Roy had observed that day at the library that Dahlia made a conscious effort to flirt with him nearly the entire time they were there. In fact, it could have even been considered noticeable if watched at the right times, and a part of Roy feared that Amanda had caught on. He caught her grinning from a distance with narrowed eyes at him and she would quickly look away and giggle. It made Roy uncomfortable. She totally knew. Dahlia still had sex hair.

"You look a little banged up, Roy. What happened?"

"Uh..." He didn't care to admit getting decked in the face. "Fell."

"Be more careful!" Amanda exclaimed. She patted him on the head. It was cringeworthy.

"Yeah..."

Amanda continued to delve into paperwork. Roy felt Dahlia's arms wrap around his shoulders. She leaned forward and pressed her lips into his neck. Amanda's eyes widened and a huge grin spread across her pudgy face.

Dahlia raised an eyebrow, smiling slyly back. Roy sighed, trying to ignore Amanda's audible squeals coming from across the room.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Roy said under his breath. He led Dahlia into the following room.

"Yes?"

"Could you do me a favor, Dahlia, and knock it off?"

Dahlia frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Stop. The public affection thing. It's getting kind of ridiculous."

"What are you talking about?"

"You're all over me. It's noticeable. People can tell. It's inappropriate."

"If someone has feelings for someone else they shouldn't hide it," Dahlia said. She sat on Roy's lap and put his head in her hands. "It shouldn't be a secret." She traced his cheekbones.

"Dahlia, we're in a public building. Working. With people. We don't need to harass each other. It's obnoxious."

"I'd slap your ass if I could, to be honest," Dahlia admitted.

"Um..." Roy locked eyes with an elderly woman. Her expression made it evident she heard Dahlia's comment.

"I-I mean I could...I could totally do that tonight, right?"

Roy said nothing.

"On our adventure. Where I wanted to take you."

"Is it a public establishment?"

"No, not really. Sorta. No, actually, it's not." Dahlia smiled confidently.

"I'll, uh, think about it..."

"I mean I could easily smack your ass on your bed. Really I can just roll you over and go to town-"

Roy squeezed Dahlia's hand in an attempt to quiet her down. The elderly woman had since left at that point, probably disgusted.

"Stop."

"Hm," Dahlia said. "I'll go ring her up."

She turned around, and in return Roy smacked her rear as hard as he could with one slap. It rather stung his hand. Dahlia squeaked and pushed Roy back into the isle of books, all while giggling.

"Shhhhhh," Roy reminded her. Dahlia put her hand over her mouth. She tried to cover bouts of hysterical laughter. "Dahlia, pull yourself together."

"I can't," she laughed, practically unable to breathe with wet eyes. "Oh my god, Roy go ring her up. I can't. I can't."

"I should stop encouraging your inappropriate behavior," Roy sighed as he wheeled up to the front desk. The elderly woman slid her book over. "Did you find what you were lookin' for?"

The old woman pursed her lips together, studying Roy intensely. He had slowly begun to get used to occasional looks from patrons and tried to ignore it but it still made him uncomfortable. However he figured this time she was staring at him for another reason other than his appearance. She didn't answer his question.

"Uh...you have a good night..."

The woman snatched up her book quickly and glanced back towards the previous room. She looked at Roy again strangely and then slowly walked out without a word.

"You traumatized that poor lady," Roy told Dahlia in the car after work.

"We traumatized several people today," Dahlia said.

"No, you traumatized several people today. I fucked up the gardening section and almost wheeled over a child's foot because you had your hands all over me and kept winking between the shelves."

"You totally instigated the winking. You didn't have to make eye contact with me but you did and you should've watched where you were going anyway."

"Not with you undressing me with your eyes."

"Okay maybe I had a little to do with that."

"Yes, maybe you had everything to do with that."

"You just make me really happy, Roy."

After dinner and several glasses of red wine, Dahlia decided it was late enough to take Roy on her planned excursion.

"It's nothing much, I just thought it might be nice to get away for a little bit."

"Have we been here before?" Roy asked.

"Possibly," Dahlia said. She turned into a desolate road, the path slowly turning to dirt. The trees outlined the road, creeping up into a steep hill.

"We're going to Mansfield, aren't we," Roy grinned.

"Yeah," Admitted. She was beaming.

Roy had fond memories with Whit and Dade at Mansfield. It was a long abandoned property, home to an aged observatory years shut and closed up church. Students from a nearby seminary had used to go there often but it soon closed down to lack of attendance and patrons.

The view was spectacular, however, and young people would flock there to make mischief and stargaze. It was where Roy had smoked his first cigarette, on the highest floor of the observatory, and once nearly fell off a lookout while intoxicated. A sort of premonition, he now supposed.

"Dahlia, there's stairs in the observatory."

"Yeah, but I thought we could just lay down outside and look at the sky."

"As you wish."

Dahlia lead Roy to a grassy patch near a decaying oak tree. He didn't realize how difficult it would be to wheel through grass but shrugged it off because Dahlia didn't seem to notice or care he was struggling. She had brought a blanket with her, the type of blanket at everyone's house deep in the linen closet that's scratchy and given to overnight guests at the last minute. She unfolded it and excitedly motioned for Roy to lay next to her.

"Here we are," she said, and lay her head upon Roy's chest.

The sky was cloudy but the stars were bright. The night was humid but Roy found he was cold. Dahlia felt so small against him. She held his hand, and they lay there for what seemed like hours. Occasionally Roy would glance down at Dahlia, she seemed fully immersed in the night sky and never looked at him once but never let go of his hand.

"Orion is my favorite constellation," she said.

"Why's that?"

"Don't know. Just is."

"I see."

Eventually the clouds blocked all stars from view. Dahlia didn't seem to mind. She still stared upwards, a smile on her face.

"The universe is so big. And we're so small."

"It's true," Roy said. He felt a slight drizzle on his face.

"Dammit," Dahlia sighed. She sat up as the rain began to fall. It started lightly and suddenly down poured all at once. A big grin grew across her face. "Ohhhhhhh, come here Roy." She started for the church and Roy really had no choice but to follow her.

"What's up your sleeve?"

"It's locked," Dahlia tried the handle. She picked up a nearby rock and smashed the lock.

"Dear god, Dahlia."

"What?" She said nonchalantly.

"My, uh, friend. She broke into my apartment once."

"Oh really?" Dahlia pulled him inside.

The pews were dusty and plywood was scattered about the church. The alter from a distance was desecrated with graffiti and stained glass panes were smashed into the floor.

Dahlia quickly pushed Roy into the confessional booth.

"What are you doing?"

"Having fun," Dahlia grinned. She ripped off her shirt and grabbed suddenly Roy's crotch.

"Uh...this is disrespectful."

"No it's not. This isn't a place of worship, it's a place of decaying and lots and lots of alcohol."

"And that makes it okay for you to-" Dahlia straddled Roy and was completely naked.

"It's just a building. That's it." She forced her tongue into Roy's mouth and Roy grasped her waist.

"You're going to sex me in a church confessional. In a thunderstorm. While I'm in a wheelchair."

"You're acting like it's not normal!"

"It's not!"

"You don't have to sit in your wheelchair we can totally do the ass thing now."

Roy groaned as Dahlia unzipped his pants. "You're putting me in a really hard predicament right now."

"Yeah I can see that it's hard right now."

"You're wicked."

"This is a lot better than the couch sex idea."

Roy couldn't believe he gave into her again. He put his head back, the rhythm of Dahlia's body intoxicating him. She licked the crease between his eyebrows, each thrust growing faster as the quickening gap between lightning strikes. She screamed like a banshee.

Roy growled. "You're killin' me, Kenz."

Dahlia's pelvic muscles tensed.

"...what?"

Oh. My. God.

"This is so good..."

"No, what you just said." Dahlia pulled away, brow furrowed.

"Babe."

"Okay. Yeah. It's getting really late, I don't like driving at night." Dahlia pulled back on her skirt and threw on her blouse. Even though it was dark, Roy's face was drained of all color. "Come on. Let's go."

She was silent as she put Roy's wheelchair in the back seat.

"Dahlia..."

"Roy, just forget about it."

"No, I-"

She squeezed his hand. "Just. Forget about it."

Dahlia didn't say a single word on the ride home.