Chapter 137: Just in Time (2/2)

I knew him: I knew the sounds he made as he moved around our apartment, the way he touched the pots and pans on tapped his finger against the table as he thought hard about something. I knew the words he would use and the way his brows would scrunch up when he was in deep thought. I also knew the sound of his breaths and his footsteps as he approached me. Always approached me.

The car unlocked and my side of the door retched open. I turned my head towards him and smiled a small smile.

”I didn't take too long, did I?” he asked. He paused for a second before quickly working on the blindfold on my eyes. I could sense his worry as I blinked my eyes open and squinted at him.

The waves of electricity behind my closed eyelids disappeared and I saw his face for the first time.

And then there was light: the words suddenly came to my mind. I blinked a few more times.

”You came just in time,” I told him. ”Not a second more than ten minutes,” I informed him. Because I knew. Because I had counted. But he didn't need to know that.

”I think I returned a little earlier than that,” he tried to speak lightly. He extended his hand to me, which I took with grace. ”Hop down, princess,” he commanded.

”Princess?” I asked curiously.

”Yes, princess. That's what I will call you all of today. To show my appreciation.” He leaned in and pressed his lip against my cool cheek. ”You need to be treated like a princess once in a while.”

I hopped down from the car and squeezed his hand.

”We're going for a walk in the forest?” I asked with excitement.

”Something like that?” he said shortly. He looked down at my feet with relief. ”It's a short hike, your shoes will do well!”

”I am Miss Practical, didn't you know?”

We chatted for the next few minutes, traversing through the narrow paths until I could see a clearing in the distance.

And light seemed to come through it. The sunlight had mostly disappeared and the angry red had given away to a purple and blue. When we broke through the trees, I stopped breathing.

I turned to him with shock. ”You…”

”Do you like it?” He asked casually. He dragged me towards the scene and I was left breathless.

I nodded enthusiastically. He had decorated the space.

In the far end, he had hung a white sheet and a screen was projected onto it by the projector. He had hung those battery bulbs around the little opening and spread a blanket on the glass. On top of it, all the pillows from his apartment were spread. Soft and warm. She even saw boxes of food and drinks left on a small mat on the blanket.

”This looks amazing,” I told him. I didn't know how else to say it.

”Then let's go enjoy a quiet night, shall we?” he grinned.

As I sat down, I looked around the scene. ”How did you find out about this place?” I asked him after he had poured me a glass of lemonade.

He paused his action and his eyes flickered to me. ”I didn't bring any alcohol because I need to drive and neither of us really drink. That's okay, right?” he asked me.

”It's perfect!” I reassured him. ”Now… how did you find this place?”

”A few years back we had to comb through this forested land to look for a victim.” He coughed. ”We found the victim alive in this meadow, living in a small tent with the perpetrator. Well, I remembered from that time.” He ran his finger through his hair.

I took a sip of the lemonade and burst into laughter. ”Thank god you didn't find a dead body here. That would have dampened the ambiance.”

Sebastian shrugged. ”Well, almost all places have seen some sort of death or the other. We can't be prejudiced against them!” he claimed.

”Indeed, we can't be prejudiced against places that have seen tragedy.”