She disappears into the kitchen, and I’m left standing in the middle of her living room trying to remember how to function like a normal person.
Her apartment is small but comfortable, lived-in, with a bookcase against one wall filled mostly with detective novels and a few non-fiction books about crime and psychology. When I hear her footsteps coming back, I quickly sit down on the couch, so she doesn’t think I’m weird.
Wren places the vase on the coffee table and takes a moment to arrange the roses, adjusting them until they sit just right.
“Thank you,” she says. “They’re lovely.”
Finally, I manage to get words out.
“You’re welcome.”
She smiles at me and grabs a bottle of wine. There are two glasses on the table, and I notice that one of them is already half full. She blushes as she picks up the bottle.
“Sorry, I started without you. It’s just... I really needed a drink.”
She looks up at me when she says it, and I wonder if she’s feeling as nervous as I am right now. The thought that she might be just as uncertain about this makes me feel slightly better.
Wren sits down next to me and passes me a glass. We clink them together, and she takes a sip while I just stare at the dark liquid like it might give me answers. Then her eyes widen and she smacks her forehead with her free hand.
“My God, I’m so silly. You don’t drink. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I swear I haven’t forgotten. It’s just... it’s wine and I’m used to sharing it.”
“Oh no, I can drink,” I say quickly, not wanting her to feel bad. “I won’t feel it the way you do, but... I can do it. Watch.”
I take a sip and swallow. The wine seeps into my matter and becomes one with me, spreading through my body like water through sand. It doesn’t do anything for me, but I smile at her anyway to show her it’s fine.
Wren laughs and takes the glass from my hands.
“You don’t have to pretend for me. I’ll drink it, don’t worry.”
She takes a sip from her glass, then from mine, and looks up at me with mischievous eyes that make my chest tighten.
I stare at her like she’s some kind of goddess, like she’s something holy and untouchable that I have no right to be sitting next to. I can’t believe how different she is like this and how much I love seeing this version of her.
Before I know what I’m doing, the words spill out of me in a rush.
“Wren, I want more. I’ve missed you like crazy. Day and night, it doesn’t matter, all I do is think about you, and I just want...” I rub a hand over my face, frustrated with how inarticulate I sound. “I don’t expect you to say yes, but I wanted to ask if you... If you would be my girlfriend.”
Wren looks taken aback. She places both glasses on the table, and her expression shifts to something more serious, and for a terrible moment I think this is it, she’s going to reject me. I think she asked me over to commiserate like friends over a glass of wine, and I came here imagining there could be somethingmore between us. I’ve just made everything awkward and ruined whatever chance I had.
But then she slides closer to me and places her hands on my chest, and I feel myself melting into her touch. I can’t help it. My matter responds to her, enveloping her hands so they sink into my chest like she’s reaching inside me. I feel her heartbeat through the merge and the way her stomach flutters with excitement. Hope flares bright and desperate in my chest.
“Zeth, I want that. I want us to be more.”
It takes me a moment to process her words, but when I finally do, I relax and lean in to kiss her. Our lips meet, and I pour everything I’ve been feeling for the past week into it, all the longing and fear. We kiss slowly for a long minute, and I never want to stop, but then Wren breaks away and whispers against my mouth.
“Maybe I should tell you my real name first. It’s not Wren Hayes, you know that.”
I shudder. I can’t believe I’m about to learn her real name. I’m so nervous I might actually pass out.
“It’s Rhea. Rhea Blythe.” She cocks an eyebrow. “Agent Blythe, if you like it better.”
I cup her face with both hands, feeling the warmth of her skin against my palms.
“Pleased to meet you, Rhea.”
I kiss her hungrily, not letting her go, pulling her closer until she’s practically melting into my body. My matter envelops her arms and shoulders, spreading across her skin like I’m trying to pull her inside me completely. Her heart is nearly inside my chest now, and I want to devour her, that’s how desperate I am for her touch.
Rhea throws a leg over my lap and climbs on top of me, but I break the kiss and look at her with all the adoration I’ve been holding back.
