Page 62 of Come to Me
I don't want to.
"This is silly."
"Do it anyway," he insists. He pulls me towards the side of the path, under the shade of a blossoming tree. "Now, close your eyes."
I do as I'm instructed. If this is what he needs, I'll try.
"We'll start with something easy. Think about tonight. What are you going to do?"
A smile creeps onto my lips. "You know what I'm going to do tonight."
He chuckles.
"I want you to imagine it vividly. Every touch, every kiss, every caress."
I'm sure I'm blushing.
"Do you see it?" he asks, his voice close.
"Yes."
"Now, let's move a little further. Let's try next week. Can you imagine what you'll do next Monday, on your next day off?"
"No." I try, hard, to imagine where I'll be next week, but all I can see is that apartment. I'll probably be lying in bed, dead tired, barely able to read my Kindle.
"You're thinking something. I can tell."
"I'll be in the apartment reading."
"That's a start." His voice is deep and soft, but there's an urgency to it, like there's something he's getting at.
Of course there's something he's getting at.
I'm not an idiot. He's asking about my future, but really, he's asking about our future. If I think we'll be together forever.
There it is again, that scary word. Forever.
I hate forever.
"How about next year. This time, next year, where will you be?"
I open my mouth to object, but I resist the urge.
Where will I be next year? What do I see? I'm not entirely sure. There are hints of something-- Luke getting home from work, slowly stripping off his suit, torturing me. We're in his house, our house, I guess. And we're going to eat dinner. But there's still a fuss, still all these questions, all this tension. We still can't manage to eat a damn meal without it becoming an interrogation.
Is that the future we're hurtling towards?
I open my eyes. "I don't want to do this anymore."
Luke squeezes my arm gently as he moves closer. "What is it?"
"Whatever this is, this self-help vision game, I don't want to do it anymore."
His frown deepens.
"Why not?"
"Because I don't like it. Why is this something we have to talk about right now?"
