Excerpt: Spirit

Preface
“I never thought we would be here,” I murmured, and he turned to look at me, the leather of the seat groaning as he shifted. I squeezed his hand lightly, and tilted my head to the side. His palm was warm against mine.
“What?” he asked, the steady acoustics strumming from the radio, threatened to lull both of us into a sweet, calm oblivion.
“That we would be here, and under the stars,” I told him, as if that made all the sense in the world. “I never knew how I stood with you, and now—now I do. And it’s comforting.”
We shifted back into that comfortable silence; the only noise was the steady purr of the engine, along with the soft rock pulsing between us. As I looked at him, I watched as his eyes drifted shut, and his face smoothed out.
“If you could have any super power,” he suddenly began, with his eyes still closed, “what would you have?”
His hand stirred beneath mine for a moment, and I pursed my lips before I spoke. “I always say…to fly. I always say that, but it’s not true, because I’m absolutely terrified of heights.”
“That’s a...a,” he paused, “what’s the word?”
“Contradiction,” I supplied with a light chuckle. He grinned back at me sleepily before continuing.
“That’s a contradiction, you know? So what is it really?”
“Probably telekinesis, because that means you have to be sound of mind—at peace.” And I’d like peace, someday, I thought to myself. “What about you?”
“I’d have the ability to stop time. So I could hit the other guy before he could hit me.” He murmured, and I understood. So he couldn’t get hurt anymore, in any way.
“Would you have moments like these last forever?” I asked, closing my eyes and laid my head back against the seat.
“Yeah,” he said, squeezing my hand lightly, “that too.”