Oxygen

Chapter 35 - Sleepy days and starry nights

"I want to show you something" he said, pulling me towards the giant oak tree. We stop in front of a small wooden sign, with lettering carved into it. "What does it say?" I ask, squinting to try and read with the street light. Jordan pulls out his phone and flicks the torch on. I let my eyes adjust to the light and read "Fern Grove, a place to call home". I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion, and look to Jordan.

"This is for you" he says proudly, tracing the letters with his free hand. "I've been working on this over the last few weeks. I made the place especially for you and I". I gasp as I realise what this is. He made all this for me!

"Wow, this is beautiful" I say, astounded. "Do you wanna see the tree house?". Jordan asks, and I nod as he leads me to the ladder.

I throw my shoes at the trunk of the tree as I begin to climb. Trying not to tangle in my dress, I climb to the top and swing over onto the wooden floor.

Jordan soon follows behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. I place my hands around his neck behind me, and take a look around. The tree house has been made very simply, but in the area it looks amazing. About half way up the tree is one huge deck, which we are standing on. There is a little house area inside, with fairy lights hanging across the doorway. I look out towards the sky and take a deep breath of the fresh air, smelling the pine cone scent.

In the distance I can see Jordan's house, the palm trees and tall building shining in the midnight sky. Around us are lots of trees, and birds sleeping in the branches. There are almost no houses nearby, only those in the distance. I smile as I picture children running around in the park below, throwing petals into the sky.

I turn around, looking up into Jordan's deep blue eyes. "This is perfect" I say, wrapping my arms around him and giving him a long, gentle kiss. "I want us to remember this time forever. Things aren't always going to be this perfect" Jordan says matter of factly. The sad truth is, he's right. The time we have together now is special, but it won't last forever. Things wil have to change eventually.

"Lets go inside" he suggested, dragging me through the door. I ducked under the fairy lights into the small, cozy room. Covering the floor in the small space was a thin mattress, covered in warm blankets and a simple white duvet. Against the wall were hundreds of maroon and cream cushions, making the room look comfortable and homely. 

Opposite the bedding was a huge picture window, showing the view of the trees and the horizon through the glass. "This looks amazing" I whisper, taking Jordan's hand in mine. He squeezes tightly and takes me to the window. I lean forward against the frame while Jordan stands behind me, wrapping his warm arms around me. He leans in and kisses my neck quietly.

We stand there watching the moon and the stars for a while, grateful for the moments we share together. Eventually Jordan pulled away, and walked over to a radio in the corner of the room. "I was thinking, if your comfortable enough, we could sleep in here tonight". I smiled at his suggestion and nodded my head, still looking out the window. I turned around to see Jordan watching me.

"What?" I asked quizzically. "It's just..." Jordan took a moment to think. "You're beautiful". I smiled in response and walked over to him. A light dust covered his cheeks as I kissed him passionately. "Thank you" I said softly.

"You can wear my shirt to bed" Jordan suggested, and I thanked him as he started unbuttoning his shirt. He undid all the buttons and removed his jacket, throwing it on the floor. I reached my arm to his tie and loosened it for him. We stood there for a minute, lovingly staring into each other's eyes. 

"Can you unzip my dress?" I asked nervously. I knew how this ended in movies, and I wasn't sure how I felt about the idea. I was excited, but nervous. I want this to be perfect, and special to both of us.

I turned around, brushing loose strands of hair over my shoulder. Jordan stepped forward, placing one hand on the zip and the other on my waist. I could feel his deep breaths on my neck, the cool scent of mint tickling my skin. 

Slowly he pulled the zip down my back. I shivered as his cool fingers brushed my skin, and I realised what we were doing. Once the zipper reached my waist, the only thing keeping it up was my hands over my chest.

I slowly let go of the dress, letting it drop to the floor. I took a deep breath as Jordan stood behind me, placing his hands over my stomach. I linked my fingers with his as he spoke quietly. "Is this ok?" Jordan asked. I nodded, and turned around to face him. "This is more than ok" I said, before leaning in to kiss him. This kiss was unlike any we've ever shared before. There was something about it that felt more special than our usual affection.

It was like we were speaking, because we both knew what was happening when we pulled away. I remained on my tip toes as Jordan looked into my eyes. "Are you sure?" Jordan asked skeptically. I took a minute before I replied. There really wasn't much to think about, I loved him more than anything, and this is the way to show him that.

I traced the shape of his abs with my index finger, slowly moving from his chest down. "I'm sure" I said. Jordan smiled, and picked me up off my feet. I squealed, as Jordan carried me over to the bed and laid me down. I closed my eyes calmly and smiled. 

Jordan moved my arms to above my head, holding my wrists with his own. My hair was falling out over my shoulders, so Jordan tucked a strand behind my ear. I opened my eyes and smiled at him as the world floated away.

•••

The next morning my eyes fluttered open in delight as I immediately remembered the day before. I squinted as my eyes adjusted to the early morning light. I looked around and remembered that I was in a tree house. I was amazed that Jordan managed to build all this. I wonder how he managed to work on it without me figuring it out?

I took a deep breath, my throat dry and sore from last night, with all the dancing from the formal. My whole body felt sore, in some places I'd never felt pain. This is what it's like to be a grown woman. I feel like although I'm still seventeen, my adult life has now begun.

I snuggled into Jordan, trying to get back to sleep.  He instinctively moved his arm tighter around me, and snuggled his head into my neck. I smiled to myself, remembering every detail of our time together.

I closed my eyes, trying to fall back to sleep under the warm blankets. My white pajama top hung down my body, keeping my torso covered. This is what it's like to live. As an individual, I'm just fine. But when I'm with Jordan, I'm a better person, I'm whole. We complete each other, and that's all I could ever ask.

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So that just happened....

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I'm sorry if it's a bit much for you, but I'm trying to keep it as discreet as possible. 

What's your favourite chapter? The book is coming close to an end, so I'd love to see what you think.

Thank you for reading, I love you all! Don't forget to vote aswell.

Alice xx