My lips brush her throat, feather-light. Not in want or lust. Just to feel her. To prove she’s real.
She’s here.
I’m here.
For a little while, everything is so still. A pause in time.
Then, with the soft clink of cutlery, a fridge door opening, a glass being set down, everything restarts.
But none of it touches us. We stay here, her heartbeat against mine, her touch anchoring me.
Eventually, she whispers in my ear, “I’m here.” I shiver like she’s writing something over my soul. “I’m here, Sai.”
I just hold her tighter.
Chapter 57: Sai
Red’s still in my arms, on my lap, but now her back rests against my chest. Doesn’t matter how she’s positioned—so long as she’s touching me, I don’t care. Every breath’s easier when it’s filtered through her.
I haven’t spoken. The others speak to each other and Red, but they know I’m in no state to communicate.
Julien’s given her a bowl of something that smells sweet and spicy. Pasta, maybe.
She keeps trying to give me some, holding the fork to my sealed lips, but I shake my head, keeping my chin hooked over her bare shoulder from where the shirt has slipped.
Kane’s now sitting across from her, on the coffee table, watching her eat intently. Either Red doesn’t notice or is happy to ignore, humming her enjoyment between every other bite.
When she’s almost finished, Zeek leans over the back of the sofa, holding his tablet out to her. He’s been fiddling with it for a while, in between looking at me with cautious glances. Always forget how much the fucker cares.
“What’s this?” Red asks, fork halfway to her mouth. Then her full lips close around it, she slides it out, chews, swallows—tongue tracing the curve of her lip to catch the sauce.
Man, I wish I was that fork.
“A wish list,” Zeek answers, tone a little lower, because he’s also watching Red’s mouth.
I smirk. We’re as bad as each other.
She places the fork into her now-empty bowl, and Kane immediately takes it from her. She flashes him a quick thank-you smile, and that tiny gesture short-circuits his brain, he stalls,bowl in hand, then restarts and takes it into the kitchen. I hide my chuckle against Red’s shoulder.
“A wish list for what?” She takes the tablet, studying the screen as she leans further into me like it’s second nature.
My arms slip further around her waist, tugging her even closer.
“Things you might want, or like,” Zeek explains, tapping an icon on the screen. “Anything, really.”
A ridiculous number of categories pop up in colour-coded boxes, the first few listed are:Food. Drink. Travel.
She instantly tapsFood, and hundreds of images explode on screen, each with little descriptions, names, ingredients, countries of origin…
“You made this?” Her voice is full of awe as she starts scrolling.
“There are already apps like it, I just copied some code and compiled them.” Zeek tries so hard to sound casual, but his shoulders definitely rise a little. Then he flits onto the sofa, sitting beside us. “If you like something, click the heart in the corner. It’ll save to a ‘favourites’ folder.”
She nods, fully immersed now, pausing every so often to‘heart’something.
“Bubbletea?” she frowns, staring at an image I don’t recognise either. “Originated in Taiwan.”
I glance behind at Julien. “We haven’t been there,” he says to me, studying my face as I frown.
