She looks up at me, her mouth wobbling and her eyes full of tears. “Thank you.”
“Do you need anything? Some water, or something sweet, a cupcake? I can find something for you. I just don’t want you going around fainting all over the place.” I try joking with her to lighten the mood with a small smile on my lips and my hand carefully rubbing her shoulders.
“No, Ector, it’s fine, I just think I needed fresh air.” She pauses before continuing. “Is it okay if we sit here, just for a little bit, to catch a breath?”
“Yes, of course, sweetheart.” I tell her while wondering when I even became this soft-hearted. Is this what love does to one? Does love make a person softer, more caring? It seems like that's exactly what’s happening to me.
“Ector?”
“Yes.”
“I think my corset might be sitting a bit too tight.” She confesses after a few moments.
Moving my body until positioned behind her, I reach forward to the thin pink strings. “Can I?” I ask politely before touching her.
“Yes, please.” She begs.
With her consent, I start untying the knot and loosen the corset. No wonder she fainted when she couldn’t even breathe properly. After making it looser, I let go of the strings and moved away from her.
“Thank you.” She says, and all I do is leave her a smile.
Sitting down beside her, right outside the hotel, none of us talk much. Instead, we just sit here, enjoying each other’s company, each other’s quiet calm.
The three men are playing their music again, I can hear it all the way from here. But it is not the same melody as yesterday. Closing my eyes, I try to focus on the music, but the only thing my brain chooses to focus on is the guy that danced with Genevieve a few hours ago.
My jaw clenches and my fists tighten immediately, my whole body tense. I don’t want anyone touching her like that.Fuck, I don’t want anyone touching herat all.
Opening my eyes again, I turn my head to look at my sweetheart. She’s lying down, staring at the clouds in the sky. She’s awake. She’s breathing. Everything is okay.
She won’t stop breathing the way your mother did.The voice in my head whispers.
Suddenly my eyes notice a delicate golden chain around her neck. It’s a necklace with a small tulip hanging just above her cleavage.
“I like your necklace.” I admit.
Her hand moves towards it, her fingers stroking the pink tulip charm.
“It’s my favorite one.” She says, her tone full of pride.
“Do you like tulips? Does it have any meaning?” I ask her, curious to know everything about her.
She looks at me, her beautiful eyes staring at my smile.
My smile.
“Esme got it for me.” She breathes. “We were outside, sitting in the sun and talking about life, and somehow we ended up in a conversation about what flower we would be if we weren’t fairies.” She starts laughing while explaining. “It’s just so silly, how do you even come up with such a thing?” She pauses. “I told her that I feel like I would be a sunflower. And she just looked at me like something was wrong with my brain. She laughed so hard. Then she looked into my eyes and told me that I am in fact a tulip. That if I was a part of nature, I would be apink tulip.” She smiles while talking about her sister.
“And then she told me about the spiritual meaning of a tulip, and as the emotional person I am, I started crying. It was tears of joy, of course. After that, she surprised me with this necklace and I haven’t taken it off ever since. It means a lot to me.” She looks into my eyes, “Oh no, I’m going to cry again.” She says, lightly wiping a finger beneath her eye.
“It’s okay. I understand that it’s very difficult for you.” I don’t want her to cry, yet I understand that sometimes it’s exactly what she needs.
”You read a lot, right?” I ask in an attempt to change the topic.
“Yeah..?”
“Come, let’s go and see if we can find a new book for you.” I say, grabbing her hand and dragging her with me.
“Are you serious?”
