Roxy raised an eyebrow at Phoenix’s response. She somehow didn’t quite believe him. but she wasn’t going to pry any further. Besides, if she were in his shoes, she’d probably do the same if she had been hiding some great ‘secret’ love for years on end. Instead she gave a small shrug. “Maybe it’s just a phase then,” she said nonchalently. She was interested to see what sort of reaction that would get; maybe a reaction that would give the game away that it had been longer than just over a year.
“Yeah, but usually that’s if they’re led off by a stranger,” she scoffed. “You need to relax.” She hung back to fall into step with him. “And you need to trust me,” she gave a small pat on his shoulder. If she was going to murder anyone, not that she would, but if she had to take her pick Phoenix would be one of the last people she would choose. Not just because she actually sort of enjoyed the guy’s company and felt that he was somewhat of a friend, but also because she knew Bodhi would be distraught. And that thought hurt her heart than any other.
She stopped when they came across a liquor store. “So we can continue to drown out sorrows.” She went in and came back out with a bottle of vodka, slipping it into her bag. “Come on. We’re almost there.” She gestured with her head for Phoenix to follow her again.
After another five minute walk they arrived at their destination: the lake. But this wasn’t just any normal part of the lake: this was a secret crook that couldn’t be seen by the usual lake-goers and was only known to those who had stumbled on it by accident. Roxy hadn’t actually came across it herself, but her grandfather had told her about it when she was young. He said that if she went looking, she would find it. And so after he told her about it, she went looking and low and behold, it didn’t take her long to find. It was almost like a small island that was still attatched to the mainland. It was only big enough to fit maybe four people on comfortably, and you were dangerously close to the water at that. She sat down on grass and pulled out the vodka bottle. She cracked it open, took a swig and handed it to Phoenix.
“My grandad told me about this place.” She looked out onto the lake. It was a clear night and the moonlight was reflecting off of the water, making it glisten. It was beautiful. “He told me that he had just come back from the war, and was planning on asking my gran to marry him.” She picked up a small pebble that was laying in the grass and began turning it over in her hands, turning her gaze from the lake down to its smooth surface. “Seeing all of that torture, all that injury and death… he realised life was short and he had been in love with her for years. But do you know what?” Roxy turned to look at Phoenix. “He never did anything about it.” She paused for a moment, licking her lips. “Until he had had that brush with death and decided that he couldn’t live the rest of his life, knowing that he could potentially die at any moment, and not confess how he felt. He showed her this place. It was probably round about the same time it is now they went, and he told her how he felt and just straight-out asked her to marry him. No asking her out on a date, no asking her to be his girlfriend, just straight out asked her to be his wife.” She gave a small laugh at the idea. “Pretty stupid if you ask me but I think it was more common back then, especially after the war.” She gave her shoulders a small shrug. “Do you know what my gran said to him?”
He snorted at her comment that it might be a phase. Did phases last this long? No, they were things you outgrew. Crossing the threshold from his early teen years to nearly his mid-twenties with the same feelings didn’t seem like much of a phase to him. “Yeah, sounds like wishful thinking to me. I gave it up yea -- ages ago.” There was no way Roxy missed it. He chose to ignore that fact.
They were walking in near silence, save for her to pop in the liquor store to buy a bottle of vodka. “Perfect!” he announced because he wasn’t completely wasted and it was much better to be blackout drunk if you were going to talk about feelings. If you asked him, anyway.
When they reached a small alcove near the lake, he sat next to her. The breeze coming off the water felt nice on his liquor warmed skin. Accepting the bottle from her, he didn’t waste time taking a large gulp from it before passing it back. A small smile spread across his face. It reminded him a bit of the romance movies he’d find while flicking through channels after he smoked. It was the only time he’d watch them. “I actually really like the story so far.” He paused for a moment to think about it. “Apparently, it was yes because you’re here?” he suggested before shaking his head. “What I think she should have done was ask him if he’d lost his damn mind.”
