𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝, 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐁𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐚𝐧

27. By The Fire

"I don't know why you look so shocked.  You left it open," I complained, smacking my thighs.  Now I felt stressed out.  Sighing, I switched passed him and grabbed the small garbage pail from the bedroom.  Making my way back into the closet, I huffed and puffed again, cleaning up the trash.

     "What are you doing?"

     "Putting this crap where it belongs."  Snatching and tossing, feeling victorious, I questioned, "What it is it you're holding on to exactly?"

     Prince didn't answer, didn't even budge.  He just watched me play the cleaning lady. 

     Soon I was out of the closet again and on my way downstairs.  Wasn't long before I heard him trotting behind me.  "Do you have a match or something?"  I stopped in front of the fire place, and in one underhanded toss, everything was settled where it belonged. 

     "You're joking," he snickered.

     "No," I laughed, dropping the pail.  Then I spun around, hugging myself, thoughtlessly tapping on my elbows, wondering how to light this thing.

     "Is sorry enough?"  Prince was sitting at the edge of the sofa now.  "Huh?"

     "I'm not upset," I smiled.  "I hope you aren't either.  I thought you purposely left it open."

     "Right..."

     "It's okay." I turned forward in his direction.  "Nothing is your fault.  You couldn't help yourself."

     "What do you mean by that?"

     I only shrugged for him.

     "Seriously.  What does that mean?"

     "Were you there?"

     "Where?"

     "At the shows?  Or did someone give that stuff to you?"  I was growing curious now.  Talk about a late reaction.  "Are you a collector?"

     "No.  I'm not a collector."

     "So you didn't purposely leave the safe open?"

     "Now why I would do that?"

     "Because..." Shoulders lifted and fell again.  "Nothing says 'I love you' like 'I've been waiting on you.' Literally watching and waiting."

     "I wasn't waiting," he defended.  "I wasn't looking either."

     "Right."  I corrected myself.  "Out of our control.  Like you said..."  Those jazz hands were back to make a point.  "The universe."  I left the room to search the kitchen.  "Go get cleaned up then come back down!"

     Back was that sure feeling.  It filled me up with so much confidence.  Prince was upstairs taking a shower and I was back in his closet, tucking away his memories of me.  All along... 

     I only felt a little shocked about it.  I guess if it hadn't been for Toby's revelations, I would be more Holy shit, he's been stalking me this whole time.  But I figured.  Mister Nobody.  Mister Fuchsia.  None of this made me feel uneasy.  If anything...I was...flattered? 

     God wanted us here...together.  Even if it really was supposed to be just the music, I was already so much in love with him.

     After cleaning up and slipping on one of his white shirts, I headed back down to start the fire, tilting the lighter to one of Anna's letters.  In front of the blaze, I put down a comforter, a bunch of throw pillows and waited on him.  Patiently just waiting, watching his past burn before me.