“It’s beautiful here, so peaceful”

“Well one woman’s peaceful is another’s boring, but yes, this place can be stunning.”

She smiled

“In fact, come with me” I said as I turned to walk away. Looking back, I saw the apprehension on her face, “Don’t worry, I’m not kidnapping you” I smiled

Eventually she relented and followed me into the darkness of the night.

“You may not be kidnapping me, but where are we going?” she finally broke the silence between us

“Patience”

“Not my strong suit”

Eventually we arrived at a fence at the edge of the property “Um, do you have a problem with climbing?”

“Climbing?” she asked nervously

“Over the fence” I gestured looking at the outfit she was wearing. The black pantsuit wouldn’t be an issue, the 4-inch heels however might.

“Look I’ll go first,” I say as I easily scale the fence and land on the other side. Turning back to face Miss Porter I catch the end of her mumbling to herself, I’m not entirely sure what she’s saying but I’m certain I hear the words “only for you” at one point.

Reluctantly she climbs the fence, with far more grace than those heels would suggest is possible. When she’s on her way down I put my arms out to steady her to the ground. It’s only when she’s standing in front of me do I realise that I still have my hands on her slim waist and I’m lightly drawing circles on her hip with my right hand.

“Hmm, sorry” I say as I back up. “Not far now” as I continue walking up the hill.

Finally, we reach the top, and instantly her reaction shows how worth it this trip was.

“Wow!” she says as she looks out at the scene.

With the pollution of the town’s lights behind us, looking down into the valley leading out into the uninhabited land. It feels as though you can see every star in the universe in this one small strip of the night sky.

Sitting on the grass, I feel more relaxed than ever, “This is by far my favourite spot in the town” I say as she sits next to me on the ground. “I often come up here when I need to escape from things, sometimes it feels like the stars are so low you could reach out and grab one”

“I can see why,” she says, still in awe of the view.

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I’m not sure how long we sat there, silently staring up at the stars. Well, she was staring at the stars, my eyeline kept drifting to the form next to me. Eventually though I felt the need to say something.

“I never apologised to you” I exclaimed

Breaking her attention from the view, she asked “Apologise? What for?”

“The night at the club, kissing you, I’m sure it ruined your night, so, I’m sorry” I rambled.

“You didn’t ruin my night” she said, looking away again “in fact, my sister found the whole situation hilarious”

“Your sister?” I asked confused

“Yeah, Kit, you met her, remember?”

“She’s your sister?!” Suddenly I felt relieved, she was with her sister, not a date.

“Yeah, anyway, she had a great time telling my friends all the details of the night!” she said, with the hint of a smile on her face.

“Still, must have been awkward, so again, I’m sorry”

“Apology accepted. How are things at home?”

“As well as there gonna be, I’m hoping that if I go away for college that the distance might help my parents. At least that way mom can blame my ‘lifestyle’ on being in the city.”

“You don’t think they’ll come around to the fact?”

“My parents, no. no way. My mom would sooner see a black man in the white house than accept her child was gay.”

At this she openly laughed, “you never know, stranger things have happened.”

“It will get better, I know it can seem helpless at times, but you will find a group of friends that support and love you for you, without compromise.” I smiled, that sounded wonderful.

“And I’ll make you a deal right now, when a black man is voted into the White House, I’ll come with you to see which fact you mom can accept first!”

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