“Wow!” I stood there in awe, watching the sun rise. “You really know how to make a girl's heart flutter, don’t you?” I glanced at him. He widened his smile as he continued to look at the sun scattering its rays around us.
“Well, what can I say? I’m handsome and gorgeous,” He grinned.
“I believe you are more than that,” I told him, sincerely.
“What made you say that?” He caressed my cheeks before fixing my bonnet.
He stared at me, waiting for me to say something, then started caressing my hand, giving me warmth from the cold breeze of the city.
“I’m not sure,” I shrugged and laughed. “I just thought of it.”
I stopped chuckling when Gray didn’t remove his glance from me. It was a bit awkward and my heart was already beating so fast when our eyes met.
“W-why are you staring at me?” I stuttered and looked away. Just then, the rays of the sun touched my iris. I giggled upon feeling the warmth against my cheeks.
I closed my eyes and smiled. It’s the feeling I have longed for since I left my hometown. It was my first time to watch the sunrise again because I was so busy with life. I planned for this a lot of times but cannot find time, now Gray brought me back to this place. It’s nostalgic. I’ve been away for years yet the feelings are still the same.
Gray didn’t say a word. He leaned close to me and gently kissed my forehead until his arms enveloped me. “Did I make you happy? Lyuna told me you’ve been wanting to visit your hometown but you cannot make time.”
I hugged him tight and nodded from between hugs. “Thank you for bringing me home.”
“Anything for you, babe!” He muttered. “You don’t know how much I wanted to make you happy. Let me make you happy, okay?”
“Am I making you happy, too?” I asked.
He widened his smile. My mother told me that I’ll be able to know how sincere a person is by looking at his eyes, and from the look of Gray’s brown eyes, I know he meant every word of it. There’s a negative thinking that I might be believing what I want to believe so I am saying it. However, I trust Gray and I also want him to be happy.
“You do, so don’t ever leave my side, huh?” He bit his lower lip before pouting his lips.
“Yeah, just don’t give me a reason to,” I glared at him.
“Why would I?” He placed his arms on my shoulder as we continued to watch the sunrise.
I blew some air and played with my breath. I missed this kind of weather, especially the coldness of my feet inside the boots.
Gray, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to like the cold as he keeps on sniffing.
“You don’t like cold weather?” I teased him. “Oh! Are you gonna catch a cold?”
“I hate cold ‘cause I am hot!” He stuck his tongue and was about to say another joke when he coughed.
He pressed his palm against my palm and he’s trembling. I laughed a little because he looks like a scared cat.
“Let’s go to my favorite coffee shop.”
I massaged his back and offered him water. He took it and drank it.
“C’mon, let’s get you out of here.” I pulled his wrist. “Is it your first here?”
He nodded. “I don’t usually like mountains. I am a beach person.”
“What? I cannot believe it’s your first time at the Summer Capital of our country.” I wagged my head. “Too bad, I am a mountain person.”
“Well, I can adjust for you,” he said. “But, I am freezing! Keep me warm, please!” He clung to my shoulder as we walked.
“Are you really freezing or are you just taking advantage of me?” I raised my brow.
“Both,” he laughed. “Gosh! How did you manage to live up here?”
“It’s not always cold up here,” I said. “You should come here during summer. You might appreciate it better.”
“I appreciate everything you like,” he smiled at me. He still clung to my shoulder like a baby afraid to be lost around a place he doesn’t know.
“What are those?” I asked, making sure he knows some of the things I like.
“Sunrise,” he answered. “You know what, you are the first person I know who loves sunrise more than sunset.”
“What does it even mean?”
“Well...wait!” He looked around and paused. “This isn’t the way to the parking lot.”
“Who says about going to the parking lot?”
“You told me we are going to your favorite coffee shop,” he asked, confused.
I grinned. “Yeah. We are going by foot.”
“What?” He widened his eyes. “Are you serious?”
“It’s not far, okay? Trust me. And, we are gonna buy some strawberry taho along the way.”
He grimaced. “I’ll pass.”
“No. You went all the way here so you should try it. I swear, it’s not bad. It tastes like strawberry.” I pulled him as he pouted.
“Are we really gonna walk?” He lazily followed me while I was pulling him on the sidewalks.
“Yes, we are! Come on!” I pulled him with strength. “I’ll tour you and you’ll like it here.”
“Do you want to live here?”
“What? I live here, grew up--”
“Do you want to live here with me and start a family?” He cut me off.
I paused and looked at him. “Are you proposing?”
“It’s a plan. I want to make a plan with you because I dated you with the plan of marrying you, so do you want to live here?”
“Ask me that again after you fully decide that I am the girl you want to be with forever,” I told him.
“What if you are really that girl?”
I held his hand and intertwined it with my fingers. “Then, prove it to me and I will always prove to you that you are the guy I wanna be with forever.”
“Fair enough,” he commented. “Although, I’m tired, can we--”
I stopped him. “I love walking, so if you really want to marry me, you need to learn how to use your feet, okay?”
He pouted. “Fine.” He pulled me close and immediately kissed my lips.
“I love kissing, so if you really want to marry me, you need to learn how to use your lips, okay?” He fired back.
I blushed.
“You gotta be kidding me!” I scowled and eventually laughed. “C’mon, let’s grab some coffee.”
I brought him to my favorite coffee shop where I used to stay since I was a kid. It was an old coffee shop run by an old man who retired from being an architect to becoming a coffee shop owner.
"Damn! I can't believe I've walked that far!" Gray said as he looked back. "My feet hurt." He pouted and I kissed him.
"Don't worry, their coffee is the best in town. It's worth it."
I pushed the door and the bell on the door rang. Uncle Tom, with his son, glanced at the entrance and welcomed us with a smile.
"I know it's still close, but would you forgive me? I really missed the coffee." I smiled and ran towards Uncle Tom. "Hey, Nigel!" I greeted him.
"Wow! You are still beautiful as ever! Took you so long to visit," He pretended to be hurt by clutching his chest.
"Sorry, I am really busy," I replied. "Anyway, I'd like you to meet Gray," I introduced Gray to them and he bowed a little. "My boyfriend."
Nigel widened his eyes. "For real? Finally! I thought you are be alone forever."
"Congratulations, my dear," Uncle Tom said as he looked at Gray. "You better not make her cry. She's valuable."
Gray nodded and assured them. "You don't have to worry about it." Gray glanced at me before looking at them. "She's in good hands."
"Very well," Uncle Tom smiled. "Find yourself at home and we'll serve you your favorite coffee and bread, Yanne."
"Yay! You should taste it. It's really delicious," I told Gray. "Thank you, Uncle. We'll go watch the city from the balcony." I waved at them and brought Gray to the balcony, overlooking the whole city.
“Wow, now, I know why you love this city,” He said in awed. “How does it feel like growing up here?”
“Great,” I replied, reminiscing the old times, which were often composed of walking and walking around the area. “You know, I spent most of my time in this coffee shop and this…” I pointed at the table at the end of the balcony while I walked towards it.
“This is my favorite spot. I even engraved my name here,” I turned the wooden chair around and looked for my name. I smiled upon seeing that Uncle didn’t bother changing this seat after all these years. “Look! Dave and I usually--”
“He engraved his name here,” Gray said upon checking the other wooden chair.
“Oh, yeah! We used to spend a lot of time here.” I sat down while Gray was pouting his lips. “Come, sit down and let’s watch the sunrise--”
“No!” He wagged his head and removed the wooden chair where Dave’s name was engraved. He grabbed another wooden chair to sit on. “Do you have a cutter or a pair of scissors?” He started searching at his bag and smiled upon seeing a steel ruler inside his bag.
“What are you going to do?” He bent a little and started scratching the side of the wooden chair. “I am your boyfriend and I am making this my spot because I am telling you, I don’t intend to leave your life, so you need to accept this mark and the fact that....” He glanced at me with a wide smile. “You are gonna see this handsome face everyday.”
“Aww, are you jealous?” I giggled.
“Who told you that?” He wrinkled his brow upon sitting. “I’m more handsome than him.” He hissed.
I stared at him and teased him with my face.
“What? I said, I am not jealous!” He defended.
I shrugged. “If you say so,” I nodded, not convinced as I looked around the place.
He scowled. “Fine!”
“Fine, what?”
“I’m jealous, Ms. Deanara Samaniego. Happy?”
What else can I say?