Finding You

All Fun

"Theres no way were going to make it to your mom's house." I breathe deeply and smile as he looks up at me.

"I told Mom we were going to be late. Told her I had some memories to make with you." Ah, so that's why he wanted to stay a little longer than we had planned.

"I love you." I kiss him softly and hum as he draws patterns on my back.

"Is there anywhere else you'd like me to take you to?" Bradley asks and I take a deep breath in.

"I want to show you something that I've never showed anyone." I tell him softly and he smiles.

"You've peeked my interest."

"We can just walk from here. It's not too far." I shimmy off of him and open the car door, sliding onto my feet. Thank goodness it's dark outside or someone would have gotten a kick out of that show. Brad adjusts his pants back into place before pulling himself out.

He locks the car and grabs my hand, holding it tightly in his. I take a moment to remember the last time I walked this path.

My grandfather, my Papa, had just parked the truck not too far away from where we were. I had had a bad day at school and this was the only thing that I looked forward to- My Papa taking me to gymnastics class and then to the ice cream shoppe so I could ruin my dinner. But this day was different. He could tell that it had been a really hard day for me. So, after both of those things, he took me through the park to a trail that's barely used that leads to a small, not even a little impressive, fountain. But he held me as I cried and told him about that day.

"My Papa was my entire world. He was Nana's husband. He used to park close to where we did and walk me down to my gymnastics class. This little corner door." I point at the door and Brad looks up at it.

"I bet that was fun." He squeezes my hand.

"He was my biggest fan. Even at practice when I fell on my ass more times than I can even comprehend, he still cheered me on and he did it so loudly, so unashamed to be the clumsy, untalented girl's grandpa." I reach up and wipe my eyes. I haven't told a soul any of this. I haven't spoken a word about how my heart aches for the man taken too soon. The one who got his life together for me and yet, all his bad decisions crashed into him all at once.

"He sounds like quite a man. I wish I could have met him."

"He would have liked you. He wanted me to find someone like you. It's funny now that he never believed Alex was right for me. He always said I had an old soul and needed to find someone who could appreciate that." We pause at the corner and I turn to look up at Brad.

"It sounds like he knew you better than you knew yourself."

"He always did. He always knew what I needed even if I didn't know how to put into words what it was. So every Wednesday, after class, he'd take me to the ice cream shoppe and talk to me. Just us. Other than you, he was the easiest person to unload my baggage onto."

"You think they're still open?" Brad asks and I shake my head.

"No, they closed at 8. They always have." He kisses my head and smiles.

"Thank you for showing me this. Thank you for letting me in." I grab his hands and kiss them softly.

"The last time we got to do this, he took me to a fountain in the park. I couldn't bring myself to come home when they tore it down."

"Im sorry. I know that must have been hard for you."

"It was. Still is sometimes. Everything just kind of remind me of him. Then the whole thing with Alex happened and this place became my worst nightmare."

"Well come back. We'll get ice cream. We'll talk until we run out of things to talk about. I'll take you anywhere you want to go." He grabs my face softly and I smile, closing my eyes, and grabbing his hands.

"I don't deserve all this love you give me freely. But I hope that I'll be worth it one day."

"You already are." He kisses me softly and I melt into him. God, I love this man. I love this man with my whole heart and soul.

"I wish I would have found you sooner." I wrap my arms around him and hold him tightly. I don't ever want to let go of him. Never.

"Let's move in together so we never have to be apart." I look up at him and he smiles.

"Are you serious? It's been such a short amount of time." He shrugs his beautiful shoulders.

"We spend most of our time with each other anyways."

"I know that but we have our separate spaces if we need it."

"Both of our apartments have rooms with doors and plenty of outdoor space." He makes a fair point. We haven't exactly done things according to anyone's timeline but our own thus far and somehow it's really worked for us.

"What'll we do with all our stuff? It'll never fit into one apartment."

"We keep the better options and sell the rest or we can just sell all of it and buy all new stuff. We can find a bigger apartment." It's so like him to lay the options out and make things seem so simple and easy. I guess in a way they really are.

"We'll see how you feel after I meet your parents. How's that sound?"

"Like torture to wait that long." He jokes and kisses me softly.

"Let's move in together then. We can figure out the logistics of it all when we get back." I whisper and he smiles.

"I love it when you let me have my way without a fight." I laugh.

"Don't get used to it."