Flynn's point of view:
A rush ran through me as I realized today was the day I would have the chance to go home. It was just on time and I was lucky that I didn't have any interruptions to block it. I took this, since almost nothing I do works out perfectly, as a sign brought on by the closest thing we had to fate. This was its way of saying that it was time for me to solve things with Elora permanently, never letting anything else get in the way of what I wanted with her. We had exchanged letters, about whatever it was, all of them friendly and with all the love a letter could give you. Sometimes, that was an abundant amount.
Throughout the whole of the plane ride back to America, I thought of what I was going to say to Elora, what I would tell her and with what words. How was saying something so difficult? Why did I feel like it had to be so perfect that it blew her mind away? She wasn't that high maintenance, but to me, she deserved the best and twice as much.
"Hello, Flynn, how are you?" I heard the sweet voice of Hilda radiating through my ears as she came to sit down in the seat across from me. She was like an angel with a gun. Sometimes I wondered if she was God's guardian of earth, placed there to protect all that stood in danger and to nurture all she loved and cared for. That was the full impression I had with her when we fought in this country together. Mihn was around as well but he did more of the base work with the generals while Hilda and I worked in the field.
"I'm alright, how are you, Hilda?" I asked politely. She said she was good and she handed me a small bottle of water, or what seemed to be water. When I took a swig and found it was vodka, my eyes widened in surprise at her. Hilda simply laughed at my awestruck expression.
"My apologies, I thought it may take the edge off. You will be talking to Elora today, won't you?" She asked. I didn't spit out the vodka when I first tasted it, but I just about did when she asked me that question. How is it that the woman managed to find everything out? This was a damn family of interrogators and spies that really knew what they were doing!
"Are you that analytic or am I just predictable?" I asked. She chuckled and shook her head at me.
"Neither. Lorelei told me what happened when you were staying with us. The time you slept in the bed with her and when you said goodbye early that morning you left for Vietnam. Sounds to me like you have feelings for her," Hilda replied. I had no idea Lorelei knew about what happened back in Washington. Had she seen us doing it both times? How did she manage to do that? I would have to ask her about that when I arrived back in Washington and I had the chance to speak with her. That was probably easier said than done considering the fact that she and I were not on good terms by any means. She would most likely be at her apartment most of the time if I was going to be at her parent's house.
"If you want me to stay away from her, I will. I know I'm not exactly the ideal match for her. I'm covered in tattoos and I'm not exactly ivy-league in anything other than the army and killing people," I explained. She scoffed and waved it off like it was the silliest thing she had ever heard.
"My husband was the exact same, save the tattoos. He didn't know anything outside the army and him and my father are very close. As long as you have the ability to love, protect and take care of her with all you have, then I am sure you are just as deserving of her affection as any other, maybe even more if you play your cards right," she replied with a laugh. I chuckled back as I turned to the window, looking out into the horizon as the sun made its way in the sky.
"I just don't know," I replied.
"Just be spontaneous. I can tell you as her mother that she likes a surprise. I'm sure if you do something that has to do with that, then she will fall right into your hands--not literally," she replied. I laughed at her joke and nodded in approval. Maybe Hilda was right. If anyone knew her daughter, it would be her. I decided that I would take her advice and do what she told me to.
"Thanks, Hilda," I replied. She smiled at me and began to read a book, leaving the rest of the flight with me and my own thoughts.
•••
Elora's point of view:
My mind was racing. Where was Flynn? He was supposed to be here. I was worried, and I had no idea why. He was supposed to come, and so was my mother. I seemed to be the only one who was worried right now. Why was everyone acting so nonchalant?
"Relax, Elora, they'll be here," Lorelei said to me. She was five months along in her pregnancy now and growing by day. She was glowing though, and she was lucky to have a pregnant that didn't make her too sick or tired. She seemed to have more energy than before, and one could see how that was surprising.
"I'm just worried something may happen," I replied. Lorelei shook her head and laughed as she left to go to the bathroom. My father was sitting on the sofa, his crutch in hand as he watched the clock above the mantle of the fireplace in our living room.
"Everything will be alright, baby girl. I don't want you getting anxious over it," my father said to me quietly. I found that ever since he lost his leg, he had become more nurturing. My mother was gone to war, yes, but he seemed to have altered to become more close and affectionate with us. When we were children, he would be the regular father with a few additives since he had such a unique personality that always wanted to care for us. But he was seen as the protector while my mother was the one to attend to our wants rather than our needs.
"Alright, by the way, I made your doctor's appointment. It's on Friday," I said to him. The doctor had asked us to make an appointment to fit him for a prosthetic leg now that he was able to walk with the crutch successfully and with ease. We figured it was time for him to move on at some point and to start walking again, for the most part anyway. So, in a few days from now, I would be taking him to get a fitted leg. It wouldn't arrive until at least a month after, though.
"Thanks, Elora," he replied. I nodded and before I could say another word I heard the rumbling of a car engine that was coming into the driveway. My eyes widened as I went to the window to see who was here. When I saw Mihn and my mother come out of the car, my whole body lit up with excitement.
"They're here!" I exclaimed. My father stood from the sofa and Emmaleigh and Lorelei came rushing to where we were. We waited patiently but apprehensively for them to come in. I was mostly excited that Flynn was here, although I would never say that to anyone here.
The first to come in were my mother and Mihn. They smiled happily as they came to hug all of us. Mihn kissed Lorelei romantically as she giggled. He had his hand on her stomach the whole entire time I saw him. He was so excited about having a baby he just couldn't stand not touching her belly for more than ten minutes. My mother and father reunited like it had been years since they saw each other, this was obvious. Then, my mother came to me and hugged me tightly.
"Hi, mommy," I said to her quietly as I relished in the embrace of my mother. I was twenty one and I still loved having her hold me like I was ten years younger than I actually am.
"Hello, Elora, I missed you so much," she whispered to me as she kept holding me. I almost didn't want to let go. My mother was always there to wash the worries away, even if it was only temporary.
"By the way, Flynn would like to speak to you. I'll tell him to meet you upstairs?" She asked. When she brought up Flynn wanting to speak with me, I could feel my cheeks getting warm and I didn't have to look in a mirror to know they were probably as red as tomatoes. I tried to hide it but the laugh my mother presented said that she knew exactly what I was thinking. I simply thanked her and went upstairs to wait for him, not wanting to talk about it to anyone else but him.
I shut my bedroom door and sat at the foot of my bed, waiting. Seconds went by and I kept sitting there, watching the white, wooden door like a hawk. I breathed evenly, trying to calm down as I gazed straight ahead of me. I shut my eyes for a few seconds just to pace myself and silently tell myself it was all going to be fine, and to treat it like it was just a normal conversation. I had no idea how I was going to do that but I had to try.
The door opened shortly after to reveal Flynn. He walked in and stared at me intensely. I stood from the bed as he walked in, so much for trying to relax myself with sitting. He shut the door behind him and leaned his back against the wood, watching me silently as I stood a few feet away from him. Right now, a few feet seemed like a thousand miles.
"You wanted to talk?" I asked, trying my best to find a way to break the ice. I was silently praying that we wouldn't be this awkward the whole time. I felt my heart beating rapidly in my chest as I did my best to breathe normally. Even though I tried, it sounded futile to me. Flynn seemed to be ignoring it. He had this determined look on his face that I couldn't quite place.
"Yes, but later," he replied. I didn't know what this meant at first, and then he showed me.
It was so fast, but he stormed forward and pulled my body close to him. Within seconds of that he had his firm but lush lips on mine, kissing me like he hadn't seen me in years. It was so fierce, so heated that I felt my whole body warm up like it was being lit on fire. His hands were holding my face to his so he could keep kissing me instead of letting me breathe. I felt this rush of passionate adrenaline as I longed for more of his touch, for it all to keep travelling to me and never letting me go. His embrace was glorious, like this lusted triumph I never thought I would achieve.
Flynn released the kiss and held me tightly. I looked up at his tall and powerful frame, like I was being embraced by a heavenly god. I couldn't believe he kissed me, couldn't believe he had wanted to do that with me at all. Flynn kissed me, and heatedly as well! I felt a million different emotions as I stared up at his concentrated eyes. One was lust and affection, another was pure excitement. These were among all the many others that coursed through my veins as my eyes perused the face of Flynn Nash.
"That was--abrupt," I simply said. That wasn't what I wanted to say. I could have used any other word. Lovely, fantastic, amazing, divine. Why on earth did I choose abrupt? Flynn was simply chuckling when I had a massive blush cover my cheeks.
"In a good way?" He asked. I nodded and smiled at him, silently thanking him for saving me from the bell like that. He chuckled and pressed my back against the wall, pinning me down gently as he kissed me passionately once again.
"Can I just ask you a question?" I asked through our kissing. He stopped and nodded his head, looking down at me as he listened. "What does this mean? I just--is it like Mihn and Lorelei? Or is it something different? What's going to happen to us?" I asked, almost sounding like I was concerned for the fate of our relationship. I was, more than anything. With the bliss of being kissed by Flynn came consequence of my thoughts. That's usually how things worked when it came to me.
"Why do we need to repeat what they or what anyone did? The point of us starting this new thing is that we can make it our own. We can do things no one else you know did when they were young. Who knows what'll happen to us? Who knows if we're going to last fifty years, who knows if we'll last five? Why don't we just live and stay with each other all we can? Because right now the only thing or person I want to have beside me is you," he explained. His words of wisdom were enough to send me up the wall with this romantic elation. He romanticized living, giving it this adventure that everyone craved as a young human being. Now here I was, with the man that did that, and preparing for the ride of my life.
"Alright, that's what I want to do. Let's have an adventure," I replied. Flynn smiled down at me and placed his hand gently on my cheek. He reached down to kiss my forehead instead of my lips, adding to the affection of a new love.
"Let's start tonight," he said to me. My smile was uncontrollable as he whispered his thoughts into my ear. He wasn't going to tell me what we were doing, only that I would love it and it would make me feel like I was a true adventurer.
It wasn't until later that night, I had been asleep for hours now. At one thirty in the morning, I felt the hand of Flynn shaking me awake. I opened my eyes and jumped back a little in surprise as I saw him at my bedside. I sat up straight and rubbed my eyes to try and wake up.
"Are you ready to go on an adventure?" He asked. What in the world was he saying?! Oh! Wait! I remembered he told me that he was going to wake me up when the time came for us to go. I didn't think it would be this late into the night.
"Yes, but where are we going?" I said to Flynn in a hushed whisper. I got out of bed and went to my closet to put some clothes on. I decided on a comfortable red dress that went to slightly above my knees and some flats that went to match it.
"You'll see, come on, before it's too late. I want to make sure we get there right on time," he replied. I chuckled and quickly followed him out of the room and soon, out of the house. He took my hand in his as he led me into the car and started the engine. He sped off as quickly as he could, leading us onto the road. I chuckled brightly as I felt the wind blow in my hair.
"I really wish you would tell me where we are going," I said to him as we drove with the top of the car down. Flynn shook his head and smirked at me as he took my hand in his.
"You'll find out eventually. All I know is that you'll adore it," he replied. I smiled and leaned back in the car seat as I let the cool, night sky air course through my hair and cover my skin.
After a few minutes, Flynn parked the car in a deserted parking lot. I looked around to find a hint of where we may be going, but there was nothing here that could potentially present it. The place was almost empty, save for the city buildings that lit up around us. He left the car and opened up the door for me, letting me get out slowly as I kept looking around for something to show me what was happening.
"So, this is the hard part. I'll need to put this blindfold on you," he said to me. I tried my best not widen my eyes as he took out a purple blindfold and showed it to me. "Do you trust me?" He asked. I took a deep breath and nodded my head. He then took the fold and wrapped it around my head. He took my hand and began to move me along the road slowly.
It took a few minutes, but eventually we were out of the lot and I felt grass below me. We stopped together, and I was unable to see anything. I kept on wondering where we were going or why we were stopping.
"Are we there?" I asked. Flynn let out a small laugh as he held my shoulders with affection.
"Almost. Do you have it ready?" I heard him talking. It definitely wasn't to me. Was there someone else around us?
"Absolutely. Follow me," I heard the voice of a man, and then Flynn motioned for me to follow. Where are we going?