Page 45 of Creep

“You believe in ghosts?” I asked.

Fuck, but was there anything this girl did that I didn’t find cute?

“You don’t?”

“Pretty sure I’m the scariest thing here,” I answered.

And that wasn’t an exaggeration. There weren’t any ghosts around, and if there were any fuckers about messing with my time with my girl, I’d fucking end ’em.

She eyed me up and down. “You think you can take on a ghost?”

Her face was dead serious.

I smirked. “Get out of the car, kitten. Or I’ll carry you in my arms.”

She crossed her arms over her chest as if debating whether I would do it.

I made a move to lift her out of the car, and she let out a small squeak, pushing past me.

I watched as she took in her surroundings before going to the back seat and grabbing the picnic basket. I stepped over to her and held out my hand.

“Ready?”

“No,” she grumbled, but placed her hand in mine, letting me lead her up to the small hill at the back of the crematorium. She moved in closer to me as we walked through uneven patches of grass and dirt, as if to seek my protection.

I let her hang onto my arm, stopping when we reached the crest of the hill.

I placed the basket on the ground and nudged her forward, following close behind her.

“Oh my God,” she breathed out when she finally saw it. The view of the city was sprawled out before us, the light glittering in and out. We were far away enough that once the sky darkened, she would be able to see the stars in the sky.

This place looked even better beneath the setting sun.

Had I been religious, I might have convinced myself this place was modeled after God’s heaven.

But I wasn’t a religious man, and if there were such a thing as heaven, I wouldn’t even be allowed close enough to see the pearly gates.

It would be a straight shot to hell for me.

“Wow,” she whispered, her voice reminding me of the sound she made just before she came.

Fuck.

“I like coming here when I have stuff on my mind. It helps me clear my head,” I said, bending down close until my lips touched her ear and my front was pressed close to her back.

She held still.

“Do you have a lot of stuff to think about?” she asked.

“Sometimes.”

“Thank you for showing me this place.”

“Of course.” I wrapped my arms around her from behind and pulled her in closer to me. She didn’t fight me. If anything, she seemed to relax further into me.

We didn’t say anything for a moment, just stood like that and took in the view. A gush of cold air blew in our direction, bringing us out of the moment. I pulled her over to the basket, opened it, and took out the few blankets I had stuffed inside.

She watched me as I placed one on the ground before sitting down and holding my hand out for her. There was still this hesitancy in her eyes, but it was diminishing with each moment we shared. Finally, she gave me her hand and let me pull her down to my lap.

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