The Gifted

Dan

The moment everyone yells, "One!" I take a hold of Blake's hand and run out the door.

"What?! Wait! Dan! What are you doing?!" I laugh as I hear her say this and run towards the curb. I quickly take out my key and put my thumb so my motorcycle can transform. I look back and smile knowing they haven't noticed us run out.

"C'mon!" My heart skips a beat as she doesn't hesitate and jumps behind me. I do a happy hoot and she laughs; my favorite sound. And we're off into the sky.

"Hang on tight!" I yell behind me. "We're already late!" Blake does a loud hoot and I whisper to myself, "Wait until we get there, pretty girl."

"Why are we at the beach?" Blake asks as she looks under our feet the gray sand and the dark blue water.

I smile at this and say, "You'll see." I slowly make my way near a hill. I help Blake get off and I quickly make my motorcycle go back into its key. Once I pick it up from the ground, I take a hold of Blake's hand and start towards a corner of the hill.

"Wait." I stop and watch as Blake looks down at her high leather boots. "They're high heels. I can't just run in these. Plus, I don't want to ruin its brown color with the sand. Christina's gonna--"

"Then take them off!" I say with a wide smile. We share a chuckle as Blake agrees and takes off her boots. We stare at the shoes, not knowing what to do with them until Blake just throws them over her shoulder and takes my hand again. Together we run around the corner of the hill with giggles.

I stop and look back only to see the reaction I guessed when she sees my secret place. Her jaw is wide in surprise and her eyes shine with wonder.

The arch of rock from the hill next to us surrounds the place and helps us see one part of the city. The brightest part where the Presidential House is seen. Blake looks up at the moon and says, "Wow. H-how did you find this place, Dan?"

She gives me her sweet smile and I chuckle. I put my hands in the pockets of my suit pants as I stand beside her. I made sure to leave my suit jacket so just have my vest. I pull up the sleeves of my white buttoned shirt and close my eyes at the sound of the waves around us.

"This has always been my secret place. The sound of the water and the wind helps me think."

Blake gives me a smile when I open my eyes and says, "Thank you, Dan, for bringing me here. I have never seen a place so beautiful like this!" Her loose dress moves with the wind and her hair blows back. She kneels down and starts to touch the clear water with the reflection of the moon on it.

"I've seen something much more beautiful than this," I say looking down at her.

"Oh yeah?" Blake says without looking up from the water. "Take me there next."

"We're already here. I'm looking at it right now..."

Blake looks up and her expression changes into a soft surprise when she notices my eyes on her. She stands up and we are so close.

But I tell myself not now as I look out into the view from this hill and point towards the Presidential House. "Look! It's about to start!"

Blake looks to where I'm pointing at, and the fireworks start to paint the sky with neon colors. Blake and I share wide smiles with the beautiful images in front of us. Some fireworks create words while others are just a mixture of figures. I can feel Blake's hand find mine and I look at our interwined fingers.

"Look at that one!" she says, distracting me from looking at her. "That one is so beautiful. Look how it fills the sky with colors! Are my sisters seeing this?!"

"Unfortunately, no," I say. "But I knew this place would be a perfect view."

"I wish they could see this."

I give her a gentle squeeze with a reassuring smile. She looks back at me and in her brown eyes reflects the colors from the fireworks. "Don't worry. They show a quick clip of it tomorrow on television. But I thought that I would rather watch this with someone than watching it alone.... again."

"You could've chosen anyone, Dan. Why didn't you take your brothers? I know Christina would have loved this..."

"Because I said to myself that I would only take someone special. Only that special person would know my secret place. I don't want anyone taking over this place."

Blake turns around to face me when she hears this. Our hearts are in line and nerves start to creep in. I quickly clear my throat and say, "Blake. I--"

But the only thing I feel now is the soft touch of her lips on mine when she takes that a leap of faith. Her lips have a salty taste because of the ocean breeze around us. Fear is the first thing I feel. I know she has uncertainty as well as we end our kiss so quickly.

Then she looks at my eyes one more time as she tries to say something. But before she can continue with her sentence, I close the distance again. I'm finally convinced to take that leap of faith as well.

We're finally convinced that this isn't just a passing feeling. It's true as the sound of the waves combines with the booming sound of the fireworks. But nothing shines brighter than us. Her hand lets go of my hand and she wraps her arms around my neck as she tastes my lips. I let my arms wrap around her waist and bring her closer.

Finally....our hearts are at rest from all those times we pretended like nothing was in between us.

At last we know this is what really matters as she guides me to a small spot where there's water and we splash around. Our laughter joins in with the dancing breeze. We dance along with it. We copy the way the waves kiss the sand and splashes against the rocks. We're young and fearless. We're strong again, and we don't need the past or abilities to get in the way of our happiness.

Finally....the idea of a new year isn't so scary anymore.