Page 15 of Fight or Flight
“Claire, you look beautiful. And it was supposed to be a surprise, so I couldn’t exactly tell you, right?”
Aidan goes first to check if the pier is stable enough to sit on and then spreads out the blanket, waving me in to join him. He unzips his backpack and extracts two Tupperware containers and two cans of soda before giving me one.
Something about the fact that he knew not to bring any alcohol warms my heart. I still didn’t tell him about the fact that I’m bipolar or that I’m on any kind of medication, which I started to resume taking the day after we met, but he’s always so attuned to me. I noticed he stopped drinking whenever we were together. Which is most times, but I know he drinks beer with his gang.
“Hope you’re hungry because I brought some food.”
“Did you make it yourself?” I eye the pasta inside the plastic container.
Aidan winces, and his face turns slightly pink. “Nah, I wouldn’t do that to you. I got it from Hellie’s.”
“Oh, thank God because I’m starving,” I say and grab the extended fork from his palm before digging into it in appreciation. “Don’t get me wrong, but after your last attempts at cooking me breakfast...”
He grins and then shovels a big amount of noodles into his mouth with a shrug. “What better way to make your girlfriend swoon than giving her food poisoning, right?”
“Yeah, I was swooning, alright. All the way up to the toilet,” I giggle at the memory of puking all over Aidan’s bathroom.
Let’s just say his brother was not amused when that happened. But at least the whole group of men ran out of the house like the place was on fire, so we had the place all to ourselves for the day. Hence, this is actually a good memory. Still, I’m glad Aidan decided to play it safe when it came to food options for today.
“So, was this the surprise?” I lift my hand with pasta swinging from the fork.
“Nope, the best is yet to come,” he says proudly.
“Are we going to go skinny-dipping in the lake?” I guess.
His eyes light up, but he shakes his head. “We can. But that’s not the surprise.”
I tap a finger on my chin, looking around before I throw my hands up and resume eating. “I give up. I have no idea what the surprise is!”
“Patience, baby.”
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I’M SITTING COMFORTABLY with my back leaning on Aidan’s chest and looking at the calm surface of the water reflecting the last beams of the setting sun when something flickers close to the opposite shore. We’ve been here for over two hours, talking comfortably, eating and sometimes just relaxing on the blanket after a small make-out session.
“Look,” I point to the blinking light and then realize more of them appear closer to us with each second.
Aidan leans his head on my shoulder and kisses my neck. “Here’s your surprise.”
“Fireflies?” I say in awe and watch as a swarm of insects flies above the lake, illuminating the space in a weird choreography of appearing and disappearing light.
The view is absolutely mesmerizing, and I don’t know how long I’ve been staring at them before I turn to Aidan.
He graces me with one of his shy smiles that I am so familiar with now, and I can’t help but kiss him again.
“Thank you. This is the best.” I say against his mouth.
“I hoped you’ll think so. I wish I could shower you with gifts, and I don’t know... jewelry or whatever it is that women like, but I don’t really-”
“Shh,” I put a silencing finger on his lips. “It’s perfect, Aidan. I don’t want jewelry or things that money can buy. I just want these moments with you. Nothing else. This is truly the best surprise ever. Okay?”
“Yeah, okay,” Aidan relaxes and then grabs his backpack to extract something from the side pocket. “I wanted to show you something. Something that I’ve made.”
I hear the rustle of paper, and my heart speeds up even before he slips it into my waiting hand. Aidan grabs his phone to shine a light on the drawing, and my mouth opens in shock, unable to articulate my words.
It’s an image of me sitting on a pier and observing the fireflies above the water. My features are perfectly resembled, and the drawing seems so alive that I have to rub the paper between my fingertips to make sure it’s not a photograph.
But it wouldn’t actually make any sense. This just happened. I’ve never been here before.