From Me to You [Complete]

26

"Please?" Michael asks.

We've left the park, walking one block down and over from his cottage. The waves can be heard at this distance in the quiet of the night. Michael is attempting to get me to recite a poem for him. He's convinced it'll sound better in person than what he gets to read in a letter. I have rarely recited poetry for anyone before; maybe one of my best friends acted as a sounding board once. Normally, I try to let the words speak for themselves, since emphasis and inflection can really determine the meaning I'm trying to get across. Poetry is a pretty personal thing. Sending it in a letter seems much less vulnerable then speaking it out loud.

"Well..." I say, trying to get out of it. "I don't know if I have any memorized."

Michael turns me to face him, stopping us both. He looks at me, and I realize my face is too easy to read. "Ah, that was a lie," he says with a twinkle in his eyes. "You do have one memorized."

I blush and wave a hand at him. "Okay, okay, I have some memorized."

"So then you can definitely do it!" he says excitedly.

I laugh, wondering at how excited someone can be to hear poetry. "I mean..."

"C'mon, you can," he says. "Even a small one?" He drops his eyes. "I just want to hear what it sounds like coming right from you... I only ever get to read it."

I look up at him, feeling a smile on my lips. "Okay," I say finally.

"Yipee!" he says, smiling broadly.

I laugh. "Now if only we were still on that rock! I could stand on it..." I say. "I mean, if I'm going to recite poetry, I want to stand in a special place."

Michael crinkles his eyebrows. "I don't know if there's anything really special around here," he admits.

"Maybe the place isn't special in itself," I say softly. "But it's special because...it means something to us." His eyes find mine in the dark, holding them for a second. "Can you think of anywhere that's special to us?" I ask.

"Well," he says wryly, "We haven't really been that many places together yet."

I smile at him. "No, we haven't. But we went somewhere last night... And I think you find it special most of the time anyway."

He gives me a weird look. "The beach?"

"Yea," I say, wondering why it took him so long to come to this conclusion.

"Well, I guess it's kind of special," he says.

"It's very special!" I cry. "We spent our first time alone there... Our first night together." I flush, hoping he can't see it in the dark.

"Yes," he admits. "But there's also been some bad things about the beach."

I look down, wondering if I can ever live down fainting in Lake Huron. "Yea, well, for tonight I have no desire to go swimming."

"Please don't," he says. His mouth has the tiniest of smiles.

"I promise," I say sincerely. "I just want to go where we went last night. On the beach with you." He reaches up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, something I've noticed him doing a lot lately. Then he kisses my lips briefly with his.

He pulls away. "As much as I would like to continue this," he says cheekily. "I don't want to miss out on that poem."

I laugh. "Well, then let's go." I interlock my fingers with his, and pull him into step beside me as I head down the road.