Dating the Dead • lrh

24. kiss

"Stay, I've been alone long enough."

For a while, neither of us said anything. Her hand remained over mine as we both watched the sun as it set. I looked over to her and she had her eyes closed, a smile playing on her lips.

The sun sinking slowly into the horizon was the most breathtaking view I have ever seen. The water reflected the orange sky turning into purple and blue hues. But they were nothing compared to the sight beside me.

The breeze softly caressed her long hair, strawberry and vanilla scents wafted into the air. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath, savoring the moment. And I felt like for the first time in my whole life, I was breathing properly.

"I came to see you," I said when she removed her hand to fix her hair in a ponytail.

She smiled, standing up to stretch, her back to me. "Really?"

And at that moment, I noticed plenty of things. With the streetlights on, I had no idea when that happened, I realized she was wearing a blue bikini top and jean shorts.

I squinted my eyes to look at the tattoo on the small of her back just above the hem of her shorts. "What's that for?"

She twisted her back to see what I was pointing at. "That is a drunken mistake." She sat back down, laughing. For a second, I thought she'd explain but she was staring at the horizon. "Oh look, the sun's finally set."

"Which do you like more, sunrise or sunset," I blurted, not knowing what else to say.

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. When they opened, they were on me. "I like sunrises. They mean a 'fresh start' to me, you know. If yesterday sucked, you can always try again tomorrow," she smiled and then turned towards the ocean. "But I love sunsets. The colors of the sky, most especially. Like a limited edition painting. I love how it mean that you have survived the day. And that's all that matters. No matter how shitty it was, at least you survived."

"Is that why you're here since I left your house this morning?"

Things were getting pretty serious until Shelby burst out laughing. "When you left, Charlie came to me and said he was surprised to see a pizza guy burglar ..." she stopped to breathe.

Before she could say another word, I slid my hand at the back of her neck and pulled her into a kiss.

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