Evan and Dom – Still by the Pool, but Soon to be Far Away
"Where did you-" Dom looked around frantically. He gasped. "How did you?"
Evan was perched on the roof of Valiant House like a hawk. The wind tossed his hair around and he could smell that sweet scent of summer. He was hunched over with his legs bent – his black dress pants looked like they might burst. He loosens out his collar, unbuttoning the top button. The cool breeze tickles down his chest. "Stay where you are, Dom! I'll look out for a place where we can meet up! Just give me a second…"
Dom watched as Evan disappeared behind the roof. He sizes up the wall. Two stories. He has one shot, one opportunity, else the brick wall turn him into spaghetti. His palms are sweaty, knees weak, his arms are heavy. Dom feels his motors whirring faster and louder, his legs amping up to full power. With explosive force he lifts off – his right leg thrusting against the earth, his left leg sweeping ahead of him. Like the cylinders in an engine, his legs rotate faster and faster until they become a blur, accelerating with the ferocity of a big cat. He leaps. As he soars through the air, his legs continue to whirl – carried on by sheer momentum. He sees the roof pass under him. "No f***ing way…"
As hard as Evan looked, he just could not find a secluded pathway. "I'm sorry Dom," he said as he began to turn around, "I think you're gonna have to – oh. How'd you get up here?" Dom grinned. "Don't worry about it. Come, let's push on."
---
"Oh my god! Do you see that right there?"
"Yeah. Let's keep it down."
"It's so hard to see anything through this hedge!"
(That might be a problem.) Evan scans around, looking for a way to get around the obstacle. He didn't know what had gotten into him.
"Evan, where are you going?"
He didn't know what drove him. But he had gotten it into his mind that he was on a mission, and he had to see it through.
"Evan?"
Evan had climbed onto a tree. He motions for silence, and then leaps from one bough – over the hedge – to the other tree. He positions himself uncomfortably between two boughs and looks down below.
Gulp.
He wasn't sure what he was seeing. It was magnetic yet exotic, magical yet earthly, real and yet unreal. And his military discipline, his careful rationality that tied his being together began to fray at the ends. He should have looked away, but he was captivated.
His palms sweat. He slips – but he catches himself, just barely. His chest had dropped half a foot, but his arms hung on, strained and aching and fully stretched. His pupils dilate and his nostrils flare. Everything was brighter and more beautiful. He could detect enticing scents: some earthy, some floral, some musky, all of them alluring. He was rapt, and all the pain he felt from his cramped posture was worth it.
They were beautiful and they were an eyesore. His eyes sored. Suddenly, as if to please his eyes, a hundred pink flowers came into bloom, like butterflies flitting about flirtatiously. He gasped and they gasped. He wanted more and they wanted more. He wasn't thinking anymore, and neither were they.
They collapsed to the ground, onto the tree. A gentle breeze rolls in, and the branches open up wider. He saw petals blowing away without a care, revealing the flowers' bare stems. He heard limbs groaning in the wind. He felt the earth pounding, and his own heart pounded harder, and harder, and harder. He almost falls. Every breath is deep. He closed his eyes but saw everything.
Did he think he could run away, escape? He was lost by his first glance. He was falling through warmth and moisture. He saw passion run red and tasted sweet ecstasy. An arrow shot through the air from somewhere in the distance and it came closer and closer, faster and faster, until it hit him in the forehead and exploded with the brightness and the force of a supernova. He dived like a swan into a beautiful sea of green.
…
Evan tried to open his eyes, but all he saw was black. His fingers clawed at the dirt. It was at a pleasant temperature, and it was wet. The air was humid. His body was sore. He licked fresh blood from his lips. He smiled.
Evan was perched on the roof of Valiant House like a hawk. The wind tossed his hair around and he could smell that sweet scent of summer. He was hunched over with his legs bent – his black dress pants looked like they might burst. He loosens out his collar, unbuttoning the top button. The cool breeze tickles down his chest. "Stay where you are, Dom! I'll look out for a place where we can meet up! Just give me a second…"
Dom watched as Evan disappeared behind the roof. He sizes up the wall. Two stories. He has one shot, one opportunity, else the brick wall turn him into spaghetti. His palms are sweaty, knees weak, his arms are heavy. Dom feels his motors whirring faster and louder, his legs amping up to full power. With explosive force he lifts off – his right leg thrusting against the earth, his left leg sweeping ahead of him. Like the cylinders in an engine, his legs rotate faster and faster until they become a blur, accelerating with the ferocity of a big cat. He leaps. As he soars through the air, his legs continue to whirl – carried on by sheer momentum. He sees the roof pass under him. "No f***ing way…"
As hard as Evan looked, he just could not find a secluded pathway. "I'm sorry Dom," he said as he began to turn around, "I think you're gonna have to – oh. How'd you get up here?" Dom grinned. "Don't worry about it. Come, let's push on."
---
"Oh my god! Do you see that right there?"
"Yeah. Let's keep it down."
"It's so hard to see anything through this hedge!"
(That might be a problem.) Evan scans around, looking for a way to get around the obstacle. He didn't know what had gotten into him.
"Evan, where are you going?"
He didn't know what drove him. But he had gotten it into his mind that he was on a mission, and he had to see it through.
"Evan?"
Evan had climbed onto a tree. He motions for silence, and then leaps from one bough – over the hedge – to the other tree. He positions himself uncomfortably between two boughs and looks down below.
Gulp.
He wasn't sure what he was seeing. It was magnetic yet exotic, magical yet earthly, real and yet unreal. And his military discipline, his careful rationality that tied his being together began to fray at the ends. He should have looked away, but he was captivated.
His palms sweat. He slips – but he catches himself, just barely. His chest had dropped half a foot, but his arms hung on, strained and aching and fully stretched. His pupils dilate and his nostrils flare. Everything was brighter and more beautiful. He could detect enticing scents: some earthy, some floral, some musky, all of them alluring. He was rapt, and all the pain he felt from his cramped posture was worth it.
They were beautiful and they were an eyesore. His eyes sored. Suddenly, as if to please his eyes, a hundred pink flowers came into bloom, like butterflies flitting about flirtatiously. He gasped and they gasped. He wanted more and they wanted more. He wasn't thinking anymore, and neither were they.
They collapsed to the ground, onto the tree. A gentle breeze rolls in, and the branches open up wider. He saw petals blowing away without a care, revealing the flowers' bare stems. He heard limbs groaning in the wind. He felt the earth pounding, and his own heart pounded harder, and harder, and harder. He almost falls. Every breath is deep. He closed his eyes but saw everything.
Did he think he could run away, escape? He was lost by his first glance. He was falling through warmth and moisture. He saw passion run red and tasted sweet ecstasy. An arrow shot through the air from somewhere in the distance and it came closer and closer, faster and faster, until it hit him in the forehead and exploded with the brightness and the force of a supernova. He dived like a swan into a beautiful sea of green.
…
Evan tried to open his eyes, but all he saw was black. His fingers clawed at the dirt. It was at a pleasant temperature, and it was wet. The air was humid. His body was sore. He licked fresh blood from his lips. He smiled.