“In fifteen minutes? I wasn’t gone that long!”
“Is that bad?”
“Yes!” But she says this laughing. “I’m cutting you off after this one. It’ll be dark soon anyway.”
“In that case…” I polish off the wine and set the glass down. “Let’s dance.” I snatch her hand and tug her to the dance floor where other couples are swaying. Following their lead, I wrap Summer in my arms.
She holds me as a new song plays, the tempo slowing. Resting her head on my chest, we drift from side to side. More couples join us on the dancefloor, including Ella and Rebecca. The ballroom grows quiet as the song plays and people circle up to take pictures of the newlyweds.
“I love this song,” Summer murmurs.
She is content, comfortable, blooming with love that ebbs into me. I thread my hand into her hair and hold her close. “What’s it called?”
“Unforgettable. It’s by Frank Sinatra.”
I store the information in the back of my mind.
We string slowly around the dancefloor while others do the same. No one is paying attention to us anymore, too absorbed in their own romances to care. The song ends and another one starts.
Bleary eyed and tired, Summer looks up at me. “I love you.”
I pet her cheek with the back of my hand. “I love you too, my sweet delight.” I lean down and give her a soft kiss that makes her hum and fall further into me.
I am not from this world, and I do not belong amongst these people and their celebrations. I was never supposed to intermingle with humans, never intended to dance, to move, to live. Everything that was supposed to happen, didn’t.
Everything that I believed was not wholly the truth, not the only possibility. And with Summer, the possibilities become endless. I belong by her side. There is nothing I desire more than to be wherever she is. Love didn’t belong to me, and she gave it to me all the same.
Tightening our embrace, she leans into me, infusing me with her adoration and peace.
Peace…
Peace on earth may never happen, but peaceful moments will continue always. I brush my lips across the top of her head.
She looks up at me and smiles… only for it to immediately fade.
“Zuriel! You’re changing!”
The music shifts, assailing the room in an upbeat frenzy. Summer wrenches my hand and yanks me off the dancefloor.
“Summer, where are you going?” Ella says when she sees us rushing past her. “Wait!”
“I can’t!” she yells.
I feel my body expand, my wings straining my suit. For some reason, I’m not worried.
“Zuriel, move!” Summer yells once we are in the hotel lobby. “Your skin is turning gray.” She dashes to the elevator and slams her palm on the button. One of the doors opens.
Chuckling, I flex my fingers as my claws descend, following her into the enclosed space.
When the doors close, she turns on me. “Oh my god! Your suit is ripped down the middle.”
I peer down at my displayed chest and shrug.
“How can you be so calm?” she squeaks, grabbing my shirt and trying to tug the torn sides closed.
“Maybe because I just don’t care.”
“You’re never allowed to have alcohol again!”
