Viktoria's Secret

“I’ll be back later, moder!” I yelled to my mother as my feet took the steps two at a time. I held onto the banister to balance me as I took large strides, the biggest I could take with my average length legs.

“When will you be back?” She replied from somewhere in the kitchen. I shrugged to myself, though I know she couldn’t see me.

“I dunno,” I replied, now at the bottom of the steps.

“Well where are you going?” She asked again, appearing in the doorway of the kitchen, drying a bowl with a tea towel. I shrugged again, slipping on a pair of bright yellow flip flops.

“Dunno,” I replied shortly. “Älska dig, adjö!” I called over my shoulder at her before opening the door and skipping down the pathway, closing the door just in time to suffocate the sounds of her scold.

Naturally, he was leaning up against the car his parents had just bought for him, waiting for me. He smiled at me sweetly as I got closer, pushing himself off of the side of his car, and then he wrapped his arms around my shoulders tightly, forcing me into his chest.

I inhaled his intoxicating scent, and I felt my mind work in overtime to process coherent thoughts. I took a deep breath, taking in the musky smell that I would always be able to match back to him, and only him. His hands rubbed up and down my back, giving me tiny goose bumps in the chilly night just before he pulled away. I almost groaned in protest, but I knew what was coming next.

Patrik delicately tilted my head up, with his two first fingers under my chin. I didn’t have the time to look into his deep blue eyes that matched the bluest ocean waters before his soft lips were caressing mine with sweet and innocent passion.

I smiled to myself with my eyes closed in bliss as he pulled away.

“Hey,” he greeted me breathlessly with his eyes focused on my lips he before pressed his lips to the corner of my mouth for just one more perfect short kiss. I grabbed onto both of his hands, steadying myself as my knees went weak, just like they always did.

“Where are we going?” I asked him, looking up at his significantly taller frame. He was basically a giant compared to me. He grinned down at me as he swung our hands at our sides, sending a new wave of butterflies fluttering towards my ribcage.

“I figured we could go down to the dock,” he started, “you know, make fun of people who are less fortunate looking than ourselves.” I laughed, earning another grin from him.

“That sounds like a fantastic idea,” I said with a nod. Patrik’s brilliant eyes drifted past me. He raised his eyebrows.

“I don’t think your moder agrees,” he informed me, nodding towards the house. I barely craned my neck to look back, seeing my mother in the window watching disappointedly. She immediately disappeared, pulling the curtains back into place. I sighed, turning back towards Patrik. “She hates me,” he insisted. I sighed again, shaking my head from left to right a few times to get the point across.

“She doesn’t hate you,” I argued, “You’re just stealing her little girl away.” Patrik smirked at this for just a split second before he let go of one of my hands and led me to the passenger’s seat.

“Well I get that, but you realize we have been together for, what, almost three years? You think she’d get over that by now and figure out that I’m not letting you go,” he laughed a bit. I smiled before I shrugged.

“I don’t think she’ll ever be okay when her seventeen year old daughter is out all night with a mischievous boy like you,” I teased as he closed the door on the driver’s side, looking over at me as he put the key into the ignition. And that heart attack inducing smirk tugged at his lips naturally.

“You’re almost eighteen,” he pointed out, pulling out onto the street. I nodded, my birthday plans suddenly flooding my mind. As he laced his fingers through mine, I suddenly forgot about what kind of alcohol I preferred to drink on the night of my birthday.

“How was practice?” I asked him, semi interested. He nodded to himself.

“It was good, very tiring though,” Patrik began. He looked over at me with a grin as we stopped at the light. “I just wanted to come spend time with you, though.” Patrik knew hockey was never my strong point. It just didn’t stick out to me, with neon lights and arrows. I just didn’t care too much. But for Patrik, I would grin and bare it.

“Suck up,” I mumbled as he lifted our intertwined hands to his lips, pressing a kiss to the back of mine. I laughed a bit, leaning up to turn up the radio a bit as one of my favorite songs came on.

“Why would I need to suck up? I already have you, right?”

“Not for too much longer if you don’t clean out your car,” I told him, kicking a random paper bag from a fast food joint that was laying by my feet as I unfortunately got a whiff of his hockey equipment in the backseat. Patrik just shrugged, keeping his eyes on the road as he drove through the city.

Soon enough, we were at the docks of Lake Mälaren that flowed through Västerås. Patrik’s forearm brushed against my shoulder as we walked slowly, looking into setting sun over the water.

A boat’s horn sounded as Patrik’s fingers tightened around mine, sending electrical currents shooting up from the tips of my own fingers.

Patrik and I never had to say much. Just being together was always enough for us. So it wasn’t out of the ordinary when he sat me down on a bench closer to the water and let me lean my head on his broad shoulder, all wordlessly. We both apparently had a lot on our minds.

“I don’t want to go to college,” I admitted after a long period of silence. The sun was almost completely hidden behind the water now, and the stars in the warm August night were starting to shine brightly one by one.

“You don’t have to,” Patrik replied after a minute. I lifted my head off of his shoulder, looking up to him.

“I need to do something with my life, Pat,” I laughed, “I can’t live at home forever and just not go to school.” This time, Patrik didn’t reply at all for a while. I licked my lips absentmindedly as my eyes followed a boat that floated across the water slowly. Once the boat reached the docks about a football field’s length down, Patrik spoke up.

“I’m going to make the NHL, Tor,” Patrik told me with confidence. I turned my head to look at him and nodded.

“I know,” I agreed, my eyes searching his blue orbs. He looked into mine for a second before he bit his lip, casting his dark eyes over the water.

“Hopefully I’ll go in the first round,” he started, “and actually get ice time for the team, and not the minor leagues.” I only nodded. I didn’t know much about hockey, let alone American leagues.

It got quiet again. The silence between the two of us didn’t bother me too much. I was perfectly content with the way our fingers were clasped together, and our legs were pressed up against each other’s.

All the boats on the water seemed to come to the docks as it got darker out and the stars and the moon began to lighten the sky. The moon reflected off the murky, calm water as the sailors rushed in to get home before bed time, carrying fish in their arms to take home for their families.

“It means I have to go to America.” It had been silent for so long between us, I almost forgot what we were talking about. He noticed this. “When I go to the big league, I mean,” he helped. I nodded once.

“Oh,” I pushed out. We had never talked too much about this subject before, but I had thought about it a lot in the past. The thought of Patrik being in another country made my heart ache, and I had the sudden urge to be closer to him.

“It won’t be this year, but next year,” he continued as I scooted closer to him. I immediately felt warmer against his body. He finally looked away from the untouched water to look down at me. I melted under his eyes. “I want you to come with me.”

“Of course I’ll go with you, Patrik,” I nodded. Patrik blinked a few times, but didn’t look away from me this time.

“We’ll get married and everything. We’ll have our own lives together.”

“That sounds fantastic,” I laughed. Patrik bit his lip, looking down at me with smothering blue eyes.

“Will you marry me, Viktoria?” He asked. My heart stopped, raced and fluttered at the same time.

“Of course I’ll marry you, Patrik,” I repeated, changing only one huge word. I didn’t hesitate for a second. Patrik’s eyes still bored into mine intensely, almost giving me chills.

“Really?” He whispered. I chuckled a bit.

“Yes, Patrik, I can’t imagine my life without you,” I told him honestly. Patrik nodded, ducking his head slightly to press a kiss to my forehead. He then wrapped his arms around my shoulders, pulling me into his side and leaned his cheek on the top of my head.

“Good,” he paused, “We’ll go get your ring tomorrow.”

And right then, I was invincible. I knew there was no better decision I could have made with my life.

I sucked air into my lungs, as my eyes flew open and I sat up quickly, only to see more infinite black except for the way the moon shined in through the window. My hand instantly flew to my face as close as I could get it so I could examine my left hand. Upon seeing no ring adorning my third finger, I let out a long breath out.

I fell back into the mattress with a groan as I rubbed my hand over my face. There’s no way I’m getting anymore sleep tonight.