50: Together

For a long moment we stay here, clinging to each other as if our souls just cannot get close enough. As we finally part, we return to our belongings, sitting down in the sand to watch the water sparkle. Silently, she scoots closer to me and lays her head on my shoulder, making my chest warm.

Can this night simply last a while longer? Even though I know we are still going home together, and we will see each other tomorrow, I want this night to last. I want to remain in this feeling of bliss with her. A feeling I hadn’t known until now.

She reaches over to my left arm as I hold it against my stomach and hesitates. “Can I see?” she asks. “I know you try to hide it, which is why you always wear long sleeves, right?”

I glance down at my arm, a restless feeling in my gut. If I could, I would make sure she never has to see the ugly parts of me, but I suppose that is futile. I slowly turn my arm, moving it closer to her.

As she leans forward a bit to reach out, I wrap my other arm around her back. Her fingers brush across the scar, sending my heart into the clouds. I watch silently as she gently traces along the lines burned into my skin. Her touch is all I can think about.

“You know, I’ve been thinking,” she starts, “You remember when I asked about why they chose that name for you? I wonder if it has less to do with fear… and more to do with power.”

Her words send me reeling. “Power?”

“Yeah, like as in you are powerful and strong,” she says. “Because dragons are always viewed as powerful, right?”

For a long moment I ponder over that thought, my chest feeling tight. “I did not feel powerful any time before,” I mutter.

She pauses and brings my arm up to hold my scar against her cheek. “I think you’re much more powerful than you realize,” she says and smiles up at me. “Who else could have endured so much and still come out in one piece? The fact that you’re able to keep going every day, that you’re willing to move forward.”

My heart skips a beat as she giggles. “I mean, you went and fell in love with a weirdo like me too, so you need to be strong for that I guess.”

I stare at her for a moment, some sense of pride welling up within me, a feeling few and far between. “If that makes me strong, you must be invincible for falling in love with me,” I tell her with a grin. “But I see your point since you like salt on watermelon.”

She puffs her cheeks out. “It’s good! But I guess it doesn’t help your case any since you’re terrified of cute little frogs!”

“Kawaii ja nai!” I say, shivering in disgust. “Kimoi!”

We laugh and I brush her hair behind her ear, slowly becoming more accustomed to touching her. “When did that happen?” I ask.

She purses her lips. “Mmm… Well, I’m not sure exactly. And honestly… The more I think about it the more I realize that it might have started early on. I mean, I always liked you, but it was like the more we talked and hung out the more I got to know you and then the more I liked you and it just kept snowballing. But the day I realized it was the day you carried me home when I twisted my ankle,” she says and blushes. “I was pretty much done for already.”

I recall that evening, the night she asked all those questions about me, and it finally clicks. “I am dense.”

We laugh again. She looks back up at me. “What about you? When did you start falling for me?”

As I ponder, I gaze into her eyes. “I don’t know. It grew slow until it was so much that it hurt, that I could not ignore it anymore. I did not know what it was until I already reached that point and found myself wondering about things I never did before… What it would feel like to hold your hand or hold you in my arms,” I say.

“At Christmas, my heart felt like it was going crazy… and I couldn’t figure out why. That whole night I felt different, like I was falling. And then on your birthday I realized what was happening. The idea of us being together was a dream to me. I wanted it to come true, but I was so afraid of it.”

She smiles. “It’s a dream come true for me too. How does it feel so far?”

I feel my face rapidly heating up as the thought occurs to me, my heart feeling like it could implode. “A-ah…” I clear my throat. “It feels good.”

Her face heats up to match mine and she giggles. “Same here,” she sighs and turns to look out at the water. “I just can’t believe I didn’t realize you felt the same way sooner. I wrote to you so many times confessing my feelings and then deleting it. I never imagined you felt the same or that it was scaring you so much. I feel like I let you down.”

I place my hand on her cheek, turning her to face me. “You did nothing wrong,” I mutter. “I… had a lot to work out with myself before I could face you with this. So, thank you for waiting and loving me from a distance. I… I will make sure to repay you for the pain you felt from it.”

“Shyba,” she mutters weakly. “I don’t know what to say. I-I don’t need you to repay me for anything. Just… Let’s be together. That’s all I want.”

I smile, her words feeding the warmth in my chest. “That was your wish,” I mutter softly. “I will grant it.”

Her tears shine in the moonlight, and I gently wipe them with my finger as she giggles. “S-speaking of the message… Did you delete it?”

I shake my head. “I am keeping it forever.”

Her face flushes and she is speechless. I laugh and reach into my pocket to pull my phone out. “I need to take screenshots of it before I forget.”

She snaps her head up. “Screenshots!?”

I grin. “Nicky can help print it so I can put it on my wall.”

Her face is on fire, her jaw dropping. The laughter overcomes me. She reaches out to grab my phone, though my reflexes are much faster than hers. We lock eyes and I watch the fire develop in her gaze, a sense of excitement welling up within me. Next thing I know she is lunging forward, and I spring away, laughing.

“Get back here!” she shouts as I pocket my phone.

The game is on as she chases me around, us laughing and splashing through the water. This goes on for a while until we forget what the initial game was as I hold onto her, spinning in the waves as she laughs. I set her down and she nearly falls over from dizziness, so I hold onto her, resting my chin on her shoulder as we giggle amongst ourselves.

I clutch her to me, my heart pounding so hard as if it can’t get close enough to hers. “Kiara,” I whisper. “I’m so happy.”

“I’m happy too,” she says, her arms around me as she snuggles against my shoulder.

For a long moment we remain like this until I pull back, looking at her as the moon illuminates her gorgeous eyes. “I do not know much about being a boyfriend, but I learn fast,” I tell her, her eyes tender. “I thought before that you would be better with someone else, but I want to be the one to love you. I want to be the one to have these moments with you. And I will be the best person for that job.”

She smiles. “We’ll learn together.”

I nod, smiling. Together. Wow.

Her eyes fleet away as she blushes bashfully, adorably clutching my shirt. I chuckle. “What is it?”

“U-um… C-can I kiss you?” she asks, looking up at me from beneath her lashes.

My heart throbs, recalling that night during Christmas, how truly amazing it was that she had kissed my cheek.

At my silence she gets flustered. “I-it’s just that you kissed me and so I want to return the favor!”

I grin. “What about Christmas?”

She puffs her cheeks out. “We weren’t together yet! A-and besides, you gave me two kisses, so I owe you one.”

I can’t stop the gentle laugh bubbling up. “So cute.” I lean closer. “If that is what you wish.”

My heart races as we stand here in silence, the only sound being our breaths, my heart drumming in my ear, and the waves gently lapping the shore. She draws closer and my heart accelerates as the distance between us disappears. As I feel her soft lips against my cheek, my breath wavers.

I am floating on a cloud, my mind only able to focus on her. Then she cranes her neck, kissing my temple close to my eye. My breath leaves my mouth, and she leans back, her arms still around me. I remain within a whisper’s distance of her.

“That was more than one,” I murmur.

“Oops,” she mutters, and a playful smirk appears on her lips. She leans up on her toes, planting another kiss on my forehead and then my nose before trailing little butterfly kisses across my cheeks.

My face could light a match and her little mischievous giggle could send me into cardiac arrest. I gently grasp her head with both hands, a chuckle escaping my lips before meeting her cheek. I fall into this moment, letting the river flow, letting nothing in but her and I. Gently, slowly I kiss across her nose to her other cheek, following the faint freckles across her face.

Her breath wavers and she clutches me tighter. This ache in my chest only grows as I tenderly nuzzle my face against hers, taking in this moment in its entirety. Though my mind refuses to calm. The only thing I can wonder is how soft her lips might be against mine. I can only imagine that she might taste like strawberries.

I can’t muster the words any louder than a barely audible whisper. “Can I?”

Her voice echoes mine. “Yes.”

Despite how utterly weak I feel at this moment, I don’t mind it at all with her. I never thought I’d allow myself to be completely vulnerable to anyone ever again, but here I am. And I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.

I linger over her, her breath wavering against my lips. She surrenders herself to me completely, allowing me closer, letting me tilt her head back just enough. As our lips barely whisper against each other, she clutches me, the softest whimper leaving her. And I can’t wait any longer. I close the distance, setting my heart ablaze. She really does taste like strawberries. And her lips, oh wow, her lips are so warm and tender. I never knew kissing her would feel this amazing.

We slowly part, gazing into each other’s misty eyes, not having known how this would make us feel. And silently we fall back together. We take our time as we kiss slowly, getting to know each other in this way, softly giggling and whispering amongst ourselves.

She sighs. “Guess we should start heading back now. It’s getting late.”

I groan. “Five more minutes.”

“That’s not nearly enough time,” she grumbles.

A smile melts across my face and I pull her head against my chest, holding her tightly. I tuck my head near her shoulder and whisper weakly, “I love you.”

She clutches me to her. “I love you too.”

We get home and find Reba and the girls in the living room watching a movie. She notices us and her brows lift in surprise. “Oh, I didn’t expect to see you both home at the same time,” she says, coming over.

Kiara and I glance at each other before looking back to her, my heart pounding in my ear. “We went on a date,” I tell her and look back at Kiara. “And now we are together.”

Reba grins. “It’s about damn time.”

“Mama!” Kiara squeals, her face turning all shades of red.

“See? I told you!” Jade says, shoveling popcorn into her mouth. “Just be together!”

“Yeah!” Harmony shouts. “We were gonna tell you, but he wouldn’t let us!”

“He said it was ‘complicated’,” Jade says mockingly, rolling her eyes. “Puh-lease.”

We glance at each other, both our faces fire-red. She snorts, trying to hold it in. I sigh, smiling. Then we are all laughing.

After showering, I lay in bed staring up at the ceiling, my mind going over the time we spent together today. I find myself unable to stop smiling from the excitement and pure ecstasy I feel. I can’t wait to hold her again tomorrow. After spending so long avoiding her, now I yearn for her touch.

My hands are over my face in utter bashful reminiscence as I toss and turn. I can’t help but crave the sweetness of her lips now that I’ve tasted them. I replay the moments we kissed and held each other. I never would have dreamed it would be so blissful or that it would have felt so… right. So natural.

Unable to sleep, I open my window and lay against the sill, my head against my arms. My cheeks are probably still as red as my eyes considering how cool the breeze feels on my face. “Kaa-San. Aneki,” I murmur, gazing up at the moon. “Ore wa kanojo ga iru.”

Then I look at my hand, reminiscing how it felt to hold hers as we walked along the tides. I smile and giggle pathetically, my heart throbbing. “Ore… suggoku shiawase desu.”

Translations:

Kawaii ja nai = Not cute.

Kimoi = Disgusting or ew. Shortened slang version of “kimochi warui”

Ore wa kanojo ga iru = I have a girlfriend (informal version). Ore (Oh-reh) is masculine version of “I”.

Ore suggoku shiawase desu = I’m very happy/I’m so happy

to be continued…

Part 2 coming soon

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Here's a sneak peek

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Part 2 coming soon 〰️ Here's a sneak peek 〰️

Shyba and Kiara are now a couple, and everything seems to be going well despite some inevitable bumps in the road. As the assassin Red Dragon continues rebuilding his life in the McRae household, questions still arise that he struggles to answer. Memories still haunt him. But it’s his lack of memories that bothers him most.

As the couple’s relationship deepens, Shyba struggles with intimacy and understanding his unfamiliar urges. But that’s not the worst of his problems as someone from his past comes knocking on the door. And worse yet, someone that had been under their noses emerges causing a lot of chaos amongst the McRae family, pulling Shyba and Kiara apart. Because of this, Kiara finds herself in a predicament she never thought possible that leaves her questioning her own feelings.

Can Shyba overcome his past and reconcile with himself? Or will the missing memories leave him shattered, unable to piece himself back together? Can love truly overcome all obstacles? Or will the wedge driven between the couple sever their bond?