Twenty-six Steps with Easton

two

T S S W E

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TWO

beginnings

—

the start to a different, fresh part of life

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"I-" PALOMA STUTTERED.

I remember you.

She wanted to say that, but what if he didn't remember her?  It had been nearly a year since they'd encountered each other, and it wasn't like it was anything crazy.  He'd only saved her from falling, given her the yellow envelope, and walked off.

The yellow envelope.

She watched as he stood there, mouth opening and closing as if he, too, was at a loss for words.  She thought of the envelope and the day they'd briefly met and how she had been in the same position.  It was almost funny, but she was too nervous to laugh or speak, for that matter, so she looked down at her hands.

Where had she put it?

"I'm Easton," he started, outstretching his hand.

At the sound of his voice, she snapped her head up.  Easton.  What a nice name.

"Paloma."  She shook it gently, her hand ice cold against his.  It was almost startling to feel the warmth from his hands, but before her thoughts could travel further, she let go and stepped back, unsure of where to go from there.

It wasn't long before the soft ring of Paloma's cell broke through the silence and gained her attention.  Panicking, she dropped her keys once more as she reached for the device in her pocket.  She heard Dain on the other end as she picked up, reminding her of the plans they'd made earlier.  She reassured her best friend that she would be there in due time and to wait for her by the docks.

Pocketing her cell, she glanced at Easton with an apologetic look.  He was looking at her with a lilt of curiosity in his eyes, his hand reaching up for a simple wave goodbye.  She returned the gesture, an unfamiliar feeling settling in her chest as she imagined the possibility of never seeing this boy again.

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THE FOLLOWING MORNING, she woke up to the soft sounds of Dain's music playing in his kitchen.  Paloma recognized the songs from his morning playlist and pushed herself out of bed with a smile.  Dressed in an oversized t-shirt and sweatpants, she silently thanked him for knowing what clothes she liked best.

"Is that my shirt?"

Paloma rolled her eyes as she entered the kitchen, walking behind Dain to give him a small shove with her shoulder.  He stuck his tongue out in response and continued to wash the bowl of strawberries.

"Did you sleep well?" Dain chirped, turning the faucet off and whirling around to face Paloma with the bowl of freshly washed fruits.

"Surprisingly so," she yawned.  She saw him nod and decided to let the conversation rest at that.

Exhausted from their night out, Paloma had decided to crash at Dain's loft.  It was closer to the marketplace than her own, and she'd felt drained from the hours they'd spent walking around in the autumn weather.  She'd fallen asleep in Dain's arms as he carried her the rest of the way and if her memory served her correctly, she didn't wake up until this morning.  She couldn't remember the last time she'd slept through an entire night.

Reaching for two glasses in the cupboard, Paloma soon realized it was out of her reach.  She huffed out a small breath and resorted to climbing on top of the counter.  She could hear Dain's laughter from behind her, but she ignored it, carefully setting the glasses down on the counter.

"Just so you know, I think it's cute that you're so short."

She punched his arm.

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SHE COULDN'T FIND her keys.

Paloma had spent the last twenty minutes searching her purse as well as the entire apartment for her set of keys, but they didn't turn up anywhere.  Dain had left not long after breakfast to visit his parents, whom he hadn't seen since he'd left for his trip, and though he had tried looking around, he wasn't exactly the greatest help when it came to finding things.

Frustrated, she grabbed the nearest pillow on the couch and let out a scream.  The panic in her chest settled for a moment before getting the best of her and forcing her to take another look around the place.

The last she could remember having them was when she was talking with—

Easton.

At her sudden realization, Paloma stood from her spot on the floor and rushed to the door with her purse in hand.  She locked the door with the extra key hidden in the plant outside the loft and started heading out to her place.

As she arrived at the lobby of her apartment, the elderly man who worked the front desk greeted her with a fond smile.  With wisps of white hair and wrinkles for days, Feliciano was Paloma's favorite old person.  He treated her like his own and always seemed to brighten her days.

"Pal!" which was a nickname that he'd given her as he could never remember her full name.

"Oh, Feliciano! Have you, by any chance, seen—" she paused as he held a familiar set of keys in his hand, a yellow sticky note attached to the set.

"How—where?" her eyes moved from the keys to the old man's smiling face.

"A handsome fellow just about dropped them off after you'd gone on and left last night, m'dear.  Figured you must've accidentally left it near your door.  He left a note, too."

She gently took the keys from his grasp and thanked him for keeping them safe.  She let the keys jingle in her hands as she headed towards the staircase.  Looking down at the note, Paloma couldn't help the goofy smile on her face as she read over the familiar handwriting.

Paloma,

Go on an adventure with me.

— E

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16 june 2018

cont.