cotton candy stitches

July 16th, 2018 (2)

Zach pulls into an empty parking lot, his smile stretching wide. Our eyes connect before he ushers me out of his car.

Zach makes a grab for my hand but he quickly turns it away. I look up at him but his eyes are staring at the ground. I almost even try to extend my hand back. "Follow me," he says softly before delving into the woods.

I let him lead the way as I look around. There are birds chirping loudly while the luscious greens of the plants greet me. The sun filters through the leaves, leaving beautiful spots on light scattered around.

"Almost there," Zach reassures me. I'm still clueless. I've never been here before, and even if I had, it must have been a while ago.

Suddenly, my phone beeps. It's Evan.

I had told him earlier that I ended up at Zach's house again.

Um?????? Tristan?????? is what his text had said.

I text back quickly, Idek Ev. I'll get back to you later love you

Love u too but u betterrrrrrr facetime when you get home

Always

Zach looks at me with curious eyes before stopping and continuing along the trail. I tuck my phone back into my pocket as I look around me. Everything looks so alive.

"Okay, close your eyes." I roll my eyes but do as he says. There's a pause. Nervous energy surrounds us; it's so thick you could cut it with a knife.

"Is it okay if I take your hand? I-Uh, I wouldn't want you tripping or anything." I smile slightly. That's really sweet.

"Yeah," I murmur. Zach takes my hand, leading me to wherever he's taking me. He stops abruptly which makes me bump into him.

He chuckles before telling me to open my eyes.

A gasp leaves my lips. It's absolutely gorgeous here.

I have no words. Zach had taken me to a big open lake. The light perfectly lays on top of the water, leaving it shimmering like gold. The light reflects excellently. Birds fly over it as I see a deer and her baby across the lake. There are hills upon hills rolling past the lake. It's so unmodernized. It's beautiful.

I turn to face Zach. "It's so..." I can barely finish my sentence.

"I know," Zach murmurs, before turning to me. He tugs on my arm. "Come on."

I let him take me to the edge of the lake, the water lapping at the sand. Zach immediately takes off his shirt and throws it to the side. My cheeks flush as he turns around to face me with a smirk.

"Come on. You can leave everything on, but I'm just saying it wouldn't be fun if you didn't get in the water. If I remember right, you had a good time last time you were in the water." Zach winks at me. I roll my eyes but my cheeks betray me. I can feel them heat up.

"Ugh... Fine," I groan, slipping my shirt off. I keep my shorts on.

I reluctantly look up at Zach, embarrassed as hell. His cheeks are a bright pink and his eyes are as wide as saucers.

"W-What?" I murmur. I self-consciously go to cover my chest.

"You are absolutely beautiful," he whispers. I think he means it too. "I've never seen someone so... What a goddess..." He starts grinning like an idiot. Ugh, I wanna slap him.

I blush hard before following him into the lake. Suddenly, Zach swiftly turns around and splashes me.

I scream and let out a loud laugh. "Oh, you are so gonna get it!" I shout, splashing him as hard as I can.

Zach laughs. "Oh, yeah? Bet." He grins mischievously before tackling me into the water. I scream as I get up and splash him.

We continue to play in the water together until we decide to stop. Exhausted, I collapse onto the towel Zach had brought with him.

Zach plops himself down next to me and uses his shirt to dry his hair. I stare at him, at how toned his stomach is and how perfect he is. I mean—God, I have a boyfriend! Zach seems to notice my change in demeanor even though it was a bit small.

"Let's get back to the car. I have something to show you." I nod as we make our way back to the car. The last bits of the sun had sunk and all is left is the most beautiful starry sky.

I start to shiver, the cold air flowing over me. Zach takes notice and throws me one of his long-sleeved shirts. It smells so much like him. I slip it on over my head as Zach stops and stares at me again with that look in his eye. It's the same one from when I had my shirt off earlier. It was when he called me beautiful.

Zach tells me to sit on the top of his car. I oblige and climb onto his car.

Zach comes back around the back of his car and drapes a blanket around us. I can't help but lay my head on his shoulder. He wraps his arm around me  and pulls me close to him. Unconsciously, I snuggle into him.

"Look how amazing the sky looks here. Different from the beach, right?" he whispers. Even he's taken aback by how gorgeous the view is. It's like a painter decided to paint how love feels. Every single dot in the sky represents the amount of people in this world. No matter how close or far away they are, every one of them are connected in some way.

"Hey..." Zach mutters. I look up at him. He takes a deep breath.

"You don't have to be with me. You can stay-" I silence him as my lips connect with his. It feels so right to be with him, to kiss him so perfectly. I can tell he's surprised, but soon enough, he kisses me back.

This feels more special than when I kiss Tristan. I feel fireworks, explosions, my stomach is in a huge knot right now. Zach pulls me on top of him, holding me as if he'd never let me go.

I pull away, panting softly.

My eyes meet with Zach's.

"I want you," I whisper.

Zach's lips intertwine with mine again.

"I want you too."