secrets

twenty-six

-SIMON-
______

The moment I open my eyes, the first thing I see is the burgundy dress Adele had worn last night on the floor. I turn my head and see her sleeping contentedly.

It's in that same moment that I most appreciate just how beautiful that she is. In her most natural state, pure beauty radiates off her skin.

With the light from the grey skies outside, her pale, flawless complexion is in full view. She is laying on her side, her curvy body and bare skin exposed in certain places as she is entwined in the stark white sheets. Her silky hair somehow is perfectly away from her face and sprawled across her pillow. The only thing that would make this moment more beautiful is if her dreamy eyes were open.

Longing to feel her silky smooth skin again, I run my hand from her ankle up to her thigh and back down. Without me realizing it, she opens her eyes and wakes up from her sleep.

"Good thing I shaved my legs, or this could have been embarrassing." She says with the deep voice of one who had just woken up.

I only laugh, sliding myself towards her and wrapping her in my arms. She rests her head on my bare chest and her light eyes glisten with the reflection of the rainy window.

"Are you even remotely aware of how perfect you are?" I ask her, kissing her forehead.

"Far from it, babe. You on the other hand." She smiles, her eyes quickly scanning my body.

I take her hand in my own, stroking my thumb across it. She has the softest skin.

"What even happened last night?" She asks after a while of us just listening to the rain and the sound of each other breathing.

I let out a calm sigh. So much happened last night. "I met your family, I fell in love with you even more, we made out in a dressing room for seven minutes, then came home and finished right here."

She smiles. "That's right." There's another peaceful silence before I feel her escape my arms, sitting up in bed. "I need a shower."

"Me too." I add.

The clean-freak in her starts waking up too, and she throws our scattered clothes into a laundry basket.

"Get off the bed and go in the guest shower."

"Is that all I am? Just a guest?" I joke as I head to the bedroom door.

As she strips the bed and throws the sheets in the basket, she gives me an intense look. "Get in the shower!" She demands, though her eyes are humorous.

That woman is something else. And for it to be my arms that she feels safe in is something else too.

______

"Tonight?" I hear Adele say to Laura over the phone. She places her hand over it and whispers to me, "Do you want to go out with Laura and Daniel tonight?"

"Where at?" I softly respond.

"Where do you guys want to go?" She asks Laura. There's a pause, then Adele says to me, "The movie theatre in Croydon."

A smile inevitably forms on my lips. That's the theatre where our first date was, the same place that my heart was absolutely captured by her. "Sounds perfect to me." I say.

"We'll be there at seven." Adele says, then she hangs up and crawls into my lap, a joyful expression on her face.

"Theatre 5." I say, knowing she'll understand exactly what I mean.

"The room where my life changed." She says, gently but passionately pressing her lips onto mine.

We spend the day joking around with each other and growing more in love by the second. Love had always been a dangerous thing to me, something that always seemed to end in heartbreak.

Adele has changed that for me. The days I get to spend with her are filled with happiness. I'm not afraid to love her, to be myself around her. She makes me feel at home, she is home to me.

Every time she laughs, I laugh too. To see her happy makes me happy, and there are few better feelings in the world.

As the evening rolled around, we headed upstairs to get ready.

Contrary to our formal looks the last time we went to the movies, we both opt for a more casual look this time around.

I zip up my jeans and adjust my light blue shirt as Adele's bathroom door opens. She walks towards the bed, relaxed and completely unaware of just how breathtakingly gorgeous she looks.

She is wearing ripped jeans and black ankle boots with a loose fitting cream top. It's casual but still so stunning. Her hair is in a loose topknot and her green eyes are accentuated by mascara. Noticing me staring, she turns her attention from her phone to me.

"You look good babe." She comments.

"You look beautiful, my love." I say, walking to her and placing my arms around her.

She looks up at me with her big, loving eyes. The same eyes that I looked into when I came to pick her up on the first date. The same eyes that I got lost in and realized she was the one. The same eyes that stared into mine last night as our bodies were entwined in each other and I realized just how much she means to me.

We gathered our things and made our way to the car, reminiscing the whole way to the theatre.

"It was so cold and snowy the last time." I say, remembering the way the wind blew snowflakes into our faces and we caught them with our tongues.

"I miss those days." Adele responds, a nostalgic expression on her face.

Both of us study the rain as it streaks down the windshield, blurring the red traffic light ahead. The light turns green, and I turn into the parking lot of the theatre.

I miss those days too, in a way. The innocence and the secrets, the feeling of finding new love, and the realization that love is actually a beautiful thing.

Just like last time, I open the door for her and hold her hand as we brace ourselves to walk into the rain.

The memories of that night flood my mind the moment we step in, and I impulsively grab Adele's face and smash our lips together for a brief moment. It takes her by surprise, but her body relaxes as our lips connect.

"We're not actually going to watch the movie, are we?" She says with a smile as we get in line.

"Of course not. It wouldn't be just like last time, would it?"

She smiles again, and my heart always melts at the sight of her smile.

The man I was the first time we came here is a different man, and I would love to tell him that his life was about to change drastically for the better.

Little did I know that I was capable of falling this in love with Adele.