• New Horizon

         A rumble from the road awoke me from my slumber. The sun was decreasing into the ocean floor, covering the land with reds and oranges. I felt a soft hand on my bicep, pressing tenderly through the ride.

        “Sorry about that, honey. Did not see that pothole. I got distracted by the view. And the sunset, of course.” Her smile was brighter than any star and required no special glasses to see. I righted the seat up and yawned a bit as I looked at the road ahead of us.

          We were driving along the coast, the road not quite as crowded since we were driving during the off-season. Rolling green hills to our left side with cottages, farms, and the usual rural structures one would see in the countryside.

         “Are you trying to win me over? Cause it is working.” I smiled and lightly clutched her hand on my arm. It was going to be our third time going on a mini-vacation together and things felt absolutely genuine. The ease we talked, the banter we had, the physical affection we were able to show one another. It all came together so normally, it was scary. “Hey, I have a question for you.”

           “Oh, I love it already. Go on, ask.” Her excitement was giving my stomach a giddy-tickling feeling.

          “Do you think this is too much?”, I turned my head and towards the sun, even though I didn’t have my glasses on. I tried to cover my eyes with my hand as much as I could. “You know, spending this much time together. That we’re not seeing each other for who we are?”

         There was a slight pause from her, but a sly smile crept up her face. “I think this is helping us see each other exactly who we are.” She did not let down for a moment. Her energy was still high and prominent even as the sun kept crawling even lower under the horizon. “This weekend is about us, just being in the moment. And if we can take this with us even afterwards, it just means we got this,”, another slight pause, “…Well, whatever you call us at the moment.” Another smile, but less enthusiastic than the last.

           I grasped her hand more firmly and asked her to pull to the side for a moment. She did, thinking I had to go to the bathroom, even though that was slowly coming to my mind to do but afterwards. As she parked in a rest stop, overlooking the rest of the sandy coast, I grabbed both of her hands and looked her in the eyes.

          “I know this is unusual and unorthodox being we want to keep it casual, but I cannot deny this feeling I have for you.” I took a deep breath in, and let it out in spaces. It’s a risk to be vulnerable but a bigger one to keep those feelings inside. Like pretending to be a baker when you are actually the cookie monster.

           “Let’s make it official. Let’s be together.”

          A giant mirror reflecting fireworks could not reflect how bright her expression was. Her eyes glinted as water swelled, but with effort she held back, closing her eyes.

           “That…sounds great. Shall we sign off on the paperwork here or in the apartment?”

         “We can sign off right here in a way that works for us both.” We both smiled as we both embraced and kissed.

            The sun vanished from the horizon and the stars shone but not as bright as we did in that moment.

            And they never will.

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