Love Through Your Lens (Completed)

Chapter Nine: First Date, Part Two

"How am I supposed to enjoy these pictures when you're pulling me through so fast?!" I protested, trying to process each piece of work as fast as I could.

How was I supposed to know what he shot? I had only seen the shots we had done together. I had no earthly idea what his other work looked like.

"You'll stop me when you see it," he quipped back to me, but refused to meet my eyes.

"Great..." I scanned the frames in front of me, certain they were all a blur by now.

Until they weren't.

I paused right in the middle of the crowd, letting the viewers brush past me as I stepped closer to this piece. It was in black and white, but I could see the whole scene in color in my mind.

I recognized that cabin.

I recognized that bed. Those sheets.

The woman in the image was photographed from behind, the sheets sprawling across her body tastefully.

I couldn't believe my eyes.

That was me.

"You...photographed me?" The words barely came out in a whisper. I dropped his hand and covered my eyes, afraid I would cry, right here in public.

"I did..." I felt his breath behind me.

"Why?"

He sighed and paused for a long moment. Despite the drone of the crowd around us, I was acutely aware of his silence.

"I was happy. It was the perfect scene to wake up to."

I closed my eyes. Was this some sort of trick?

Sure, he agreed to three dates with me. But I expected really crappy, half-assed dates.

Not this.

Just when I expected to reassure myself he was the asshole I'd pretended he was all these years... Was he really just as hung up on me as I was on him?

"Alexis? Are you ok?" I felt him hold me close and rest his chin on my head. I could tell he was trying to shield me from prying eyes.

"I will be." I sniffled lightly, thankful that although my eyes were full of tears, they had not fallen.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to upset you."

"I'm not upset," I started abruptly. "Just incredibly...surprised."

He laughed and I felt his joy vibrate through me. "Why are you surprised?"

"I...I didn't think I meant that much to you," I admitted quietly.

He ran his hands over my arms slightly, thinking over my words. "It looks like you thought wrong."

He was absolutely right about that. I breathed out shakily, ashamed at myself.

"Do you want to see more of the exhibit?"

I wiped at the corners of my eyes furiously and shook my head. "Yeah, I'm ok." I looked up into his ocean blue eyes, seeing yet another mischievous glint. "Oh, what now?"

"Meet me by the elevator in five minutes. The next part of the exhibit is upstairs."

- - -

After quickly retouching my makeup in the restroom, I waited for Chris next to the elevator in the main lobby.

He jogged back over from the main entrance with a backpack slung over his shoulder and light drops of rain in his hair.

"What is this?" I pointed at the backpack.

"You'll have to guess," he teased out of breath and reached past me to press the "up" button.

The doors momentarily opened and he gestured for me to step inside. Once we were in, he pressed the button for the top floor.

On the ride up, he studied my high heeled shoes intently. "I hope you can climb in those. Otherwise, barefoot it is."

"We're climbing?"

The elevator dinged and we stepped out to an empty, abandoned floor.

Chris took my hand and led me to a door to the left labeled "roof access". It opened to a small, industrial room with a ladder leading up. "I'll go up first and open the latch. Then I'll help pull you up. We can put your shoes in my backpack, if you want."

I peered at him hesitantly, then slipped off my shoes and handed them to him. I shivered as my bare toes made contact with the chilled concrete. "If I die, it'll be your fault."

He smiled and mimicked to cross his heart. "You're in good hands. Just watch out - it finished raining, so it may be slippery..."

Really inspiring confidence, there...

I watched him climb up and heard a metal clang as he opened what I assumed was the roof access door.

"Ok, head on up!"

I swallowed anxiously and gripped the metal bars of the ladder, moving slowly, but steadily up to him. Eventually, I surfaced into the cool air of the city after a fresh rain.

"Wow..." I gripped the hands Chris offered me as I climbed out onto the roof. The city skyline before us was mesmerizing. I had seen photos of it countless times, but experiencing it like this was unmatched.

"I have a blanket right here, you can sit down." He gestured to a spot to the right of us. I took a seat, still marveling at the atmosphere around us. "And do you want white or red wine?" He pulled two wine juice boxes out of the backpack and offered them to me.

"White." I plucked the box out of his hand and he settled down on the blanket next to me.

"Good, I wanted the red."

I laughed and playfully elbowed him again. "That was your plan all along, huh?"

He smiled slyly in response, loosening his tie slightly.

"So what are we drinking to?" I held up the juice box in front of us.

He scratched his scruff for a moment, studying me. I did my best not to falter under his intense gaze.

A large part of me just wanted to pull him down to kiss me right there.

"To trying to be vulnerable again." He brought his juice box up to "clink" against mine.

I smiled and brought mine back to myself, to unscrew the top and take a sip. "I can't say I've ever given a toast with wine juice boxes before... But I like it."

I felt his shoulder brush against mine as he took a drink.

"Well, good. I'm not a very fancy man. So I hope you're not expecting the usual romantic dates."

I glanced at his face lit by the city light as he looked ahead. "I think I'll survive."

My chest felt tight as I realized in that moment...

That must have been what it felt like when Chris was compelled to take that picture of me.