The stars are on full display, giving me a perfect view of the Milky Way and the North Star.
I briefly wonder if my parents are admiring the same sky, wherever they are on the ocean.
A crunch of footsteps startles me, causing my gaze to shoot towards the entrance of the garden.
Canon emerges past the trees, the moonlight casting a beautiful glow on his skin.
“Hey,” is all he says as he walks up towards me.
“Not allowed to talk to strangers,” I reply, turning my gaze back to the sky.
“Sorry for going ghost. Just had a lot going on.”
I look at him with my lips pressed together and just nod. “All good. You don’t have to explain yourself to me. The beach was a mistake that won’t happen again.”
I stand up from where I’m sitting on the bench, brushing past him to get to the exit. He grabs my wrist, sending an electric current up my arm that stops me in my tracks.
“I know I can’t take back these last few days but let me at least make it up to you.” His voice is rough and deeper than normal. My knees want to buckle at just the sound of it.
“Why?” I ask, genuinely curious and confused.
“Because I want to.”
I blow out a deep sigh and lightly pull my wrist from his grasp. I turn to face him and cross my arms. “What’d you have in mind?”
His smile slowly builds, making him resemble the joker.
“Follow me.”
He starts walking towards the woods and I send up a silent prayer, hoping that he’s not about to kill me.
“Where are we going?” I ask as he turns on the flash on his phone.
“You’ll see.”
Suddenly, we’re at my ground-level tree house, she-shed combination. There’re lights on inside, and I never leave the lights on. This means someone has been here.
“What the —" is all I say as he pushes the door open to my private escape shed.
There are flower petals all over the floor with matching flowers in numerous bouquets all over the room. There are pizza boxes and fries on the table in between my bean bags, with a projector set up, pointing at the wall.
“I figured we could have dinner and a movie in one of your favorite places.” His hands are in his pocket and his vibe is so nonchalant like he didn’t just shake up my world.
“This is…beautiful. Thank you.” The flowers and the fact he got access has Amy written all over it.
“Ame picked up the flowers for me and gave me the key. I hope you don’t mind.”
“This is the only time I’ll let you get away with it. Next time I might actually kill you,” I wink at him, and he smiles.
“Dinner and a movie. Amy must’ve told you I love to binge watch stuff while eating greasy foods.” I plop down on one of the bean bags, getting comfortable.
“Nope. It’s something I like to do, and something told me you would too.” He takes a seat on the bean bag next to me and hands me a pizza box. “One for you, and one for me.”
“A whole pizza? Amy definitely told you food is my love language.”
“Love language?” He chuckles but looks genuinely confused.
“Yea, you know how people express and take love in different ways. Like physical touch, words of affirmation, quality time, yadda yadda. Mine is food.” I take a bite from the meat lover’s pizza.