Page 44 of That Summer
She pointed to her right. “What a backyard view those people have. Imagine having an evening coffee there.”
A house stood about fifty feet away. A lonely tree stood on the wrong side of the fence. It seemed to belong to… nothing. And somehow she understood its loneliness. Close enough to be part of the landscape beside it, yet separated.
Lucas followed her gaze. “Ah yes. Years ago, along this chunk of land, there used to be three houses, but the cliff gave way and they fell into the river. If you look, you can see the edges of the driveways.”
She took a giant step back towards his car.
He laughed. “It was years ago. Like twenty or more years.”
“And you brought me here why?”
His head cocked toward the west, and a long finger covered her lips. “Shh.” He refocused his gaze to the west. “That’s why.”
Following his lead—hesitantly—she lifted herself up and sat beside him on the hood of his car. In the western sky, the blazing ball of yellowness hovered above the horizon casting its glow onto the scattered clouds. As his face was warmed by the streams of ambers and oranges, she couldn’t help but stare at him. The bright rays of golden sun highlighted his strawberry-blond hair with subtle hues of bronze. The brilliance lasted a few seconds, but long enough to hold her undivided attention.
“You’re not watching,” he whispered, breaking the spell.
Her attention turned to the setting sun—an orb of brilliance that didn’t hurt to stare at—the bottom portion of it already dipped below the tree line. All around the clouds reflected back streams of pinks, golden hues of yellow and the embers of a warm fire danced across the sky. It didn’t take long for the sky to change, and the pinks to fade into the mauves of twilight. The fading glow from the sun lost its lustre as it fell beneath the horizon.
“Wow,” she breathed, unable to find a better word. The whole event took less than five minutes, but it was the most incredible five minutes she’d spent in a long time. “That was… Wow.”
He leaned close, their shoulders rubbing together. “I know, right?”
“Why’d you bring me here?”
Even in the dim of twilight she noticed his cheeks fill with colour. “I wanted you to remember why you used to love sunsets. You said it was something you used to enjoy. In the before times.”
Yes, in the before times. Since then, she really hadn’t given it much thought. But maybe that was because the drugs she took erased any notion of wanting to find something pretty to watch for a while.
“One other thing,” he said as he hopped off the hood and reached inside the car. Taylor Swift began to play on the stereo. “Now, it goes against my better judgement to have this playing from my car...” He extended his hand as the melody sounded. “But may I have this dance anyway?”
A small part of her hesitated, but a larger part of her jumped at the chance.
She loved dancing.
So what if it was with Lucas?
After a sunset.
Beside a cliff-side scenic view.
Harmless, right? All day long she’d been hoping they’d go dancing, and here they were. Yeah, it wasn’t the bar, but still. She placed her hand in his and shuffled her feet. The music filled her soul as soon as she let it in. It had been too long.
The melody moved her and took over, making her movements instinctual and purposeful.
“You’re good at this.”
“I know.” She smiled, but had to admit, Lucas wasn’t half bad either. A little stiff, but with time, he’d be a decent lead.
One song played, then another. Peels of giggles and laughter mixed in with the chords. A slow song danced out of the speakers, and she spun herself into him, pulling him close. He responded by moving his arm from her shoulder to the small of her back as she lay her head on his chest.
“This is perfect,” his low voice rumbled.
His words broke the spell the music held over her.
Perfect?
Oh my god. This was wrong. The whole thing was wrong. She’s not supposed to be with Lucas, dancing in the twilight beside a car.