Chapter 34: [Bonus chapter] A Man Who Only Knows Me

(This is set a few years into the original plot line.)

Rays of light peaking through the curvature of the mountains; the smell of dew in the morning air; and the sweet sound of Dustan's voice, humming a tune that only he seems to know. Laying on the spread of sheets underneath us, I gazed at the man beside me.

He was all grown up.

"Why do you love me?" I found myself asking. I never did asked him, all those years.

"What do you mean?" He smiled. I looked away from him. A strange feeling crept up in the pit of my stomach, a feeling I've come to recognize as 'embarrassment'. Living a life with Dustan had certainly exposed me to the feeling, far too often.

Dustan must've took my silence as permission to scoop me in his arms and hold me closer to his chest. His arms found their way to my waist. And with a sigh, I eased myself into him.

I found myself breathing his scent in, closing my eyes in respite.