Chapter Two: Perfection

I lied down on the grass on the hilltop by my best friend's house.  I had my arms behind my head, had one knee up, and was chewing on the end of a long piece of grass.  I spit it out as the taste started to get dry and bitter and the light breeze took it away.  The clouds gave me cover, so I didn't worry about hiding under the shade of the nearby tree, and the view was absolutely gorgeous.  I sat up and rested my weight on my palms and looked out into the orchard beyond the hills.  From this distance, the orchard looked like a small garden of fall colors, and it was absolutely stunning.  Before that was a field where wild horses grazed.  They didn't have to stay there, and they usually left in the winter time, but every other time of the year they were there.  They weren't afraid of people either [or at least Audrey and myself] because I could recall some good memories with my friend where we ran down there and played with those beautiful horses.  Audrey even helped a mare birth her foal, and there's a specific stallion that I've named Renee because him and I are so close.  I smiled at him when I heard his whinny, and I waved when he jumped up on his back legs.  Life was good right now.

If you didn't turn around and look at the house, you'd think you were in the middle of a perfect nowhere.  The leaves in the huge maple tree beside me rustled.  It was autumn at this point so I was enjoying my time outside and loving this perfect time of year.  It was right after summer when it's still warm outside, yet the trees are beginning to change colors and flowers are still growing.  This maple tree was a folly of colors from green to yellow to orange-red to brown.  It was beautiful, and it did this every year.  I certainly envied Dree for this beautiful place.  Every time I came over, I wished I lived here with him.  I closed my eyes and got lost in my daydreams of staying with him here for the rest of my life.  I don't know how long of a time passed, but I think I fell asleep in that strange position because when I opened my eyes again it was getting closer to the evening.

Audrey's only other friend, Amelia, was the one who got me to open my eyes when she came outside with some pink lemonade on a tray.  It was like an old romance movie.  Girl meets boy, girl is nice to boy, girl and boy are outside in the afternoon and share a romantic moment that wrenches at every heart who's ever had a love as passionate as theirs.  Only thing that was different was I hardly knew this chick, and she was just being nice to me because Audrey was too lazy to bring some lemonade to me outside.  Still, she was beautiful, I'll admit that.

"Want some?" she asked and she bent down and put the tray closer to me, allowing me to grab a glass.  I did so and thanked her before I took a drink.

"Wow this is really good." I'd never had pink lemonade before, but it tasted like strawberries sweetened in a lemony sugar.  I had a new favorite drink, that was for sure.

She giggled and set the tray down behind me, then sat in the patch of grass to my left.  "Thank you," she said and continued, "the secret is the tinge of cherry.  I squeeze the lemons, then add the strawberry, sugar, and just a pinch of cherry extract.  Makes it taste perfect, as Dree puts it."  She smiled and let her red dress flow with the sudden breeze that rolled in.  I got a glimpse of her black boots with white lace, and for some reason the whole outfit seemed nostalgic to me.  I looked her up to her black, under-bust corset and smiled at her.  Her reddish-gold hair glistened in the setting sunlight and I thought she was one of the most beautiful people I'd ever seen.

"God, you're pretty." I admitted, and glanced down at my cup.  I hardly knew this girl and she was already making me lemonade and sharing the perfection of the evening with me for no real reason.

She looked at me with a bright smile and gave me a once over.  "You aren't half bad yourself, your know.  I'm certainly jealous of your beautiful green eyes and long, black hair."  I blushed lightly.  "No I mean it.  I've always wanted that combination.  The color perfectly suits your light skin, and your hands..."  She lightly grabbed my hand and took the lemonade.  She started feeling the palm and rubbing my fingers.  "Hands are my favorite feature of the body.  I know how weird that sounds, but still, they're so unique.  Each finger is like a flower petal, and the palms seem to tell stories."

I didn't understand how a hand could be so amazing, but I guess her wording did make sense.  Looking at the hand she played with I suppose I could see a flower.  I took my hand from her and saw the dismay in her face.  She was probably about to apologize, but I didn't let her.  I grabbed her around the shoulders and hugged her tightly.  She laid her head on my shoulder and we shared a moment together that I'd never forget.

"You know, I usually don't like people.  I hate the whole concept of friendship.  But now I see why Dree likes you so much and wanted you to meet me so badly.  You're...different than most people.  You're unique.  I can see that in you without having known you longer than ten minutes."  I looked into the horizon.  "You wanna know my favorite part of the body?"

She nodded.  "Yes I do."

I placed my hand softly on her stomach.  "The place where life begins."

Author's Note

Ok, so at first I thought that maybe the last chapter was too short and unfinished but now I'm thinking I'm just going to write the book like that. What do you think?