Chapter 31

"You shouldn't wander around alone little baby."

Brandon squatted down on the ground to level himself with the little girl who looked not older than four years.

"Where's your mommy?"

The girl cutely pointed at the direction where the children's park was situated, smiling at Brandon just as he did for her. He took her little hand in his and got up straight, glancing at me with his smile not fading. He was about to walk with the girl to where she pointed but halted when she didn't move.

"Mommy always carries me around. Can't you also do that?" She asked from the boy who was much older than her, displaying cute round puppy eyes making him chuckle at her cuteness.

"Of course baby! Brother is very strong you know." He said and held the girl in his arms, pecking her cheek gently.

Gosh I can't believe I'm getting jealous of a little kid!

Brandon started walking to the children's park with the girl in his arms as she wrapped her little hands tightly around his neck, hugging him. I followed behind them quietly, smiling to myself at how cute Brandon is with little kids. He always loved kids and my heart melted everytime I saw him interacting with them as if he was a little kid himself.

He's gonna be the best dad one day...

"Crystal!! Crystal my baby!! Where are you?!"

A woman's voice echoed through the park making us look in that direction to see a middle aged lady running around looking everywhere for something or in this case, someone.

"Is that you're mommy little baby?" Brandon asked sweetly from the girl while pointing to the lady to which she nodded.

Giving the guy a meaningful look I went to the woman and told her what happened. She immediately ran to Brandon and held her daughter affectionately, hugging and showering the girl with kisses.

"She was wandering alone in the park ma'am." Brandon explained to the lady with a polite smile.

"Thank you so much son. I went to get something for her to eat and she was just beside me. I don't know when she ran off. I really can't thank you enough." She smiled at both of us and went back to the children's play area with Crystal, the little girl skipping along.

I thought she said her mother always carries her around...

Did she say that just so Brandon would carry her?!

I wish I had a believable lie to make that happen to me...

"Back to our last date?" Brandon rubbed his hands together, turning to me. I giggled and nodded as we both went back on strolling on the grounds aimlessly.

"I can't believe this is our last date." I said with my eyes focused on my feet as we walked.

"I know..." He sighed heavily making me look at him. "This really helped us in a way I think. We got to spend more time together."

"We always spend time together."

"I know but this is different. Like... I don't know it's just different." He tried to find the right words to express his thoughts but gave up after two seconds. "Are you fully recovered now? After that incident I mean..."

The memories haunted me for sometime and I would wake up in the middle of the night after having a nightmare but now it was getting better. Although I had been avoiding people till now, Brandon was beside me so I didn't feel unsafe at all. I knew he would protect me from any kind of danger at any time and that was all I needed to have strength.

"Yeah kind of. I mean, I rarely have nightmares anymore and I feel okay around people than before. I guess I'm fully recovered." I smiled at him reassuringly.

"I'm glad to hear that. Just know that whatever happens, you've got me."

Brandon smiled fondly at me as his hand snaked into mine, intertwining the fingers. I gasped slightly and stared at our interlocked hands while I felt my cheeks heating up.

"It's our last experimental date. It's a pity if we don't even hold hands, don't you think?" He started walking again with a cheesy grin.

Right...

It's just the last experiment for him...

No feelings whatsoever...

The evening sun was shining really bright showering us with a glorious orange glow. Me and Brandon sat on a bench which was in a quiet and beautiful place, taking our time to admire the beauty of our surroundings. I was looking over at the ducks in the lake when I felt weight on my thighs. I looked down to see Brandon getting ready to sleep with his head on my lap.

"What are you doing?" I asked with a quizzical expression on my face although he couldn't see it as his eyes were already closed.

"Shut up and don't move. You're comfy." He demanded and continued to stay like that making me sigh and roll my eyes.

Staring at his peaceful sleeping face was one thing I loved to do. It's really cute. His bouncy bangs now still on his forehead was so puffy and shiny with the sunlight pouring on them, I wanted to feel them between my fingers. Trying hard to control myself from stroking his hair I looked away but gave up when I couldn't hold it back anymore.

Stealthily I ran my right hand ever so gently over his hair trying not to wake him up. His hair was so smooth and silky. It was so addictive that I ended up concentrating on just his hair until I saw him smirk, his eyes still closed. Pretending I wasn't playing with his hair just now I moved my hand away and looked here and there, clearing my throat awkwardly.

"Why did you stop? I like it when you play with my hair."

Brandon said casually, grabbing my wrist and placing it on his hair once again. I wanted to resist but having his silky hair between my fingers made me think contrary. Giggling to myself I continued to stroke and play with it for a long time.

"Be honored, I don't let anyone touch my hair except you." He smiled sweetly at me and closed his eyes again.

The sun disappeared into the horizon and twilight also came to an end eventually but Brandon and I stayed the same. It was getting late but I didn't want to go. I wanted this day to last as long as it could. Knowing that I will no longer be his experimental girlfriend made me sad.

Brandon suddenly got up and sat straight on the bench. I looked at him, waiting for him to say something. He stared into the sky that was now slowly filling up with little blinking starts.

"Let's go watch stars." He said looking at me expectantly.

"Stars? But isn't it late? You gotta go home." I muttered that was totally opposite to what I really wanted. I just didn't want his father to worry.

"It's our last date. We gotta make it memorable. Let's go stargazing. It's the perfect way to end the day." Brandon said and stood up from the bench, extending his hands towards me.

I smiled and held onto it tightly.