Page 117 of A Curse On Black Lake
“You stare at me a lot,” she breathes.
I chuckle and kiss her knuckles before dropping onto the ground. “Can’t help myself.”
She snorts and sits next to me.
With a grey-blue sky and my girl next to me, it might be the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen.
“This is beautiful,” she says, looking at the small dips in the land. It’s relatively flat, but there are trees throughout, and the grass gives the impression of rolling hills as the breeze blows. It’s always felt like home to me, despite what I’ve faced.
“I don’t know what it is about this spot that makes me feel connected to it. I know that probably doesn’t make a ton of sense, but—”
“It makes perfect sense,” she says.
I meet her eyes, and they’re peaceful, like a cloudy blue sky on a sunny day.
“Thank you for sharing this with me.”
“I want to share everything with you,” I tell her seriously, my chest taut with an edge of naked insecurity.
Eliana draws her knees up, resting her elbows over them. “I wish it could always be like this,” she whispers.
I don’t ask for explanation, giving her the space she needs.
“I feel a lot of things, but right now, the only thing I can feel is peace.” She looks at me. “Because of you. You keep me away from the edge, I haven’t fallen in because of you,” she says.
I lean over and kiss her temple. I want to tell her to cling to me, let me be her rock, but before can utter the words, she turns her head and leans in, our mouths meeting in a needy kiss, full of so many words unspoken.
I push her to lay down, as I position myself above her.
Those blue eyes make me forget to breathe and she grabs the back of my neck tugging me down. My heart pulls, and my soul trembles. I pull away to look at her again, memorize, internalize every detail.
The sun is almost down, and I know we need to go but I don’t want to.
“What?” she asks.
I shake my head, tripping on words filling my throat, looking at the way her hair cascades over the flattened grass.
She giggles and rubs her thumbs over my bearded cheeks.
“You leave me speechless most of the time.”
Eliana smiles widely. “You always have something to say, or grunt to me.”
“Not this time,” I rasp.
Overwhelmed.
I am entirely overwhelmed, and utterly helpless.
“It’s getting dark, we should probably get home,” she says.
Home.
That’s what she is to me. She’shome.
On our way back to the barns I look up at the sky and it’s cloudless, it’ll be a great night for stargazing. I don’t want this night to end and I’m anxious to make it last.
“I have an idea,” I tell her, as we walk up to the house.
