![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/moon.png?resize=800%2C581\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI love you.\u201d A whispered confession.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat? You don\u2019t know me.\u201d I looked over at him, just a dark shape walking down the wooded path next to me. Tonight, the moon\u2019s face peeped out only long enough to dapple the most obtrusive of leaves before demurely retreating behind her tattered veils.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I fell in love with you just now,\u201d he replied. \u201cI\u2019m in love with the spaces between your words, the sound of your shoes on gravel, the hesitation in your voice\u2026 and I love the way our strides match, the way you push aside the branches for me, the smell of the night air on your skin.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHm.\u201d I smiled, shaking my head, and I found I wasn\u2019t put off by his proclamations, odd as they were. \u201cWhat about here?\u201d<\/p>\n
As he stared off to the side, his silhouette was limned in passing by the bashful moon. \u201cAre we far enough from the road?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe so.\u201d<\/p>\n
We left the path, finding a space between the trees, and for a few breaths neither of us moved. Then, he stepped closer, dropping to his knees in the cushion of fallen leaves. With nimble fingers he unbuttoned my trousers and I reached out to cup the back of his neck. This would be delicious\u2014I could already feel it.<\/p>\n
After placing a lingering kiss on my swollen crown, hand clasped tight around my root, he looked up at me. At that moment, the moon decided to shed her modesty and stepped out naked into the night, bathing the young man\u2019s face in silver. There were tears in his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me you love me,\u201d he whispered, breath feathering my sensitive skin.<\/p>\n
Such foolishness<\/em>\u2026 This is not what I was paying for. However, as a tear broke free and slid down his face, I felt something give inside of me.<\/p>\n \u201cI love you,\u201d I murmured, thumbing the wetness from his cheek with a gentle smile. And, at that moment, for just an instant, I believed my words with all my heart.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cI love you.\u201d A whispered confession. \u201cWhat? You don\u2019t know me.\u201d I looked over at him, just a dark shape walking down the wooded path next to me. Tonight, the moon\u2019s face peeped out only long enough to dapple the most obtrusive of leaves before demurely retreating behind her tattered veils. \u201cI think I fell in love with you just now,\u201d he replied. \u201cI\u2019m in love with the spaces between your words, the sound of your shoes on gravel, the hesitation in your voice\u2026 and I love the way our strides match, the way you push aside the branches for … <\/p>\n