I couldn’t have asked for a better view.
There’s even a string quartet nestled just below the stage.
I hadn’t realized there’d be live music, but it makes sense.
This story deserves it.
All of it.
As the lights dim, I finally start to settle.
My nerves begin to unclench, slowly, like something loosening inside my chest.
The truth is, I was so anxious about tonight that I triggered a full-blown panic attack before I’d even started getting ready. I hadn’t planned to tell Remi about my panic disorder like that, but now that he knows… maybe it’s not such a bad thing.
He’s gone back to being soft and warm and present, like he was when we first met, and that means everything to me.
I glance sideways at him as he flips through the programme, head bowed in concentration.
He looks peaceful. Focused. And unfairly gorgeous.
My heart does this ridiculous fluttery thing, and I have to physically stop myself from leaning in closer.
He’s just so... beautiful. Those high cheekbones, hazel eyes laced with gold, and that blond hair falling carelessly over his forehead. If he weren’t completely off-limits, I’d be in serious trouble.
I’ve turned enough “straight” guys in my time to recognise the signs, but with Remi?
That’s not a game I’m willing to play. Not with Maddie in the picture. Not with someone who’s already shown me more kindness than I deserve.
So, I’ll behave. I’ll stay firmly on my side of the seat, hands to myself, thoughts tightly leashed.
But for now, I’m allowed to enjoy this. The theatre. The story I love. His company.
The stage is set, an apartment on Lispenard Street in New York.
Clean lines, muted colours. Exactly how I pictured it the first time I readA Little Life, the book that shattered me, and somehow pieced me back together again.
I glance at Remi one last time before the lights go down. He looks up, catches my eye, and for a moment, just a moment, he smiles.
And then the story begins.
REMI
As soon as the lights dim and the play begins, all the anxiety and tension that had been pressing on me for the past few hours seem to slip quietly to the edges of my mind.
I find myself unexpectedly, completely pulled into the story,
and when the lights come up for the interval two hours later, I feel almost disoriented.
I’d been worried it would feel too long, that I’d start checking the time halfway through, but the first half flew by. I was so captivated, I didn’t even notice.
I turn to Sebastian, still caught in that quiet spell the performance has cast, and find him already watching me.
His eyes are bright, and there’s a soft, eager smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“So?” he asks. “What do you think, Remi?”
Judging by his expression, I’m pretty sure he already knows the answer.
