I had my usual front row seat on the Grand Canyon’s edge, waiting for another spectacular sunset.
I sighed when the sun hit the horizon, painting an array of vivid colors throughout the canyon’s depths below me, and a brilliant orange and purple sky above. "It’s almost perfect," I breathed, still taken aback by the earth’s natural beauty even though I’d seen many desert sunsets before this one.
"Almost?" whispered a voice behind me.
My heart pounded in my chest as I turned to face my surprise company. My first instinct was to ask her how she got here, but I was immediately distracted by the perfect smile on her face and the clump of wildflowers she was holding out to me.
Lauren pressed the flowers into my hand and chuckled when I couldn’t stop staring in disbelief.
"You’re going to miss the best part," she said, and then gently turned me back around to face the scenery.
Her hands caused a burning sensation inside me as they slid around my waist and pulled me securely against her perfectly sculpted body. I couldn’t believe how naturally I seemed to fit there. It was as if my body had been made specifically for the purpose of being close to hers.
I shuddered from the chills that ran through me as she buried her face in my hair to inhale my scent.
Then she pressed her lips softly against the side of my neck right behind my ear. "What would I have to do to make it absolutely perfect?"
Another round of shivers made me go completely weak in the knees, and I barely found enough breath to reply. "Nothing could make this more perfect now." We were silent until the sun dipped completely from view, and then Lauren whirled me around so fast it made my head spin. Or maybe it had already been spinning. To be honest, I wasn’t really sure of anything except how close Lauren’s face was to mine.
"You do know it’s against the law to pick wildflowers in a national park, don’t you?" I mumbled nervously, gulping when her face began slowly sinking toward mine. Lauren didn’t respond except to pull the corners of her mouth up into my favorite cocky little smirk.
I gasped when she threw her lips on mine so passionately. The feeling was so incredible that I was unable to back away from her like I knew I should. I waited for her to pull away. I waited for her to scream out in pain. I waited for that image of the black, crispy face twisted in agony. But none of that came. Instead her passion intensified. I forgot all about waiting for my nightmare, and my arms locked around her neck as if they planned on never letting her escape. It was the most perfect, passionate kiss of my entire life.
And then I woke up.
I knew there would be no more sleep that night. This dream had been every bit as real and intense as my nightmares. While it lasted, kissing Lauren was a much better way to spend my sleep than roasting her alive, but when the dream was over I couldn’t decide which was worse.
It was after this dream, while I was waiting in bed for the sun to rise, that I finally mulled over my father’s request—demand, really—to never speak to Lauren again. After thinking about it long and hard, I came to the conclusion that my father was probably right. Being friends with Lauren and sharing my secret with her was probably a huge mistake.
I also decided that I absolutely, positively did not care. This wasn’t my father’s secret to keep, it was mine, and I could decide who to trust with it. I knew I’d feel a little guilty for defying my dad’s wishes, but it surely wouldn’t kill me. I wasn’t really doing anything wrong, and Lauren’s friendship definitely wouldn’t be the only secret I’d kept from my parents. Or the worst.
