You End, I Begin

One thing I had always loved about growing up in Phoenix had been the change of seasons between summer and autumn. The summers here were so hot and sticky that when autumn finally came about, it was nice to actually be able to enjoy the city without needed to stay somewhere with constant air con. And that was one part of my that had never seemed to have changed. I still loved autumn in Arizona.

I woke up early in late September, arms wrapped around me and legs intertwined. I loved the closeness between me and Joel and I loved that he always kept his grip on me, even when completely asleep. It seemed to be normal that I woke up before Joel most morning we spent the night in the same bed. I was always an early riser these days. At this point, the sun was shining through his window slightly as he slept silently, occasionally letting out a deep breath. I watched his chest rise and fall, taking in all of his features and admiring them. I could feel my lips turning into a smile just watching him. It had been three months since my declaration to Joel and we had become closer than ever.

I turned slightly so I was laying on my back, I began thinking about so many different things and I could feel myself drifting back to sleep but my eyes re-opened when I felt Joel’s body moving next to me and I turned my head to look at him.

“Morning beautiful,” he mumbled, as his eyes half opened.

“Hi,” I smiled back.

“How long have you been up today?” he asked, his eyes still not properly focussing on me.

“Not too long, maybe thirty minutes,” I told him.

“You should just wake me up, I’ve told you this before.”

“And I’ve told you, I’d rather let you get your sleep.”

“Mmmm,” he mumbled again. “So, what do you fancy doing today?”

I rolled over and looked him straight in the eyes and said “can we go for a walk around the outskirts of the city? I love it this time of year.”

“Sure, we’ll get ready and go, yeah?”

I nodded and started to wriggle out of his grip as he moaned and his hands tightened around me.

“Or...maybe I don’t want you to get out of bed yet,” he laughed slightly.

“Joel!”

“Fine, just let me lay here a bit longer,” he said, letting me go and laying on his back in the middle of the bed.

Once we were both ready, we walked out of his house and began just strolling, hand in hand. We ended up walking around Scottsdale for a bit, getting a bit lost but that didn’t matter. We were aimlessly walking when something caught my eye and I stopped walking.

“Abs, what are you doing?” Joel asked as he stopped just ahead, still holding onto my hand.

“That house, it’s so cute,” I said, pointing across the road.

“Yeah, it is nice,” he commented.

“Nice?! It’s so amazing!” I told him, excitedly. I let go of his hand and began crossing the street.

“Abs, where are you going?”

“To get a better look!” I shouted, without turning around.

I crossed over and stopped in front of the house, admiring the building I could see.

“It’s so perfect,” I said quietly as I felt Joel come and stand next to me.

The house was two storeys, with a path leading from the street to the front door, which had a big porch over it. The grass in the front yard was green and trees were dotted about. It just seemed too perfect. The windows I could see were large and look out over the yard. I wanted to get more of a look around the house so started walking around the corner of the street that it was on. I heard Joel mutter behind me but he still followed. As I walked round and looked at it more, the whole house just seemed so grand. A triple garage led out onto this part of the street, with a gate to the back yard, which I could just about see into. It included decking with some seating and a decent sized pool surrounded by trees. I loved it.

“Joel, this house is so amazing,” I said, turning to look at him and taking my eyes off the house for the first time in over five minutes.

“Yeah, I like it,” he nodded.

“Like it? Jeez, I love it!”

“But it’s a house,” he said.

“No, this isn’t just any old house though, this is the house,” I told him.

“What do you mean?”

“This is the house that I will forever dream about and any house I live in will never be as great as this one,” I explained.

“What says you can’t live in this house?” he asked.

“Because I will never be able to afford a house like this, no matter how much I would like to.”

“OK, so how about a promise,” Joel began, a smile creeping over his face. “One day, I am going to buy this house for you. For me and you. And we will live in it with our family. I will finally bring you back to you real home.”

“That’s some pretty big words, mister,” I said, staring right at him.

“Well, I mean them,” he told me. “I will do whatever it takes to get this house for you because you love it and I love you.”

“But you said we will live in it with our family,” I stated. “That’s a big promise.”

“I mean it though, I love you and can only see myself only being with you, I want everything with you, and know that’s how it’s going to be.”

“How can you be so sure of our paths in life,” I asked.

“Because I know that it’s meant to be, you and I,” he smiled, as if he knew everything.