secrets

eighteen

-SIMON-
_______

Even as a man, I can admit that life is hard and quite unfair for a woman.

They can't walk down a street in the city alone without being whistled at or being afraid of getting attacked.

They see magazines and photos of models and celebrities that are photoshopped until they look unrecognizable. And the unrealistic photos are portrayed as beauty. They're pressured into believing that if they don't look perfect, they aren't beautiful.

They're surrounded by a society that only views them as a service to men. They're only good for being pretty to look at, or objects used for pleasure.

They're blinded by a world that believes men are superior to women; a world where your gender is what dictates how much you get paid.

Those facts anger me. The love of my life was just taken advantage of, right after I promised her that I would protect her from everything.

My ultimate and only goal right now is to show Adele that society has it all wrong, and that she is marvelously beautiful and worth so much more than she thinks she is.

When we arrived home, I held her in my arms and let her cry. I apologized over and over again for letting it happen. I reassured her that she did mean something to me, and that she was valuable.

I also promised her with all my heart that I love her for who she is and not what she can do for me. It caused her to stop crying and put her faith in me, which is all I ever wanted from the very beginning.

To seal my promise, I gently kissed her on the lips. When I pulled away and met her eyes, I could see right through her. She looked so shattered and broken, and that hurt me and my heart.

I took her hand and said, "I want to show you my favorite thing in your house."

I led her to the hall where she had all these pictures on the walls, and her eyes lit up when she realized that's where I was taking her.

We stopped in the hall and she turned on a light, nostalgically looking at the pictures. I watched her every move and expression with pure awe, marveling at her beauty and her smile.

Her beautiful green eyes scanned over the pictures of her and her mother, or of her and her childhood best friends. She would grin at certain ones, a movie playing in her beautiful mind as she vividly remembered the exact moments that the photos were taken.

"This was on my eighth birthday." She says, her lips closed in a soft smile as she looks into the eyes of herself at the innocent age of eight, beaming over her cake with her proud mother's arms around her.

"You were a cute kid." I tell her.

She looks away from the photos for a brief moment to smile at me. "I was, wasn't I?" She agrees, returning her focus back on her memories.

After a while of her revisiting the past, she reaches the end of her photo gallery. I let her have a moment as she stares off into space, collecting her thoughts before running into my arms and repeatedly kissing me with a huge smile.

I place my arms around her and laugh. "Where did that come from?"

"I realized something. I've never felt genuinely happy since I was a child. But Simon-" She pauses, her face glowing. "You make me really happy."

My heart swells with its own happiness inside my chest, and I pull her into me and kiss her lips, pouring my heart and soul into it.

When I pull away, I notice the glow in her eyes is back. She is back to her normal self, and I missed it more than anything.

"You're so beautiful, Adele." I say, sitting on the couch and pulling her into my lap.

She blushes, and that's how I know she's really back. "Thank you, you're not too bad yourself." She winks, then she rests her head against my chest, holding my hand.

There is a comfortable silence, then she says, "You know, I kind of miss keeping a secret. It was fun."

I laugh. "I guess the thrill of it was entertaining."

"We should find another secret to keep." She suggests, sitting up and looking into my eyes with a mysterious grin. She's definitely up to something.

"And what would the secret be?" I ask.

She shrugs her shoulders. "We would have to do something bad, something naughty."

My eyes trail down to her lips for a brief moment before going back to her eyes.

"I know where we could get some inspiration." I say, running my hand up and down her back.

"Where?" She asks, her face still glowing.

"I'll take you upstairs and teach you things you never knew." I whisper into her ear, causing her to grin.

"We're going to have one good secret." She says as I lift her up and begin to carry her up the stairs.

We arrive to her bedroom and right before I kick the door open, I say, "One good one indeed," then slam my lips onto hers.