Even Heroes Have Scars

[66] La La Land

Demi's P.O.V.

My date with Ansley was everything I wanted and more. We went to a cute little restaurant to order takeout, where someone politely asked to take a picture with me, and then we packed the neatly-made food and drinks into a little picnic basket. With a new weather-proof blanket, we went to a little hidden area with a beautiful overlook about half an hour outside of L.A. to avoid the paparazzi. The media and my fame were not going to take this girl away from me; I'd already lost her once, and it sure as hell wasn't going to happen again.

We sat on the blanket in a secluded spot after our ten minute walk from the nearest road. Laying out the blanket, I placed the basket gently in the center of the blanket. We sat on either side of the basket, leaning back on our hands as we extended our legs in front of us, catching the sunlight on our faces. A gentle breeze swept her hair across her chest and over her shoulders, framing her face. The sunlight illuminated her eyes like they were blue stained glass, and my heart fell in love with her again.

"Wow," Ansley whispered, looking around at the overhanging trees and the view of L.A. down the mountain from us.

It wasn't quite sunset, a soft yellow hue sinking in around us as golden hour approached. The skyscrapers reflected the Toy Story clouds that drifted through the air above.

"It's beautiful," she said, still looking around at this small, hidden place I found a long time ago and never told anyone about; I wanted to save it for the right person, hating the idea of wasting it on someone I didn't truly love.

I smiled wide, not taking my eyes off of this gorgeous girl. "You are." Grass blades danced in the wind, and I grinned. This... this was bliss.

She cut her eyes at me, almost jokingly, and I realized what I said. She looked away from me again. "You're funny."

I forced a fake laugh, but it upset me a little that she said that. I wanted her to take the compliment. I wanted her to believeit. In her recovery, she was doing so well. She seemed so healthy now. But sometimes she would still turn down compliments. I leaned forward onto my knees and shoved the basket aside, to which she gave a confused look that I ignored. She crossed her legs in front of her to give me more room, and I immediately took her hands in mine as I scooted closer to her.

"You... are so beautiful. So beautiful. And I want you to believe me when I say that I'm not just telling you to make you feel better about yourself. Of course, I want you to know that you're beautiful, but I'm saying it because I mean it," I paused, taking in her features and admiring the feeling of our hands clasped together. "You are the strongest, amazingest, beautifullest, most resilient person I have ever met. You never give up, because you're a fighter. You're amazing. And I want you to know that and to believe me when I say it, because I don't lie to you, and you know that."

She blushed down at her lap as the breeze died down. She removed one of her hands from mine to tuck a few strands of hair behind her ear as she smiled. "Thank you. So are you," she mumbled, then looked up at me. "You know, amazingestand beautifullest aren't real words."

"Oh, shut up," I whined before leaning forward, grabbing her face, and kissing her.

It was our second kiss of this relationship. Well, aside from 2014. But I've decided not to count that because it was so long ago and because we're both new people now. And honestly? These new kisses have so much fire, so much passion, so much love and lust and admiration that they can't even compare to the old kisses. This one carried every emotion I'd been feeling for her since the last kiss. And before I knew it, she was laying down on the blanket, me on top of her with my hands cupping her face. But this was too fast, and I knew it. It wasn't too fast for me, but I knew it was for her, so I smiled against her lips, left a trail of kisses to her cheek and jawline, then slowly sat up. She remained laying down, where her hands left their place on my waist to cover her face.