Page 26 of Cloud Storm

“It was crazy being the eldest in our family,” he says. “My siblings were determined to give me a full head of gray hair and had they stayed at home longer, they surely would have succeeded.”

He laughs and I think about how different my family was. I had more siblings, but we were always silent, quiet, afraid to raise our voices. At home shouting was not allowed. Our father did enough shouting for the rest of us.

Our old farm home was as silent as a mausoleum.

Better to focus on other happy things.

“Look, they’re taking photos for a wedding,” I exclaim, trying to change the subject when we’re right in front of The Kiss statue.

I know, I know, it’s called Embracing Peace, but that’s not nearly as romantic. The Kiss is better.

The bride is dressed in a gown made of fancy ivory lace, the dream of every romantic girl and the groom—at her side—looks at her with utter adoration.

“Have you ever wanted that for yourself?” he asks, seeing that I’m quite entertained by the photo shoot.

“No, not really. I never allowed myself to have those kind of dreams.” A man who looked at me like that was never in the cards for me.

The only dream I ever had was being independent. Someone people could look at and respect.

“That’s sad, even a man like me can believe that love exists.” He was looking at the couple in front of us with his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. Is longing what I see in his face?

“A man like you?” That statement has my full attention.

He looks forward again, as if what he was going to say cost him a lot of effort.

“My parents were always unique, Ariel. It could be said that my father was at home by obligation, until one day he decided that his burdens were too heavy and simply disappeared. Then my mother lost the will to live. You could say she died the day he left. She was breathing, but her life faded away and she was unable to take care of us, so my aunt was forced to step in and take the wheel, but unfortunately she had her own issues to deal with.”

I have no idea how to respond, so I don’t.

“Even so, I hope one day a woman will come into my life and I’ll look at her that way. A woman who will be proud to be by my side, with my ring on her finger and my last name at the end of hers.”

Who would have thought? The Suit is a romantic.

“I thought marriage and happy endings were exclusively feminine fantasies,” I scoff.

“Well, that’s not the case, and anyway, why should only females dream of happy endings?” When he answers, I feel my cheeks heat with embarrassment. “Come on, I always wanted to take a tour across the bay in that Pirate Ship.”

Suddenly, sucking on my lollipop isn’t enough of a distraction, and I want to throw the damn thing in the first trash can I find.

It’s hot, even for this time of year, so we stop at one of the coffee shops on the pier to buy a couple of frappes before continuing with our walk.

Although I’ve been here countless times before, I’m always impressed by the surroundings. I love the salty breeze and even the seagulls standing everywhere. Lancelot buys the tickets for the tour and I feel like a little girl on her first trip to Disneyland.

The electricity between us is palpable. I can’t remember the last time I felt this. There’s something both strange and exciting about clicking with someone this intensely.

We walk in silence while we wait to board the wooden ship, simply enjoying the easy atmosphere, the sun, and the breeze.

Lancelot is preoccupied, folding and refolding a napkin, but I’ve got my eyes elsewhere. My focus is exclusively on the water, I need a distraction, damn man and damn the gravity that pulls me to him.

As if he’s been waiting for me to drain the last of my frappe, he gently takes it from my hand, tossing it in a nearby recycling bin and pulls me close to his hard body making me face him. Something magical is about to take place, I can feel it.

He places a rose in my hand, a flower made with nothing more than a napkin. And the simple gift squeezes my heart so tightly I’m finding it difficult to keep my heart inside my chest. It’s drumming hard. Beating just for him.

Suddenly the people who come and go around us have disappeared, we’re at the center of a deserted maze. There’s only us. Where the fuck has all the air gone? I feel like I can’t breathe.

Another of his superpowers, I guess.

My heartbeat thumps against my chest, because I know what comes next. He leans down until his lips, slightly open, touch mine and finally it happens.

---