Heartbeat

30| Euphoria

The next day, end of shift, 7:00 pm

Alexandria: You sure you're not gonna bail out on me this time?

Holden: I promise I won't, in fact look to your right.

I found myself smiling as I turned to my right and saw Holden holding up his phone with a wide grin.
He sauntered over towards me and once he was right in front of me, I took the opportunity to run my hand through his hair.

He smacked my hand away and said, "Don't ruin my curls."
"I've been wanting to do that, I was actually wondering how soft they would be," I remarked and he chuckled and said, "But seriously, don't do that again."

"Ok fine,"I said and he laughed and said, "So, are you ready for the little trip I planned."

"Does it involve your motorbike again?," I asked and he nodded, "Yup, but this time I'm driving because that would ruin the surprise if you did."

"Ok fine,"I said as I followed him to his bike. He handed me a helmet and then he put on his own. I put mine on as he mounted himself on his bike while I sat behind him.

"Are you gonna grip the seat again?", he asked nonchalantly making me laugh knowing what he was referring to.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and said, "Nope, I've learned my lesson Mr. Sterling."

"Oh god don't call me that, makes me sound old," he commented and I rolled my eyes and said, "Makes you feel old or you just hate formalities?"

"Either or," he said as he started the engine and then we went riding through the night.
I clutched onto Holden's waist tightly as I buried my face onto his back.

Burying my face made me notice that he wore a certain scent. It was unlike Nathaniel's that was earthy and smelled of sandalwood. Damien's was also vastly different from his, he had a spicy scent, smelling like cinnamon and myrrh.

Holden just smelled clean like fresh laundry. To me it was more intoxicating because it wasn't overdone. He smelled like a freshly cleaned Teddy Bear. I felt the wind brush locks of my hair away from my face.

I lifted my face from his back and moved to rest my chin on his shoulder. Despite me not seeing it, I could tell he was grinning as he said, "Hey there, didn't like my back anymore?"

"Kinda, I just wanted to see the view without having to let you go," I said softly, almost like a whisper, hoping he wouldn't hear it.

Despite my hopes, he still heard it so he said, "Are you flirting with me Alex?"

"I can stop if you don't want me to,"I said. I had a feeling that he might be annoyed by what I said but I heard him laugh softly.

"By all means don't, it's flattering," he replied making a smile creep onto my face. "I'm a terrible influence on you aren't I?," he said and I laughed, "Not in the slightest."

I decided to stop talking and enjoy the view of nighttime LA. Despite the sounds of cars honking because of traffic, it didn't take away from the fact that the sky tonight looked beautiful.

Shades of midnight, dark blue and violet perfectly mixed and illuminated by thousands of stars.

Damien's words echoed in my head.

Sometimes the books just aren't enough.

It made me think about how much I've missed. I've been so stuck looking at pages that I forgot to look up once in a while.

I looked at the stars and wondered about how different it would be if an astronomer only looked at a book than looked at the stars itself.

The same could be said when you read a novel. It's good to be lost in the thought of romance but it's different when you experience the romance yourself.