Three Little Birds

Promises

Three weeks had passed since that dreaded Wednesday and things were beginning to revert back to the previous routine.

The week before I had moved my things into Liz's from my old, run down apartment. I did not miss it as much as I had originally thought. It was my first real place, but at Liz's I felt home.

It was new and it was wonderful. We had put most of my furniture in the garage, transforming it into an extra "chill spot" as Liz put it.

Mykel and I began spending more and more time together, though my inherent shyness kept much of anything from happening. Mykel, patient as ever, seemed not to notice, but I could feel myself, little by little begin to step out of the shell I had encased myself in.

It was Friday night and I was exhausted as the last of the customers filed out of the coffee shop for the night.

The three of us closed in companionable silence, each working to complete our tasks. Mykel had helped cover the last shift of the night for Emma, who had been in a car accident and broken her leg three days previous.

As we finished, Mykel grabbed my hand and I felt a blush rising from the contact. He had not been pushy, nor done anything I felt I needed to stop, but he always managed to show me affection in small ways. Like grabbing my hand. He is always so gentle with me, as if he's holding a fragile butterfly whose wings will disintegrate if held too roughly.

He chuckled at my reaction, bringing his finger under my chin and gently lifting. Eye contact, though it isn't difficult with Liz and Mykel anymore, is still something I struggle with.

"Let me take you out tonight."

I smiled. "How are you not exhausted after the day we've had?"

He smiled, warm as the setting summer sun. "I am. But...well, you've been so..." He struggled with his words, finding it hard to talk about the week of Kaiden's death's anniversary.

"Well, so great with putting up with my ass lately and...I wanna take you somewhere." The look in his eyes was pleading, like a puppy begging for a treat.

I chuckled and relented. "Can we go home first so I can change?"

His smile alone was worth my saying yes. He nodded and bounced on his toes. "Yes, but we have to hurry."

It was a mild night, clear and cloudless. A small heat wave came through, delaying any snowfall for another day. I changed quickly, throwing on my favorite hoodie, before we were on the road again.

"Where are we going?" I asked after half an hour. The radio played softly in the background. An unremembered one hit wonder that quickly faded.

"Not too much longer. Just up a ways a bit." He glanced at me grinning before looking back at the road.

Another half hour passed before he pulled off on to a secluded road that led to a smaller road that led to an overview.

"Where are we?" I asked as he shifted into park and shut off the engine.

"Come on," he said getting out. He grabbed two blankets from the back seat, spreading one out. We sat and he drew me to him so I was leaning into him, and he wrapped the second blanket around us.

He was quite for several heartbeats, and I was content to feel his chest rise and fall as he breathed.

"This is...one of my favorite places. I used to come here a lot when I wanted to be alone after Kaiden died. I would just look at the stars. I was always at peace here and...well, I wanted to...share it with you."

I smiled warmly and squeezed his arms tighter around me. "It's beautiful here." I lay my head back against his shoulder as we sat wrapped in each other and looked at the sparkling diamonds across the velvet plain. It was peaceful and I understood why he came here to get away, and it meant more than he knew that he shared it with me.