Page 97 of Mayhem
The city surroundings faded, and the sun was setting on the horizon. She saw a sign for a state park several miles off and wondered if that was where they were taking her. She didn’t have to wait too long to find out as they pulled off onto the exit fifteen minutes later.
They soon pulled into a parking area that housed several other cars. Erin leaned into Paetyn as Cruz came around the car.
“Neither of you are dressed for a hike,” she teased.
“You aren’t either, Maly,” Cruz responded, running his fingertips against her slightly exposed midriff. “But we aren’t hiking.”
“What are we doing?”
“You’ll see,” Paetyn responded.
She took Cruz’s hand, and Paetyn wrapped his arms around her waist as they headed to the trail. The walk was quick, and they came to a circular pit with seating. It was artificial, with concrete stairs that led down the different levels.
Several other people were there, but it didn’t take them long to find what Cruz deemed a good spot.
“Are you ready for your opening, Angel?”
“I am. I’ve been doing a lot of social media advertising, and Alijah put up some flyers at her gallery. I’ve been getting a lot of interaction on my advertising posts, and I think I’ll have a good turnout.”
Her men and her friends would be there as models for her work. While it was apparent through pictures what her skill level was, she knew there was nothing like seeing it firsthand. However, since Alijah’s tattoos were in places typically hiddenwhen wearing clothes, the only one she’d be showing was the dream catcher on her side that Erin had given her a couple of years ago when she’d first started dating Kieran.
They continued to talk until the sun had gone completely down, and Cruz placed his finger under her chin, tilting her head to look up at the sky. Erin couldn’t contain the smile that spread across her face.
The stars were bright without the city lights drowning them out, and she felt nostalgic. Laying out and looking at the different constellations had been something her family used to do together. A tradition her mother and father kept with her after her sister passed, and one her father still participated in with her when they visited one another.
Looking at the stars and finding the constellations never failed to cause a pang of sadness, but it was often overshadowed by the memories of the time she was able to spend with her family.
“Thank you,” she stated, bringing her attention to Cruz and kissing him softly before doing the same to Paetyn.
She wasn’t sure how they knew, but she shouldn’t have been surprised that they’d discovered her love of stars or brought her somewhere she could enjoy them unfiltered.
Cruz watched Erin take in the sight of the night sky. The stars were brighter than they could ever be seen from the city. The smile that blossomed on her face made his chest tighten, and when she thanked them quietly, lips pressing softly to his, he realized if no one else thanked him for anything in his lifetime, that would cover them all.
He wasn’t sure why she enjoyed the stars or if it were just the night sky, but he’d caught her stopping to gaze at it anytime theywent somewhere at night. So he wanted her to see it away from the city, away from the lights that drowned out the brilliance, and enjoy it.
Erin leaned against the row behind them and stared at the stars. Cruz shifted, propping his elbow on the same row.
“When I was younger, my family and I used to lay outside several times a month and look at the stars and identify constellations once we’d learned them.” She paused for a moment. “My sister originally wanted to learn about them, and I was always interested in what she was. So, she taught me as she learned, and then we pulled our parents in. We started a tradition of having nighttime picnics while we looked at the stars. My father and I still do sometimes.”
Cruz understood. She still enjoyed it because it held good memories. Instead of stopping or avoiding doing it as she told him she had with kite flying, she’d decided to hold on to it and allow it to comfort her instead of cause pain.
He couldn’t imagine how difficult that may have been for her at first. The only people he’d ever lost were his grandparents and Paetyn’s grandmother, but they hadn’t seen them much since they lived in their heritage countries, and Cruz didn’t know his father, so there was nothing lost there.
Cruz enjoyed the way Erin opened up to them. Their relationship was still new, barely four months in, and sometimes, it took longer for that to happen. After she told them she suffered from a fear of being abandoned, he thought it would take her longer, that she might still be afraid to open up. However, now and then, she would give them a glimpse into a more vulnerable side of her, and he took it as a sign that she believed what they’d told her.
“We can do this as often as you like, Angel. We can find new places each time.”
Cruz watched Erin shift her attention to Paetyn, that smile on her face again. “That sounds like fun.”
“I can’t say I know much about stars,” Cruz said. “You, Paet?”
The other man shook his head. “Can’t say that I do.”
“Will you show us some constellations, Maly?”
Erin nodded before searching the stars momentarily, then pointing out the first one.
Several hours later, Cruz slid his arm slowly from under Erin and slipped out of bed. He went downstairs to the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, and leaned against the counter, drinking it slowly. He was only alone for a few minutes before Paetyn entered the kitchen.
