Make It Real

Make It Real - Chp 33 [Erin]

“So what exactly are we waiting for?” Eli asked placing his foot in another crevice and hoisting him up only higher.

My head spun feeling more dizzy by how high we were climbing, heights didn’t sit too well with me. But then I also didn’t want to make a fool or chicken of myself in front of Eli. We were climbing our willow tree and Eli had thought when I said climb it that I meant climb right to the top; one branch up was high enough for me!

“We’re waiting for the sun to begin going under.” I breathed feeling faintly breathless and dizzy as I constantly kept looking down in fear.

“Oh, you want that whole sunset shot, right?” he murmured as he leant me his hand for like the fiftieth time.

I smiled shyly as I took his hand “Well, yeah.” I admitted as I clutched my camera even tighter to my chest. I had worked so hard to buy that camera and if it broke I’d literally break down.

“Isn’t that a bit of a clichéd shot?” he asked me, his lips curling teasingly down at me.

My eyes narrowed as I went to hit him. I squealed as my foot slipped and I thrusted my free hand out to steady me, cringing as I felt the bark and branches of the tree tare at my skin. I panted breathlessly waiting to slip and fall again for a good pause. I looked around realizing I was okay and stable, locked into place to the point I felt like I’d been frozen.

“Erin? Erin? Ez!” Li shouted startling me from my thundering heart pumping loudly in my ears. He looked down at me anxiously, grasping my other hand tightly “Are you okay?”

“Uh, huh.” I managed shakily.

Eli sighed in relief as his other hand reached down for my other hand “Come on, I’ll help you.” He murmured.

I shook my head only wanting to get back down “No.” I said childishly, leaning away.

“You’re missing the sunset.” He warned me, trying to persuade me.

I chewed my lower lip anxiously as I looked behind him and sure enough was the sun sinking, numerous colors painting the sky and the light and colors directly behind Eli making him look like a god. His eyes were sparkling in the intimate and soft light and his features looked more defined and yet gentler too, he looked amazing!

“Oh shit, what did you do to your hand?” Eli exclaimed as he let one go and reached for my other hand that was all battered and cut up.

I listened to him vaguely as I hastily picked up my camera with my other free hand. It was awkward taking the photo with one hand but luckily it was my right hand. It was perfect though, capturing Eli’s brooding face of intensity as he tenderly tended to my battered hand that had gone through a war. The sunset was in the background making Eli almost glow right down to his lashes dancing along his cheeks. And in the bottom corner of the shot of Eli looking down was my fingers uncurled as he studied my fingers tenderly with such a mesmerized expression and focus that it left you breathless the way he studied and held them. Like I was the most fragile thing on the entire planet, like I was the most pure thing to grace this earth.

It was in that moment that I realized I was truly and solely in love with Eli and I wanted with everything within me to be in that shot with him as I realized what was really in front of me, what had been in front of me this entire time. Because sunset shots weren’t clichéd as long as you capture some sole beauty you found only once in a life time. Eli was exactly it for me, he was that sole beauty you found only once in a life time and I wanted to hold on and never let go. My diamond in the rough.