Page 20 of Forever Mine
“Good morning, Elijah!” Mrs. Landon calls from her tiny front porch, watering can in hand as she tends to her pots of zinnias.
She’s a sweet elderly widow who lives two doors down. Her son only visits on the weekend, so I try to pop in to check on her a couple of times during the week. She loves to play Rummikub and got me hooked on the game.
Slowing my gait, I lift a hand hello. “Morning, Mrs. Landon.”
“Running a little late?” She chuckles at her pun.
“Good one,” I reply, jogging in place.
“I thought so.” She smiles a toothy, dentured smile. “Going to make some Earl Grey and sit out back for a while. Today is going to be a beautiful day.”
“Enjoy,” I reply.
I wait for her to go inside before pounding feet to the pavement. Without Julien beside me to keep my mind occupied, it wanders to the big pronouncement he mic-dropped on me last night.Move in with me. It’s a natural next step in our relationship, not to mention, we’ve been cohabitating for months now. So why did I freak out?
I think the timing of it is what threw me. It would have been different if he had asked me yesterday or the week before. But last night after we saw Liz? I couldn’t trust that he was asking because it’s what he really wants or because he’s feeling guilty. If there is anything my man carries around his neck like a ball-and-chain, it’s guilt.
One of the myriad of reasons I love Julien is because of his heart. He cares deeply. He’s a fixer. The peacekeeper of the group. A guy with the biggest white-hat complex known to man. That kind of self-imposed responsibility can be a tremendous burden, crushing you until you suffocate. Julien was finally able to escape from under it. I got my boyfriend back. I don’t want him asking me to move in to be a knee-jerk response to Liz suddenly returning.
When I pass the large magnolia tree at the corner, I take a right onto Mayfield and cut through the park. I meter out timed breaths in counts of two and three. Inhale for two beats, exhale for three. It’s a diaphragmatic breathing trick Julien taught me that maximizes oxygen intake while steadying your heart rate, so you don’t get winded.
Spotting the trail that leads to the overlook, I pick up the pace. Exertion strains my quads with the burn of lactic acid buildup. The wind smacks my face and exposed skin, helping to cool me down as I sprint up the hill. I haven’t seen Julien on my way here. Fingers crossed that he sticks to his normal routine, and I’ll find him sitting in our usual spot among the wildflowers and long grass, waiting for the sunrise.
My breaths are heavy and labored by the time I reach the crest of the hill. Like a scene from a Thomas Kinkade landscape, the college town and university campus sprawl out before me. I immediately spot Julien sitting with his knees bent and holding his phone out in front of him. The first peek of morning sunlight shimmers in the distance, illuminating his serene profile and bathing him in a dewy glow that makes him even more captivating than usual as he looks out at the panoramic view before him, lost in thought. I approach quietly, reluctant to disturb the tranquil, picturesque moment where man and nature patiently wait for a new day to begin.
Hoping I don’t startle him, I sink down to the ground and fit him between my outstretched legs. Julien turns his head, a smile spreading across his face as he takes in my sweaty, disheveled appearance.
“Just in time.”
He reposes back against my chest, not seeming to care about my current state of ickiness, and continues to pan the skyline with his phone.
“I was recording the sunrise for you.”
I kiss the salt-dried perspiration on his neck, emotion clogging my throat. During our short-lived ‘Ross-and-Rachel’ break last year—a dark time in our relationship that I don’t like to think about—he would send me sunrises every morning.
SexyBoyfriend: Thinking of you. Missing you. Loving you always. Forever Yours.
When I opened the attachment, I recognized the location immediately. His special place on top of the hill. He had his camera pointed toward the sunrise. Birds chirped in the distance, welcoming the new day, and then I heard Julien.
“Wait for it.”
My lips wobbled with a smile, then parted in amazement as the sun crested, big and beautiful. Its light refracted off the thin clouds stretching across the blue sky, turning them pink and yellow.
“I want to experience every sunrise with you,” he said.
The phone turned, and his face came into view. He looked awful, like he’d been crying and hadn’t slept. Seeing him like that sliced me open—a million stinging paper cuts that dripped out my heartache.
“I love you, Elijah Michael Barnes.”
Once the sun pops up, Julien shuts off his phone and sets it to the side. He threads his fingers through mine and settles our joined hands across his stomach.
“This is a nice surprise. I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me, too. You may have to carry me back down. My legs feel like rubber bands.”
Imagine those wacky inflatable tube things you see at car dealerships. I think I may have also pulled my right gastrocnemius racing to get here. Hopefully, a few laps in the pool later will help stretch and loosen the muscle.
Easing out of my arms, Julien swivels around. His soft cock presses into my pelvis when he straddles my thighs. Those pewter eyes I love to get lost in steadily hold my gaze.
