Elliot

Twenty-Two

He was the one I saw first the moment I arrived at the park. His broad shoulders. His tall figure. His dark hair. His muscular physique. He was handsome as ever.

Tobias smiled after he saw me walking towards him. "Holy cow," he said.

"I guess sweatshirts and hoodies aren't only the clothing I have in my closet." I said. He laughed. I wanted to give him a kiss.

"You look great."

"Oh, I know."

Tobias laughed. I know he wanted it as much as I do. So I leaned in and gave him a kiss. He was surprised. Of course he didn't expect that to happen.

"Is that okay to you?" he said.

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"We're outside."

"So?"

He didn't answer. He just smiled. "My boy's growing," he said. "I'm proud of you." He took my hand. We both smiled at each other.

"Shall we?" he said.

"We shall," I said.

***

Tobias loved art so much. I did too. So we visited a museum and wandered inside of it for minutes. There was something in his smile while looking at the photographs that are hung on the wall. It's like he'd seen the most beautiful treasure in the world.

He took pictures of the artworks. I took pictures of him.

"You know someday, more photos would be hung on this wall," he said. "And all of them would be captured by me."

Tobias is always confident about himself. I liked seeing him like this. Sometimes I wish I could be like that too.

"I'll be looking forward to that."

He told me every history behind the pictures. He knew all of them. He told me who captured it. He told me the meaning behind it. He told me the worth of it.

There was happiness and hope in his eyes. The kind of sight that you want to see everyday. The sight that I always wanted to see on him. Every once in a while, he would look at me. And I would look at him.

We walked around the museum. My hands on his. I'd never want to let him go.

And then we went to a bay. It was, again, the golden hour. The sky was orange. The sun was peeking at the horizon. I could see his features glow golden again. He was still beautiful.

There were no people in sight. It's just the two of us. I could stare at the sea for a long time. It was beautiful. Like an artwork straight out of canvas, painted with the warm color of orange, yellow, red, and blue.

I could tell that he was looking at me. When I looked at him, there was a camera focused on me. He took a picture and studied the photo. And then he smiled. "God, you're so fucking handsome."

"I've heard of that."

"I bet you get that a lot."

"You got it right." I said. "But I like hearing it from you."

"Do you?" He grinned.

"Yes. Ça me fait me sentir spécial. (It makes me feel special)"

"Tu es spécial. (You are special)"

"I don't know if it's the fact that I'm in love with you or you're really just plain cheesy all the time to never fail and make me smile."

"Did you just say you're in love with me?"

Holy shit. Did I? "Maybe."

Tobias smiled. He reached out for my hand and kissed the back of it. Such a Tobias thing to do.

And we again walked around the bay while we talked about everything. We talked about how the birds build their own nests, about how painting is a complex form of art, about why books are meant to be read, about how words can change people, about how magnificent love works for two people, about the treasures that the world hides, about the many secrets of every other people.

I wrote his name on the sand. He wrote my name on the sand.

We danced at the music of the waves.

We laughed at our own jokes.

We smiled at every picture we take.

We kissed under the orange sky.

We hold hands at the empty world.

We leaned on each other's forehead.

We felt both of our warmths.

The world is just as scary as the universe, but once you open your eyes, it is more than beautiful than anything you could ever imagine. And right now, I'm staring at him. The most beautiful thing in the world.