Met Online

Chapter 20

To quote Shrek: trolls are like onions - they have multiple layers. I have come to realize that Shrek's saying fits Justin too, and the more layers I peel off the harder it gets to resist and the deeper I fall into the fantasy that is him.

"This is like a dream," I mumble to myself, as we stroll, hand in hand, through the zoo.

"I'm guessing you've never been at the zoo after closing time?" he asks, picking up on my words.

"Never."

"I'm glad I could be your first then," he jokes and shoots me a wink, before silence falls upon us.

We haven't walked for long before we come to a stop at a small office building. Once outside the office building Justin lets go of my hand to pull the key out from his front pocket. I shoot him a confused look as he takes a few steps closer to the office building and begins to unlock the door to it.

"I just have to get something real quick," he explains as he pushes the door open and steps inside. "Wait here," he tells me and then he's gone, leaving me standing alone in the closed zoo, for the second time tonight.

I choose to ignore the animal calls this time and try to focus my attention on the façade of the building instead. It's decorated with murals in various colors, matching the one on the door we came through into the zoo and I can't seem to get my eyes off of the way one color fades into the next.

I'm so engrossed with tracing the brush strokes on the large painting that I don't even realize that Justin has returned until he speaks. "Got it."

"What's that?" I gesture towards the bundle under his arm, as he locks the door behind him and slips the key into his pocket.

"Can't tell you," he smirks and continues down the path we're on. "It would spoil the surprise."

"Oh."

Justin doesn't take my hand in his again and I can't help the disappointment that stabs at my chest, as I realize that he wont. I don't say anything about it despite the disappointment I feel, nor do I reach for his.

"It should be right around here," he mumbles after a few minutes of walking.

"What should?"

"You'll see," he tells me, as he comes to a stop and turns to look at me. The fading sunset casts enough light over the sky to illuminate Justin's face. There's a secretive smile set on his face, which seems to have been present since we entered the zoo. All of a sudden his smile drops and his expression turns serious as his eyes scan mine. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes," I whisper hoarsely. "I trust you."

Justin's eyes scan mine in silence, as if he's looking for some kind of hidden truth within them. Whatever it is he's searching for he seems to find it, for his lips curl upwards in a shy smile. "Come with me," he tells me and holds out his hand for me to take. I don't even hesitate for a second before I place my hand in his, welcoming the warming thrill of having my hand in his again.

I can't pinpoint exactly when it happened but somewhere along the lines of tonight I've gone from being suspicious of his every move to trusting him unconditionally. I don't think I've ever like this with another person and it's both scary and thrilling at the same time.

"Where are we going?" I ask, as he pulls me along by my hand.

"We're going up." He shoots me a smile and gestures ahead of us.

I follow his gesture with my eyes only to find a huge look out post placed straight ahead of us. Even from a distance it's towering several meters over us and I have a difficult time pinpointing the exact height of it.