Glorified Flower Garden
Neither of them remembered what the movie was about. For the entire two hours both had been entirely consumed with the exact placement of the other’s body. Did she just move her arm to the rest? Did he just reach for the popcorn? When was the most opportune time to touch one another? And when he finally reached for her hand, slipped his fingers through hers and curled them into place over her hand, both lost sense of any reality beyond their two theatre seats and their hands linked together. He had never felt anything so electrifying.
When the credits began to roll and the lights gently rose enough for the patrons to dismiss, Cain regretted not taking her hand sooner. Time had run out so fast. Now they were busy gathering their trash and filing out into the harsher light in the theatre lobby.
When he asked her out, he hadn’t planned past the movie part. For one he was stunned she had even accepted. For another he almost expected her to come up with an excuse as to why she couldn’t go. But then a few hours earlier he found himself in his car taking the blue columbine lined drive up to her house to pick her up. The cancellation never came.
“So, um...did you like it?” He asked holding the door open for her to exit the building. Other lay moviegoers were asking one another the same question and giving their own opinions. Since neither of them had really watched the film it was almost as if he was asking whether she liked him holding her hand.
Half a second went by, “Yeah!” She answer enthusiastically passing by him and onto the sidewalk. “I did.” Akiko probably couldn’t name two minor characters from the film they had just ignored. But she liked the way he held her hand. “So what now?” She asked cocking her head at him and smiling.
Cain’s heart beat hard and fast while he racked his brain for what to do next. An idea - perhaps a bad one - entered his head. “Have you ever been to the botanical gardens?”
“Yeah! My dad and -”
His tail flicked around mischievously behind him. “At night?”
Akiko’s eyes rolled off to the side and then back to Cain as she realized what he was suggesting. “Aren’t they closed?”
The corner of his mouth curled upwards. “Yeah.” He didn’t wait for an answer but started walking along the sidewalk away from the theatre that would lead them to the botanical gardens a few blocks away.
Akiko huffed and trotted to catch up with him. Nervous butterflies tickled somewhere in her stomach. “Cain, what if we get in trouble?”
“We won’t.”
“How do you know?”
“I don’t. But I do know my dad’s a general and my mom’s a queen and that you’ve never been in the botanical gardens at night.” His arm suddenly extended out to stop her from continuing to walk. He rounded in front of her and took both of her hands. “Are you scared?”
Akiko gazed up into blue eyes that had more sway than they had a right to. She swallowed hard before saying. “No. Of course not.” She had been raised on a ranch a glorified flower garden at night couldn’t scare her.
“Then let’s go.” Cain tugged at her hands, his tail flicked erratically, and they continued their walk to the garden. This time he kept one of her hands in his.
When they reached the park, as one would expect the gates were closed for the evening. A sign printed with red warned No Trespassing.
“Can you climb that?” Cain asked of the minor fence that was posted to keep out trespassers such as themselves. He asked it as if challenging her.
“Of course!” Akiko replied exasperated and shoved him aside so she could take the fence first to demonstrate.
He followed after her and once he was over he grabbed her hand and whispered “‘run.’” Akiko afraid they had been spotted dashed away from the gate and ran hand-in-hand with Cain deeper into the dark gardens. They didn’t run far before Cain started laughing and stopped.
“What!” Akiko asked him. “What’s so funny!” She has half breathless and her voice sounded loud in the dark quiet.
He was gripping his stomach and laughing. “You were - so - scared.” He said between breaths.
“Cain!” She swatted at him with the back of her hand and he let the blow land against his chest. She wasn’t even that mad, but her voice pitched higher towards the shrill.
“Shh!” He warned pushing a finger over her lips. They were parted from her breathlessness and felt soft under the pad of his finger. “We’re being too loud.”
She shoved his hand away from her face even though she hadn’t minded the contact. “Don’t shush me.”
The hand that pushed at his was captured and manipulated until their fingers were locked with hands palm to palm. “You need to be quiet.” He warned again smiling now because it was all a game of flirting.
“Why?”
Cain didn’t know what came over him. None of his previous experience being himself would lead him to believe he could be smooth with a girl. But he heard himself saying “because.” He felt his own hand take her face and he pulled her close to him so he could press his mouth to hers. Akiko seemed to know what was coming. She responded as if she had been entirely prepared. As if she were one step ahead of him. Was this her plan all along? She sort of collapsed against him and threw her free arm around his waist. Their hands untangled so hers could go around his neck and his could find a resting spot against her spine.
At some point someone pulled away. They couldn’t keep going on kissing like that in the dark amongst flowers they couldn’t even see. At some point the sun would come up. Sometime sooner than that Akiko’s curfew would come due. They were both almost thankful for the cover of darkness. Both flushed and trying to suppress giddy smiles.
“Let’s keep walking.” He offered and took her hand again. It was getting easier to just reach for her. Each time was less scary than the last.
She didn’t say anything but leaned against his arm as they walked.
“I’ve never been here when there’s nobody else. My parents are annual pass holders.” He said to make conversation. “We come all the time in the spring and summer. My mom likes looking at all the flowers and stuff. Anita is like an encyclopedia on plants now.”
“That sounds so nice.” She mused.
“I hate it.” He said quickly so that he could go on to the point of his story. “I feel like people stare at me. One time, this kid pulled my tail and I, like, hit him a little bit. Just his hand to get it off me. And his mother started shrieking at me. That I had assaulted her kid. Like, he grabbed me lady. Maybe teach him not to grab people’s bodies, you know? Anyways, that’s what my dad said. He got all mad and confronted the lady. And then my mom swooped in and explained stuff and smoothed it over. It was so embarrassing. I didn’t mean to hit the kid. It just - like - happened? I reacted without thinking. Now I’m always super paranoid some kid is going to grab me again.”
Akiko’s hand tightened around his to express sympathy for his story. Her free hand rubbed along his forearm as she tried to soothe him. “That sucks.” This sounded lame to her even though Cain appreciated the sentiment. He appreciated that she listened to his negativity at all. “I know!” She chimed suddenly. “We could come one day together when it’s raining. Get umbrellas and rain coats and rain boots.”
“Why would we do that?” His question was incredulous.
“Because nobody would be here so we could enjoy the park during the daytime.” She smiled up at him.
“That’s emo as hell.” His remark was overly flat and unenthusiastic sounding which made Akiko deflate a little bit. He could feel her literally sinking down. “But it’s really sweet. And cute.” He bent down to press a brief kiss against her lips to make up for it. “The next Saturday when it rains we’ll have a super emo date here.”
She smiled into the kiss. “Okay!”
Somehow it had been established right then that they both wanted more dates with each other.
Bitch, I'm limited edition.
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