Relentless Hope (Resilient Hearts) (23 page)

A warm fuzzy feeling moves up the walls of my chest, making joy blossom in places that haven’t seen a ray of hope in months. His answer is the best I could have asked for. I’m not ready for any declarations of love. Even if he made them, I probably wouldn’t believe him. But this, what he said, this I believe and it warms my heart so much it is about to burst in my chest.

“Thank you. That was really nice of you to say.”

He shrugs his shoulders. “It’s the truth.”

I put on another dress and look at my profile in the
dressing room mirror. This one is sexier, more daring than all the other ones I’ve tried so far. It’s a black dress that comes up to my mid thighs, with a cleavage that is lower than anything I would normally wear. I swirl around and check out the dress from multiple angles. It’s definitely more revealing than anything I’m used to wearing, but it’s done in good taste, and for some reason I feel like I want to push the boundaries of my own comfort for this occasion. I imagine the look on Aiden’s face when he sees in me in this dress and can’t help the smile that crosses my lips. I have a feeling he will like it, and that alone is enough of an incentive for me to choose the dress.

I make my way to the shoe department and look around to find some silver heels that match the color of the belt on the dress. A pair of silver stilettos catches my eyes and as soon as I put them on, I know I’ve found the perfect pair.

As I pay for the shoes and the dress, I can hardly contain my excitement over the upcoming evening. Aiden told me over a week ago to keep this Friday evening open, but every time I’ve asked why, he evaded the question. Last night, I finally convinced him to at least tell me how to dress. He simply said that I should dress nice. When I asked if I should wear heels, the sparkle of excitement in his eyes gave away the answer. I know he gets his first paycheck today and I have a feeling he’s planned something nice.

As the hour at which I should pick him up from work approaches, I feel more and more excitement bubble up in my stomach. When I finally pull up to his building, I can hardly control the huge grin crossing my face. He walks out of the door at the exact time, and slowly pivots his way towards me.

“Hey. Perfect timing,” he says, as he climbs up in the car.

“I know. It’s as if I’ve been doing this for a couple of weeks or something. I have it down to a science.”

A sad look crosses his face, as he releases a deep breath. “I know. I can’t believe you’ve had to give me a ride twice a day, every day for this long, but I promise I’m buying a car this weekend. I already have a couple in my mind that I want to go check out tomorrow.”

“Hey. That’s not what I meant. I was just joking. You know that, right? You should know by now that I don’t mind picking you up.”

“I know, but it still doesn’t make it right. You’re not my driver.”

“Okay, fine. Buy your own damn car, but you know you’ll miss this blue Prius pulling up to your building every evening.”

His warm chuckle fills the car. “I promise I won’t miss the Prius. Now the driver, that’s another story.”

I spin my head around to see the look on his face, almost hitting the car in front of me, when I get lost in his eyes. He’s said things like this here and there before, but every time he says another one, I’m still overtaken by surprise, my heart going on a wild roller coaster ride.

Even though, we’ve had a couple of talks about what he wants, his behavior still very much confuses me. One minute he is showing me affection, telling me sweet little things and the next he appears distant. He’s also done everything he can to stay away from me physically. It’s small subtle things, but I’ve noticed. When we walk next to each other, he puts just a tad of space more than normal in between us so our arms don’t touch and when we go somewhere to eat, he always sits across from me, so the table creates enough of a distance between us. But his eyes, those are another story. When he looks at me, especially when he has just blurted out something like he just did, his eyes tell me a completely different story. Those eyes show a look of longing that matches my own, and I don’t know which one to believe. Sometimes I think the longing I see in his eyes, is a figment of my imagination, reflecting my own desires back to me.

I’m so lost in my thoughts that I don’t even realize I’m auto
-matically driving to Aiden’s apartment instead of going where I’m supposed to.

“Why are you going this way? I thought we decided to drive directly to Grandpa’s house, so you can get ready.” His voice brings me out of my errant thoughts.

“Yea, sorry I wasn’t thinking.”

He raises his eyebrow. “Are you sure? It seemed like you were thinking a little too much. What’s on your mind?”

“Nothing. Just excited about tonight... So, you’re still not going to tell me where we’re going?”

A mischievous smile creeps up the corner of his mouth. “Nope, not yet,” he says, before his face turns serious. “Do you mind if I drive tonight? I wanted to rent a car but I figured you would yell at me for wasting my money on the first day I got paid, but if it’s okay I’d play the driver tonight?

“Of course.”

Aiden takes my car keys when we get to the house and disappears shortly thereafter, promising to come pick me up in about thirty minutes. I rush to my room to start putting my make up on. I decide to go with a light natural look applying an eye shadow that brings out my black eyes and a nude lipstick. I put my hair in a loose braid that I bring over one shoulder. As soon as I put my dress on, I hear a knock on my door.

“Hold on one second,” I yell at the closed door, as I scramble to quickly put my shoes on. I want Aiden to see the whole outfit when he sees me.

I turn the door knob and push the door all the way open. Aiden is standing on the other side, holding out a box in his hand when he sees me.

His eyes get big and he gulps quickly, but I notice his hands turning to tight fists, the mixed signals once again confusing my senses.

“Wow. You look…you look amazing,” he says, as he hands me the box. “This is for you.”

I take the box from him and examine the top to see it’s a box of my favorite chocolates. I only mentioned in passing once that I like this chocolate. I can’t believe he remembered it, let alone go into the trouble of getting it for me tonight. “Aiden–you didn’t have to get me anything.”

“I know, but I wanted to. This is for you too,” he says with a shy smile, as he hands me a single red rose. My eyes jump to his in surprise.

“Aiden. What is this? Is this… Is tonight a date?”

“Tonight’s about you, Aleah. It’s whatever you wanted it to be. I just want to make you happy? So, what do
you
want tonight to be?”

My hearts flutters, as butterflies soar in my belly. Of course my heart wants tonight to be a date, but the nagging voices in my head are still too strong to let my heart win.

“Let’s just see how it goes,” I say, as I let my cowardness speak for me.

“Okay. You may want to bring some comfortable shoes and a jacket, just in case.”

“Where are you taking me that requires comfortable shoes?”

“Oh, Aleah−always impatient. I told you, you’ll find ou
t soon enough.”

Aiden leads the way to the car, stopping at the passenger side to open the door for me before rounding the car and taking the driver’s seat.

“How hungry are you?” he asks, as he buckles his seatbelt.

“Not that hungry yet. Why?”

“Will you be able to wait a couple of hours?”

“Sure.”

A huge grin comes across his face, the joy radiating from him making me giddy. We chat comfortably during the drive talking about our day and things here and there. As I notice him driving towards north and bypassing the downtown and Hollywood areas, my curiosity grows.

“Where are we going?” I finally can’t help asking again.

“Patience, Aleah, patience. You’re going to learn to be patient.”

“Arghhh…the anticipation is killing me.”

“Good… It’ll make it that much more exciting,” he says with a smirk. I keep quiet, but as soon as he exits the freeway and I see the sign, I squeal in excitement.

“The Griffith Observatory? You’re taking me to the Griffith Observatory?”

The smile on his face tells me my guess was correct. The overwhelming sense of joy I feel at his thoughtfulness threatens to bring tears to my eyes. I mentioned to him once that I was into starts as a kid, but I’d never made it to the Observatory, and we are here tonight fulfilling my childhood wish.

We walk up the stairs when we get there and go directly to one of the outdoor terraces to see the view. We get there as the sun is setting over the L.A. sky and the view is simply breathtaking. Aiden puts his arm around me as we lean on the railing to take in the view in front us and I can’t help but lean into him. I place my head on his shoulder and get a waft of his smell, and it’s enough to make me get lost in his intoxicating scent.

I feel all my senses slowly losing control. Every cell in my body is drawn to his, the pull so strong that the strongest of forces will have no chance against it. I turn my head slightly up to gaze into his eyes and see every bit of the emotions running through my body reflected back in his sparkling eyes.

At the moment, the urge to lock my lip with his is so powerful that it washes away every ounce of fear and second thought in my mind. I let my body get pulled to the magnetic force, as I turn my head up to slowly touch my lips to his. At first, it’s the softest of touches. Just a sensation of one pair of lips against another, but the havoc this slight touch wrecks to every nerve in my body has the force of a tornado.

Aiden moves his lips slowly against mine in a sensual rhythm that has butterflies dancing in every corner of my stomach. It’s a slow tender kiss, but it’s packed with so much emotion that it makes my knees go week. He brings his hands up to cup my face running his fingers gently on my cheeks and I feel every last bit of the walls around my heart crumble into a million pieces at my feet. I know at that moment that there is no denying I’m falling hard for this man, the realization both exhilarating and frightening.

The kiss goes on for a long time, as if neither one of us can bear to break the connection we’ve finally made. Aiden finally pulls away. He ends the kiss by placing a small butterfly kiss on the corner of my mouth and then kissing the tip of my nose and the side of my forehead. I melt into his embrace, cradling my head into his chest as he wraps his arms tight around me. “Wow,” I whisper into his chest. “That was just, wow.”

“I know,” is all he says in response. We stand like that for a long time soaking in the blissful peace that has come between us after the explosive kiss we just shared. When I finally lift my head up to look into his beautiful eyes, his tender smile takes my breath away. He bends to place another kiss on my forehead, as he runs his fingers gently through my hair.

“You ready to go check out the telescopes?” he asks.

When I simply nod my head, he grabs my hand, lacing my fingers through his as he leads me to the line for looking through the giant telescope. As we stand in line next to each other, I take notice of how my senses are attuned to his every move. Every gentle sway of his body, every turn of his head makes my heart rate quicken and my body crave more of his touch. He brings his hand up to gently run his fingers across my back. The touch is featherlike gentle, but it makes goose bumps form all over my skin. I lean into him once more and he places a kiss on top of my head.

We stand like that lost in each other’s gentle touches until we get to the front of the line. Aiden helps me get positioned correctly to view through the telescope, and when I do, the view of the stars takes my breath away. I catch a glimpse of a large star surrounded by a few smaller ones.

“I think I see one of the planets, and a few of its moons. What is that?”

“That must be Jupiter,” one of the guides responds.

“Oh, my God. That’s incredible,” I can’t help exclaiming. “Aiden, you have to see this. Come look through this.”

He gives me a smile that makes my breath hitch. “I love the look of excitement on your face right now,” he says, as he slides in front of the telescope.

“Do you see it? The giant reddish one.”

“I do. It’s beautiful, but not as beautiful as you,” he whispers, as he turns his head around to face me. The simple statement brings butterflies back to my stomach.

We walk hand in hand outside, scrolling through the grounds, basking in the incredible views of the L.A. night sky and enjoying our nearness to each other. We stop at a couple of other smaller telescopes to check out the views, stealing small kisses here and there, as we walk around.