“A park?”
Carmen shot Asa a flat look, making him raise his hands in surrender. “I know that’s a park, Asa,” she said. “I meant why are there fairy lights strung along the branches?”
“They normally do that around here,” Asa told her. “The lights go up around the time school holidays for Thanksgiving starts, and they remain there ’till the New Year.”
“Do you like parks, Asa?”
“Not really? I mean, I’m not a nature person.”
“Well, pretend to like them for tonight because we’re going in,” she said, grinning.
Asa laughed and nudged her shoulder with his. “I don’t have to pretend, Carmen. I may not be a nature person, but I’m definitely your person which means I’m going to love every moment I get with you, okay?”
He saw her lips twitch before they curved upwards into a soft smile, and she turned her face to meet his eyes. “Okay, Asa,” she murmured.
They entered the gates of the park, heading down the winding cobblestone path that began right at the entrance itself.
Asa let his eyes sweep over the thick branches, well-maintained grass, and the soft yellow fairy lights that were wrapped around alternative branches, providing an almost celestial-like vibe to the place.
As they kept moving forward, he felt Carmen’s palm brush against his gently before she laced her fingers through his, and giving his hand a light squeeze. Asa felt her tug at his hand, motioning him to sit down with her as she lowered herself onto the grass.
“That’s the third time you’ve done it tonight, you know,” he told her softly, holding onto her hand tighter as he crossed his legs on the ground.
Carmen’s confused gaze landed on him. “Done what?”
“Made the first move,” he mumbled, feeling kind of embarrassed that he was paying attention to the miniscule details. When Carmen continued to stare at him in perplexity, he sighed and scratched the back of his neck with his free hand. “At the party, just before we left it, you hugged me. And then when we were walking down the streets, you stepped closer to me and now, this.” He lifted their joined hands, warmth flooding his cheeks. “You initiated the handholding.”
“Um...” Carmen looked conflicted. “Are you saying you don’t like it? Because I thought—”
Asa shook his head, stopping her from saying anything else. “I love it when you make the first move,” he explained, smiling contently at her. “It’s just that it’s usually me initiating the physical gestures, whether it’s hugging you, or kissing your palm, or touching your face. And this is nice. You making the first move is nice.”
She continued to stare at him, but this time, no traces of her previous confusion was evident. Her expression was almost tender, a myriad of emotions flickering in those thundercloud eyes of hers. Her ivory skin was now dusted with a golden glow due to the fairy lights strung all around them and it made Asa rethink this world’s definition of beautiful.
“Asa,” Carmen finally said, her tone cautious and slow. “Do you remember what I told you at school?”
Asa’s heart was pounding in his chest. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. It was so loud, almost deafening, that he didn’t understand how the rest of this city couldn’t hear it.
“Yes.” He let the word out of his mouth in an exhale. “I do.”
“Good,” Carmen whispered, the conflict in her eyes slowly fading away as she looked into his eyes like she was peeking at his soul instead. “Because I want you to tell me you love me now.”
“One of these days you’re going to tell me you love me again.”
“And I’m going to say it back.”
Her words floated through Asa’s head, causing his stomach to coil into an unbearably tight knot. He shifted his position on the grass so that he was leaning his back against one of the tree trunks, Carmen sitting just a few inches away, the sole object of his sight and attention. “All right, Carmen,” he smiled, his voice as gentle as the rustle of the tree leaves.
And then, he reached forward and circled an arm around her waist, hoisting her up without any warning and dragging her on to the top of his lap so that she was sitting sideways on his legs.
A gasp left her unsuspecting mouth and her eyes widened just the slightest bit as she clutched his arm for support to steady herself.
“Asa! What—”
“I love you,” he said roughly, his calloused thumb grazing the curve of her bottom lip. “I told you so the first time in the art room, then that time in my car, and I’ll keep saying it for as long as you let me.” His eyes kept looking between her eyes, at her lips, memorising every inch of her face like he wasn’t ever going to see her again. “God, I love you.”
“Every time you say it, I need to catch my breath.” Carmen laughed weakly, but Asa could hear her breath faltering and then quickening as she leaned into him.
She brought up her hand to his face, dragging her fingers down his cheek and along his jawline, and Asa wondered if she was pouring the galaxies that ran through her veins into his skin with every single touch.
“I love you too, you know,” she breathed, her voice trembling as the words came tumbling out her mouth and floated to Asa’s ears. “I don’t know exactly when I fell in love with you, but I only remember that I did. And I’m here, Asa. I’m here—with you—and I’m telling you that my heart is yours for the taking.”
For a while, Asa couldn’t really say anything. There was no way he could formulate the jumbled mess of emotions crashing through him into words, be it in English or Spanish.
“You do that. And
