“I trust you.”
We go slow. He leads me across a grassy slope.
Then one... two... three stairs to the edge of a dock.
“Almost there,” he says. “One more step in front of you, can you feel it with your foot?”
Beneath my shoes, the grainy path gives way to weathered wooden planks.
He stands behind me, hands guiding my hips.
Breath warm on my neck, he murmurs low in my ear.
“This is what I meant when I saidrealstars.”
???
The moment I open my eyes, I can’t tell where the sky ends and the water begins.
Embers caught in silk, the Milky Way stretches its fingers down toward the lake, brushing the water with silver.
I feel the universe fold in, delicate and vast, yet somehow entirely ours.
“Your painted sky,” I muse.
“Ourpainted sky,” he replies.
I smile softly.
“This is right above us at all times?”
“Always,” he nods. “But we can only see it when we leave the noise behind.”
And there on the dock, heaven engulfs me.
We let the night cradle us in its infinite hush.
“I've been dying to kiss you all day,” he says. “Can I just…”
Lips tease my neck, slow and deliberate.
I finish the sentence for him.
Hands seeking home, mouths warm in the cold breeze.
We find each other again, as we always do.
“Thank you for bringing me here,” I whisper.
“Well... you're a part of me,” he says. “Andthisis a part of me.”
“Ryan's Belt?” I grin.
“Ryan's entire wardrobe,” he laughs, raising a hand to the canopy above us. “The man clearly loves sequins.”
“Without a doubt.”
It almost seems unfair that we’ll have to close our eyes when we sleep.
