Something Bigger Part 1

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

        Iris took Aden's hand and pulled him toward her with a giggle. She kissed him giddily and her hands slipped up the front of his cotton shirt to feel his muscular abdomen. She let her fingers caress him stomach while her lips found his. Then, with another giggle, she stepped back with a mischievous grin. Iris glanced toward the towering oak whose massive trunk sat just behind them, but whose branches stretched over them. She danced away from Aden and began to climb the oak's knotted trunk. 

        Aden watched Iris scurry up the tree, her feet easily finding footholds in the gnarled bark. He silently watched her periodically look back at him while she made her way to, and reached the first limb. The corner of his mouth formed a half smile and she crawled a little way out onto the lowest limb and swung her legs out to face him from above. Iris shifted her weight around and settled herself onto her wooden seat.  

        "Aren't you going to join me?" Iris taunted. She winked and picked a leaf, which she promptly tore into bits; she threw into the light breeze with a sigh in an exaggerated attempt to look bored. She brushed her silky onyx hair back behind her shoulder. 

        "Aren't you a little old to be scaling trees?" Aden eyed the oak skeptically, wondering why anyone older than a child would want to climb a tree. 

        Iris laughed whimsically. "You are certainly a bottle of fun today!" She patted the spot next to her on the branch. Not looked down at Aden, Iris mock-whispered, "Maybe I should show you why climbing trees is fun. Of course, we could always go back to the estate, instead." 

        "Do you really expect me to join you?" Aden took a step toward the trunk. Iris pretended she didn't hear him and looked up and the quivering leaves above her.  

        Aden released a theatrical sigh and took one more stride to the trunk so he was directly in front of it. He placed a sturdy riding boot into a low foothold and climbed a foot. He climbed only high enough to reach Iris's branch. He grabbed hold of the branch with both hands and let himself swing for a moment. Then he pulled his knees to his chest, slid them through and over to hook on the branch. Aden spun himself upright on the branch until he sat next to Iris, facing her. He shifted closer to Iris so that their hips touched. 

        "I came." He smiled and held her pale delicate face in his hands. "I will always come." He pulled her face to his. He inhaled her scent before passionately kissing her. He released her face, letting his hands slide down her side to rest on her hips. Iris, however, locked her fingers into Aden's golden curls, not wanted to let him go. 

        Still, she had to respond. Iris pulled back for a second and smiled. "I know." And she did, deeply. She pecked a small kiss on his cheek and lingered close to his face before leaning away. Iris closed her eyes and shivered as her carefree infatuated state slipped away.  

        "Are we ever going to be able to stop sneaking away like this?" Iris looked into Aden's eyes, deeply wishing he would forget custom and the proper way to do things. She wished he would smile and ask her to marry him. She wished that simple act of love wouldn't have to tear their worlds apart. Of course Aden couldn't console her; he chose reality and logic where Iris chose fantasy and whimsy. But if Iris had to chose the one choice that meant the most to her, it would be the worst choice he ever made. Unfortunately for him, he chose her.  

        "We could leave." Aden was looking off into some distance Iris wouldn't see. He shifted his gaze toward her, broadcasting his sincerity. "We could steal away in the night and go to a colony. We could go and never be separated, never have to hide again."