He gets out and walks around the car to open my door for me. Silas offers me his hand, and my heart races as I place mine in his. He entwines our fingers as he pulls me along, frowning when he realizes that my heels are sinking into the grassy grounds.
He bends down slightly, and before I realize what he’s doing, I’m lifted off the ground and into his arms. He holds me close, his eyes briefly running over my body. I could’ve sworn I saw a flash of desire in them, but then it’s gone, and he’s striding forward with me in his arms. “What are you doing?” I whisper. “You don’t need to carry me.”
He shakes his head. “It’s a bit of a walk.”
I tighten my grip on him, reveling in his proximity. I allow myself to drink him in shamelessly, taking in his long lashes, the stubble on his skin, his strong jaw. His body feels strong against mine, his grip tight. I’ve never been this close to a guy before. “This is a first for me,” I whisper.
Silas looks at me and blinks in confusion.
“It’s the first time a boy has carried me in his arms like this.”
Silas chuckles and tightens his grip on me, his eyes on mine. “I’m no boy, Alanna,” he says, his voice soft and sexy.
“Oh no,” I whisper. “Does this count as putting myself in a dangerous situation?”
Silas smirks, and my heart skips a beat. It’s a lazy, intimate smirk, and it’s all for me. “Damn right it does, baby. Don’t you ever find yourself in another man’s arms like this, late at night with no one else around. No one butme.”
“Just you, Silas,” I whisper.
He stops walking, his eyes on mine, and I wonder if he can see me blushing in the darkness. “We’re here,” he says, but he doesn’t put me down.
I’m so mesmerized by his beautiful emerald eyes that I struggle to tear my gaze away. When I eventually manage it, I find us standing underneath a beautiful pink blossom tree. “Wow,” I whisper. The air feels fresh, and the breeze carries a soft floral scent. This place feels magical. I glance around, my eyes settling on the stone cottage behind us.
“Silas,” I whisper. “Are we trespassing?”
He smiles as he puts me down and places his hands on my shoulders. “Yes, I suppose we are.” Silas has always kept his distance from me, but tonight feels different. “Happy birthday, Alanna,” he murmurs.
He lets go of me and reaches into his back pocket, taking out a pink envelope. He holds it in both hands, his gaze downcast. Silas inhales deeply, and when he looks up at me, my heart starts to race. I’ve never seen him look at me like that before. His eyes are filled with every feeling I try so hard to hide.
“Alanna, there isn’t much I can offer you other than my friendship… but I’ve learned the hard way that the most precious things in life truly are free. Maybe someday, I’ll be able to give you diamonds and expensive flowers, but for now, please accept this.”
He hands me the envelope, and I take it with trembling hands. My heart is racing as I open the envelope carefully, not wanting to tear it open. Silas shifts his weight from one leg to the other, seemingly just as nervous as I am.
I gasp when I slide a birthday card out of the envelope, a portrait of me on it… except the girl in the drawing looks nothing like me… she’s far more beautiful than I ever hope to be. “Did you draw this?” I ask, shocked.
Silas nods and looks away. I’ve never seen him look so vulnerable before. “It’s beautiful,” I whisper. I open the card, taking in the simple birthday message in his handwriting. Instead of his name, it’s signed with the ψ symbol. “I love it, Silas.” My voice trembles, and I hug the card to my chest. “This… thank you. Thank you so much, Si. I don’t need expensive flowers or diamonds, Si. Nothing could ever beat this.”
He smiles at me and nods, but I see the insecurity in his eyes. Before I have a chance to even attempt to reassure him, he reaches back into his pocket and takes out a thin glass canister with paper inside it. “This,” he tells me, “is for next year.”
He tips his head toward the tree, and I follow his gaze. “My mother and I planted this tree over a decade ago,” he says. “Every year, my father would take me here for my birthday, to my mother’s favorite place. She and I had a tradition, you see… every year on my birthday, she’d draw me a picture, and I’d draw her one. We then put them in glass bottles and buried them. Throughout the year, we’d try to guess what the other had drawn, right down to the last detail. Whoever got closest would win a wish that the other had to fulfill. It was a silly competition, but it was ours.”
I look around again, seeing this place through fresh eyes. We aren’t trespassing at all, not really… this place should belong to Silas, and I have no doubt that one day it will again. “Si, that’s your tradition with her,” I whisper. “Something like that… you should share that with someone special.”
He kneels down in front of me and looks up at me. “Iam, Ray,” he whispers.
“Ray?”
He nods. “I’ve been calling you by your name for far too long. You need a nickname. I thought of calling you sunshine, but I’ve spent too many days in the blistering sun, desperate for a glass of water. You’re arayof sunshine, a ray of light, a ray of hope in an otherwise dark, bleak world. You’re enough to illuminate my path, yet I always want more.”
My eyes widen, and Silas smiles at me, his expression tender. When he looks at me like that, he gives me hope that someday, he and I could be more than friends.
Silas tears his gaze away and I watch as he digs through the dirt with his bare hands before burying the bottle, my heart racing wildly the entire time. He pushes the dirt flat onto the ground, securing the treasure he buried before brushing his hands against each other.
Si rises to his feet, towering above me, his eyes on mine. “Now you’ve got one of my firsts too, Alanna. You’re the first woman I’ve ever drawn a portrait of, unless we’re counting the childish doodles I shared with my mom. You’re the first woman I’ve brought here, the first one to have received a birthday card from me.”
I take a step closer to him and place my palms against his chest, my heart racing. “Next year,” I whisper. “Next year, I’ll bring a gift of my own too. I can’t draw, Si… but I’ll think of something.”
He smirks and places his hands on my waist, his touch far more intimate than usual. “I’m looking forward to it,” he whispers. Then he takes a step away from me, almost as though he physically wants to distance himself from me, and I sigh. Every once in a while, I catch a glimpse of what could be, if he’d let it… and tonight I want it more than ever before.