The Grace In Darkness (40 page)

She ran her fingers through my hair, gripping the strands and pulling my head back. She ran her tongue up my neck and I groaned, pulling her hips against me.

“
Forever, right?
”
she asked, wrapping her legs around my hips and pushing me inside her with the pressure of her locked ankles.

“
Forever.
”
It ended on a sigh as she rocked her hips and the water moved around us in rhythm.

We spent the next hour in the water, and I had to practically drag Araya out all but kicking and screaming. I had a feeling this was going to be a nightly routine. I pulled her up the shore, and the night air chilled our bodies. She dropped onto the grass and pulled me down with her.

“
It
’
s so peaceful out here. I love it.
”

I plucked a blade of grass from the ground and twirled it between my fingers.
“
It reminds me of the first day I met you,
”
I told her.
“
Do you remember?
”

She smiled and turned her head toward me.
“
How could I forget? It
’
s the day I declared my hatred for football.
”
She pretended to scowl at me.

Laughing, I leaned over and kissed the tiny frown between her eyebrows. Using the tip of the grass, I ran it over the curves of her body.
“
I can
’
t find it in me to regret that football game, Hummingbird. Forgive me?
”

Her palm was warm against my cheek.
“
Yes, because I wouldn
’
t change it either. It
’
s the day you changed my life.
”

I tossed the blade and covered her body with mine. I braced my arms along the sides of her head and took her face between my hands.

“
You knocked me to my knees, Hummingbird. You gave everything reason that day.
”

“
I never expected you, Ryland.
”

“
Are you stealing my words?
”

“
More like borrowing.
”

“
Keep them. I plan on giving you more.
”

Leaning over, I kissed her.

Six months later...

I
leaned against the doorframe of our bedroom, watching quietly as Araya got ready. She wore a black lacey dress. It was one of my favorites... Actually, everything she wore was my favorite. She kept having to fix the straps on her shoulders because it wasn
’
t zipped up yet. Her hair was as wild as ever, and she had it over her shoulder.

She hardly ever wore makeup, but tonight was an exception, and it was flawless. She slipped into her heels and my attention was immediately drawn to her legs. I
’
d made her a new necklace and it hung around her neck.

“
Don
’
t you know it
’
s not polite to stare, Mr. Dare?
”
she asked, turning her head to the side to look at me.

“
You give a man no other option, Hummingbird.
”

“
Well, if you
’
re going to stare, can you at least zip me up?
”

“
You don
’
t have to ask me twice.
”

I pushed away from the door and walked across the room to stand behind her. I slowly brushed my knuckles down the length of her spine, enjoying her slight tremble. I pulled up the zipper to the center of her back and then placed a kiss between her shoulder blades.

“
Your temptation is strong, Hummingbird. I don
’
t know if I have enough control not to take you right here, right now.
”

“
I never have enough control to tell you no.
”

She pulled me to her and started to unbuckle my pants. We did it up against the wall, and I realized that lately we couldn
’
t wait long enough to reach anything farther than five feet in front of us. There wasn
’
t a doubt in my mind the way tonight was going to go, and I promised myself I
’
d make love to her in an actual bed tonight.

It
’
d been months since we
’
d had time to get dressed up and go out anywhere that didn
’
t have a drive-thru. Between our classes, Araya
’
s dancing, the few piano lessons I was giving, and Sebastian, we didn
’
t have time to do anything. Plus, we both felt bad going out and having a good time when Sebastian couldn
’
t, but tonight was an exception.

But when it was actually time to go in, neither one of us felt like it, and we joked about the last time. We joked about becoming the new Bonnie and Clyde as we sat on the hood of my car, eating hamburgers and fries. Araya informed me of her very detailed getaway plan.

“
You
’
ve surprisingly thought a lot about this.
”
I teased.

“
I have an endless imagination living in the dark.
”

“
It hasn
’
t been so dark in there lately.
”

“
True,
”
she said, dipping her fry in ketchup.

We didn
’
t talk about the fact that she could see color. She was afraid to jinx it by putting too much expectation on it. So she only allowed brief comments and few and far between.

When we finished eating, we took a short walk down by the busy shops. We walked hand in hand and at our own pace instead of keeping up with the busy night life.

“
Are you sure you don
’
t want to take off your heels? I
’
ll carry them.
”

“
No.
”

She shook her head and her hair fell over her shoulders. Lately, it was an obsession of mine, and I begged her to keep it down whenever possible.

“
It
’
s the first time I haven
’
t had to wear ballet shoes or flats, and I
’
m enjoying the height.
”

“
Plus, they do amazing things to your thighs and… other things,
”
I said, letting my hand trail below her waist.

“
Behave yourself.
”
She squirmed into my side.

A random store caught my eyes.
“
Let
’
s go in here!
”
I took her hand, pulling her inside with me.

“
Ryland! What is it? Where are we?
”

“
Good evening, folks,
”
said an older man with a feather boa around his neck, a fake chicken on his shoulder, and a crown on his head.

“
Hi.
”

“
Feel free to use any props you want and make sure to bring your ticket with you when you
’
re ready to check out.
”

“
Props?
”
Araya asked.

I laughed at the look on her face.
“
Not like that, Hummingbird.
”
I kissed her forehead.

There were pictures of different couples framed all over the wall of the store and props of everything imaginable in bins. We went to the back of the store where there was a photo booth. I tucked us into the small space and closed the black curtain.

“
Ryland, what
’
s going on?
”

“
We
’
re taking a picture.
”

I clicked through the settings on the large screen until I found what I was looking for.

“
Here, sit on my lap.
”

She sat down and I tried not to focus on how good she felt there.

“
You know, this is the first picture we
’
ve taken together.
”

“
Is that weird?
”

“
No, but I want to fix that. This is one of those photo booths where we can put silly borders around our pictures, and the first one we
’
re doing is a WANTED poster.
”

She laughed.
“
What
’
s the reward?
”

“
Five thousand.
”

“
That
’
s kind of insulting.
”

I laughed.
“
Okay, get ready. Make sure you give your best outlaw pose.
”

It counted down and snapped our picture.

“
What else do they have?
”
Araya asked excitedly.

An hour and twelve pictures later, we were leaving the store. I checked my watch and realized it was time to go.

“
One more stop before we head home, okay?
”

“
Okay. I
’
m having fun so I
’
m not ready to go home just yet anyway.
”

We pulled into the deserted parking lot thirty minutes later, and I ran around the side of the car to help Araya out.

“
Where are we now?
”
she asked curiously. It was too dark for her to see anything now.

“
Just wait and listen.
”

I unlocked the door and pulled her up. The sound was so overwhelming but soothing and reminded me of Araya.

She looked up at me and smiled.
“
Hummingbird Haven?
”

“
I thought maybe it
’
d be nice to come back here.
”

“
I
’
ve missed this place so much.
”

“
I thought you might.
”
I was starting to feel nervous and my stomach felt like it was housing a few of its own hummingbirds.

“
I wish I could hold one.
”

“
Maybe you can.
”

“
I don
’
t want to hurt them.
”

I moved to a small feeder by the door and opened the lid, scooping sweet, scented water into a small bowl, and walked over to Araya.

“
We won
’
t. Hold out your hand.
”

I placed the tiny bowl into her waiting hand and closed her fingers over her palm.

“
Let
’
s go over here.
”

I pulled her over to a tree, opened her hand, and lifted it between our bodies.

“
Just wait,
”
I told her.

Her face lifted and she stared up into the sky. I just watched her, wondering how I got so damn lucky. I couldn
’
t and didn
’
t want to image my life without her or where I
’
d be right now if I hadn
’
t decided to stay for that football game.

“
Have I told you how beautiful you are today?
”

Her gaze found mine and she smiled softly.
“
At least five times.
”

“
Only
five?!
”

“
Have I told you how much I love you?
”

“
Yes, but I
’
ll never get tired of hearing it.
”

“
I love you.
”

No sooner did the words leave her mouth than I saw a hummingbird fly between us.

“
Do you hear that?
”
Araya asked me.

“
It
’
s right between us.
”

It swirled around her hand, moving from one spot to another. Testing its trust in Araya. It hovered over her hand before it landed on her thumb.

“
I can feel it!
”

She didn
’
t move an inch. I wasn
’
t even sure if she was breathing or not, afraid to scare it off. After a few more seconds, it rose and fluttered off.

“
That was amazing!
”

I took the bowl from her hand and put it back before standing in front of her again.

It was now or never.

“
I have to ask you something, Araya.
”
I knew I had her attention when I didn
’
t call her hummingbird.
“
It
’
s probably the most important question I will ever ask in my entire life, and I only plan to ask this once and only ever of you.
”

I could see the pounding of her pulse and I knew her heart was buzzing to match mine.

“
Will you marry me?
”
I felt the need to rush on, afraid of silence.
“
I promise if you say yes, I
’
ll make sure you never regret this decision. I
’
ll never stop loving you, Araya. I love your beautiful heart and your beautiful mind and your beautiful soul. We don
’
t have to get married now or in a year or even in two years. But I want you to know that I
do
plan on marrying you and I plan on loving you forever.
”