And with that, Blake spun me round to face the line of high treetops that spread down a sloping hill, each branch only inches shorter than the others, like an audience to the greatest, most incredible show on earth.
In the depths of the horizon stood bursts of technicolour, spirals of light covering the midnight hour. A real life lego city stood before me. To my left, yellow blocks built high skyscrapers and office buildings of gold, the deep haze enlightening soft stings of pastels that creeped in from forgotten lights and wasted batteries. To my right, red blocks of industrial hotels and flats cornered every ounce of city lines, lives living beyond the red brick that kept them safe from the elements. To my centre, blue sirens flickered through the winding roads of a rivers meander, windows reflecting stories as the bright blocks tarnished the entirety of a industrialised dream. I imagined a young girl, curls sprouting from her brushed head and an oversized nightgown flowing behind her like the lovechild of Godzilla and Mother Teresa. She held bricks in her enormous hands, rebuilding and destructing. Her fathers side destroyed what man did not need, her mothers side rebuilding what nature only enhanced. She smiled and screamed as she invaded the city, blue bricks continuing to appear as sirens illuminated the ripped ears of her cotton bunny slippers. Pigtails swayed in the chop of helicopter wings, big, menacing machines of varnished grey blocks that only ever got thrown to one side. She took charge of the city, not a monster, but an angel, looking out over her citizens and innocently rebuilding their lives from a bigger perspective. With threat, I watched her skip into the darkness of the surrounding trees, natures sublimity a bubble of safety for her before the city needed saving once again.
A lego city. From up here, it was a universe away. My bricks from childhood, I could feel them in my hands. The plastic building blocks that morphed creativity, enhanced imagination. Projected in front of me was a world of innocence. No people up here; no expectations up here; no judgement up here: just blissful peace.
Blakes hands held my frozen waist. I couldn't take my eyes away from the view, the cities outline filling my vision from every possible angle. "Incredible, huh?"
I could feel the warmth of his breath against my ear, the hug from earlier that day reversed as he held me from behind, steadying me from falling over the immensely overwhelming sights. He cradled me, appreciating natures beauty of sharing a world with industrialisation. From up here, two worlds collided. Urban and rural no longer fought, but formed an alliance. Mixing their paints, red and blue created towers of purple dusk.
I was totally mesmerised by the view before me - I could just imagine it printed and positioned in Blakes lense, exposure and highlights morphing the seemingly impossible task of capturing the entirety of this spots utter gorgeousness. The buildings lit up like beckons in the midnight, the horizon pulling an ebony curtain over the cities glow as a cloud glided across the skyline. I turned my face upwards, closing my eyes and feeling every single cell from his fingerprints find their way onto my blistering skin. As I let the cool breeze cover my neck, the hands became more comfortable with their surroundings. Instead of only slightly encountering a semi of my waist, Blakes palms were now gently pressing into my hips, firmly holding my figure in place while caressing his thumb up and down, aiding the layer of ice that had yet to be melted.
The novelty was, I let him. This was our moment, our precious, secret, exciting moment. I was not going to ruin it...my last adventure was too good to be true.
Still admiring the crown jewels of materialism, I let my blazer fly in the wind, an identical superhero next to Blakes flying cape. "I have never seen anything so beautiful."
Blake rested his head upon mine, the familiar feeling of his stubble gristly against my scalp, yet weirdly comforting. He gripped my hips tighter, yet made importance of being gentle. "I have..."
Although inferred, and not at all justifiable in the high court of flirtation, I was nearly willing to bet my life on the fact he wasn't talking about another lego world. I waited for more, but nothing came; we just stood, staring out at the universe spread before us.
"Dessert with a view. You wouldn't get this in Soho." Blake released me from his grip...although I didn't want him to. I wanted time to stop, forever. "Wait here, i'll grab the blanket."
Blake clambered down onto the ground, popping the boot and throwing me up a knotted, tartan rug. I lowered it onto the car roof, sitting on the material that stuck to the moisture of the metal. I heard the engine rumble as Blake left his keys in the ignition and turned on the radio, sweet melodies rising through the vents of the roof. I gave him a hand back up, his torso hiding yet another blanket, although this one was lighter, a throw more so. He sat next to me, covering my shoulders in the shawl, creating a binder for the wind. I smiled gratefully, and turned my face into the light of the city. I couldn't get enough of this...
After minutes that felt like millions, we opened our ice creams. Sat close to me, Blake gripped his chocolate tub, scooping his spoon dead centre to the firm layer of frost. I followed his movements, the mint tasting like a fresh start on my lips, the occasional chocolate chip sparking fireworks in my already orgasmic mouth. Note to self: eat more mint-chocolate ice cream.
"How is the ice cream?" Blake asked, spoon turned upside down on the curve of his lips.
"Awesome. Best tub i've ever tasted." And I wasn't lying.
"£2.50 was worth it."
I giggled, scooping another heap of creamy goodness into my mouth. "How did you find this place?"
"Lots of trips out of town...this road is quiet at night, easy to drive down, a short cut to and from the city. I used to drive up here and watch the lights, whenever I drove past I couldn't help but stop. The view is like something out of a movie." It sounded like luck was the only way to describe it.
"How have I never driven here before...heck, I didn't even know this road existed." I loved driving too, my late night drives consisting of my master playlist, windows down and no sense of direction. I was a pro at getting lost and enjoying it.
"Its a needle in a haystack. Took me 17 years to find it." He clearly held this place somewhere special in his heart, I could tell by the twinkle in his ocean of irises. "It was so worth the wait."
"This is ridiculous compared to my city spot - I can barely see the silhouettes from there, too many trees in the way...but this...its like the green sea of trees, parting for God's greatest masterpiece."
He looked over at me with hooded eyes. "I showed you my city, you owe me a view of yours"
I blushed under the orange cast. "Maybe one day, although this has no competition."
"A good enough first adventure?" It was official, I could now identify when he smiled by the small jump in his pitch.
"A perfect one." I said tenderly.
It was somewhat scary how comfortable I felt around him. Sitting on the roof of a classic car, on an ancient rug, in a cotton blanket and eating ice cream above a lego city...not even Shakespeare could write such elegant fiction.
I tuned into the notes of music that thumped through my makeshift floor, the end of a rhythm tuning out as the wind died down and I could hear owls in the distance of the audience of trees. This moment was easily one of the best things id ever experienced...that morning adventure to the beach with Jackson seemingly boring compared to this. Then, to make it even more perfect, if that was even possible, the radio fizzled into a tune I knew all too well.
"Shut the front door!" I jumped up out of my cocoon, letting it fly to the floor below.
"I would, but we are on the roof...of a car, for that fact." Blake was humouring me, but he did have a look of questioning concern taking over his face.
I gripped his wrists and struggled to heave him up, telling him to forget the goddamn ice cream as I disregarded mine and ushered him onto his heels. The beat grew louder as I became aware of its grace, my body taken over by the spontaneosity of the last waking hours. I was either going to regret this, or give in to the most amazing three minutes of my entire existence.
"What in the hell are we doing now?" Blake laughed as I started to move my hips to the groove.
"Dancing!" I let the cold drift away, heated adrenaline forming stilts for my frozen joints. I relaxed, my legs shuffling from left to right as my hips twirled in the tornado of wind that whipped my hair over the shade of my eyes. I threw my arms up in the air, moving like a candles flame as I mimicked the girl watching over her precious lego bricks.
After a few seconds of pure shock from Blake, he also got in the spirit of things. I held his wrists as he jiggled his waist, elegance leaving the building with a first-class pass. I laughed hysterically as he let the beat ruthlessly bully him, body not connecting to the beating drum. I guided him with my own rhythm, spinning him round as he flung his hands up to the sky and guided them like airplanes over the sweeping skyscrapers.
I sang at the top of my lungs, my voice a whistle in the wind as I let serotonin hypnotise me and ridiculous moves wonder through my body. Blake didn't know the words, but that didn't matter, I was having the time of my life.
We danced until the last harmony of the song, arms flailing, legs kicking and voices echoing (well, my singing and Blakes humming) while the city of light never stopped being a spotlight to our dance.
My face hurt from smiling so much, the bones stretched beyond capacity to what I was used to. This was exactly the kind of thing I imagined myself doing this year. Travelling to different cities, singing in bars, dancing on black sand beaches, sunbathing in tropical sun, trying every flavour of ice cream ever made. Instead, I got dealt a bitter hand. But this...finally I felt the puzzle shift.
As the song died out, and another began, I struggled to catch my breath. I held my heart in my cupped palm, feelings its vibration against my warm chest. I crawled onto the rug, lying flat on my back as I giggled and the air in front of my face came out in short, raspy breaths. Blake fell down next to me, facing the stars as he also fought to catch his breath.
Here we were, staring at the same sky. The same stars. The same moon. Hindsight is a powerful thing, and I couldn't help but imagine what I would be doing if this year had gone to plan. Would I be staring at the same sky...the same atoms of time and space, yet on another Atlantic ridge...planning on living, instead of dying?
Song Dedication - Welcome Home, Radical Face