," I say as I lean back on my chair.

"Actually, it's pretty short. My uncle owns this bar, and when I was fifteen years old, he heard me singing in my room. He then urged me to perform but at first I declined his offer. But as the days grew by, I decided what the hell," he explains.

"So, let me understand this: an engineer who takes creative writing class and works in a very well known company, can sing and in a busy bar. Is there something else I should know of?" I state out.

"No," he stops to think, "yeh that's pretty much it," he says.

"What about you then?," he asks, "what's your story?"

I hesitate to what I'm supposed to say. So far Adam has been an open book to me, and I didn't share much with him. But his eyes strike me with trust. Instead, I chicken out and tell him, "I'm 21 years old, majoring in English literature on a full scholarship. I have a brother who's younger than me, Harry. I enjoy everything that has to do with passion, books, and creativity. And I'm a sucker for romance."

Adams eyes me as if he's waiting for me. "So that's it?" He asks.

No. "Yeh, pretty much," I say.

"I don't believe you. There has to be more that you're not sharing," he argues.

"No," I look away.

"Lesley.." He pushes, "I've known you for almost a weak, and I can tell by now when you're lying."

"I'm not lying!" I say, frustrated.

"Yes. Yes, you are Lesley. Come on tell me!" He demands.

Tell him, Lesley, tell him. No, I won't.

"Lesley!" He exclaims.

And I break, "what do you want me to tell you? That my father passed away last year in a tragic car accident that wen't over a bridge. That his body was never found?," I pause and hold back my tears. Telling this story never gets easy. I take a breath and continue, "After that, my mother stuck to drugs, and I was left to take care of my brother. But my mom says she's been going to AA meetings, and I'm trying so hard to believe her. To believe that there isn't another lie hiding behind her words. Because every time I do, I feel like the world is attempting to make a sick joke with me. So, yeh, that's my story," I say as a tear escapes my eyes.

I'm looking down and picking at my fingers as Adam reaches out and wipes my tear.

"I'm sorry Lesley, I didn't mean to push you,"

"Well, that's what you get when you do. So stop it," I bark.

He raises his hands as if he surrenders. My eyes are still down, as he places his hand under my chin and lifts my head up.

"You are beautiful, Lesley," and I blush.

"You are brave and you deserve all the good things in life. One day, it will all be alright. Be patient with life. And be patient with me. Give me a chance, open your heart to me, and I will try to make you happy," he says.

And for some reason, I believe him. There's no lie hiding behind his eyes. So I take a breath in and out and say, "Okay."