His mouth finds my neck, just under the ear, and stays there.
I lean back, let him hold me up. “All that I am.” The words come out a whisper, but his lips curl into a smile before he pecks a kiss against my skin.
He says, “You were perfect in there.”
“I was a joke,” my voice is bitter.
He shakes his head. “You made them look small. You didn’t beg, didn’t grovel. You passed their test, Eve.”
I look at him. His eyes are black, but not empty. There’s a storm behind them, and I realize it’s all for me.
He brushes my hair back, tucks it behind my ear. His hand shakes, just once.
“I hated seeing you like that,” he says, and his voice almost cracks.
I nod, “Me too.”
He holds my face, thumb tracing the line of my cheek. “Never again,” he says.
I almost believe him.
The wind picks up, cold enough to sting, but his hands keep me grounded.
I want to stay here forever. Or at least until the world stops spinning.
He leans his forehead to mine. “If I ask you to run, will you?”
I think about it. “Depends.”
He smiles, real this time. “Good answer.”
He holds me tighter, his breath fogging the air between us.
Then, softer, “I can’t let them have you.”
I want to ask if he means the Board, or the crowd, or the world.
But I know he means all of it.
He says, “No one owns you. Not them. Not anyone. Except me.”
The words echo, even after he says them.
He’s not asking for forgiveness. He’s not even asking for consent.
He’s just telling the truth.
My truth, now.
I let go of the railing and turn, let my hands wrap around his neck.
His mouth finds mine, and the cold and the fear and the shame all burn away.
For a second, it’s just us, suspended above the rest of the world, alone in the night.
He kisses me, hard, like he wants to break me open and pour himself inside.
I let him.
