Chapter Twenty-Seven

                                    

                                          
Elias Salazar 
   "You ooze moodiness." 
   ""I do not." He sounded indignant which struck her as oddly endearing." 
   "You so do. I saw that face and I immediately knew."
   "You did not." 
   "I did. I do. But it's fine, you're allowed to be in a bad mood—" 
   "Wait, put a tab there." I stop her and point to our place in the book. "But which one? Romance, you think?" She asks back.
   "Hmm..." hard choice. "No, put the one that says Adam on there. Not Olive. This is an Adam moment." I point to the teal tab that we've categorized for Adam moments. 
   My back is propped up against our favorite tree, my sweet cheeks seated in between my bent legs. We brought a towel to sit on since it rained yesterday. The tree is a bit moist, but as long as she's comfortable I really don't care. 
   It's a bit chilly, but it's equally as beautiful outside with the light mist in the air and the heavy feeling of nature. So we brought a blanket. The blankets over her entire body and my legs, her arms poking out of it so she can hold The Love Hypotheses. 
   Since I kinda read the beginning without her, I agreed to help her annotate the rest of the book. So that's what we've been doing. We have a whole system for it where specific tabs mean specific things and I love it. Very organized. 
   My arms are wrapped around her shoulders, my forearms lightly caging her throat but she's told me repeatedly that she doesn't mind. Even going as far as to rub them to ease away the tension that I've caused myself from thinking that I'm hurting her.
   And she hasn't stopped. She rubs the skin of my arms with one hand and holds the book open with the other, which isn't an easy thing to do. I've told her that she should use both hands but she says she's fine with holding it like that. I get what she means though, feeling the skin of your significant other is a type of euphoria that's indescribable. It's so comforting, so reassuring, nothing can beat it. 
   I've been listening to her read with my head leaned back against the tree. The melodic sound of her voice accompanied by the sweet smell of nature feels like a dream come true. 
   I wanna take her to the woods some of these days. Sit us up next to a pretty rock right next to a waterfall. The mist of rain coating our skin... what I would do for a moment like that with her. 
   Her tiny fingers pull at the teal tab and place it where I suggested it should go. 
   "Can I take a little break? My throats starting to hurt from talking a lot." She turns her pretty little head and looks back at me with questioning eyes. I take the opportunity to give her a quick kiss, mumbling against her lips. "Of course, baby." 
   She closes the book and rests it on the towel, leaning into me and putting her entire body weight on mine which feels... oddly nice and comforting. She hums and nuzzles her head into my chest, my head on her chin as I pull the blanket over her arms, completely encasing her with warmth and love. 
   You know how couples always have a honeymoon stage in the relationship? I don't know if we're in one or not. It doesn't feel like I'm in a relationship where it's new and I'm trying to impress her. It feels like I'm with my best friend, the person I love, it feels exactly the same except I finally get to kiss her.
   I guess that's a good thing. In relationships, you want the other person to be your significant other and your best friend. You don't want them to be two separate people. It feels nice knowing that I'm comfortable around her and that she's comfortable around me.