“I’m fine,” I reassure her again, “Nothing I haven’t dealt with before.”
Her brows pull, putting a little crease between them and despite my better judgement, I can’t stop myself from lifting my hand and allowing my thumb to gently smooth out the crease.
“Don’t you worry about me, trouble.”
“I’m going to let you into a secret,” She whispers, “I get attached to people. I always have. And when I get attached, I care. I care that you’re hurt right now, Kolten.”
“Then perhaps we shouldn’t see each other anymore,” The words taste foul on my tongue.
“And why would you say that?”
“Because I’m leaving, Vanessa. I don’t belong here.”
“Then I’ll take what I can, now,” She leans in again, “Because I’m young. And I’m not staying here either. It’ll be our thing until the day comes when you leave, and I leave, and we never see each other again.”
“Our thing?”
She’s closer than she was before, her lips a mere whisper from mine, I can feel the brush of them against mine, “Our thing, beneath these dark skies, on this dock, while everyone sleeps.”
I nod, the move forcing her mouth to shift against mine, the cut on my lip stinging but I don’t dare move.
“Just here,” I agree.
“Right here.” She whispers back.
So, I kiss her.
And it’s like the stars become brighter and the ocean gets louder. Like the skies above us envelope around us to seal this in because right now, nothing else matters, nothing else exists. I kiss her like she’s breathing life back into me, like she’s filling my lungs and feeding my soul.
Her tongue tests my lips, seeking entrance and I open, allowing her in and her taste is like nothing I could have imagined. She’s perfection wrapped up in sunshine, she’s light in my darkness.
And guilt tries to gnaw at me, guilt for dragging her into my dark but she was the sun to my moon, there was no way I could dim that light.
My hands tangle into her hair, the soft strands catching on the roughened tips of my fingers, and she tilts to let me in.
I kiss her until I can no longer think straight, until I can no longer remember who I am and then I kiss her some more, because nothing has ever felt as right as this.
And then the first light of dawn cuts through our bubble of darkness, chasing away the shadows and I have to let her go.
With her kiss swollen lips and lust filled eyes, I have to watch her leave.
And so, the moon sinks away for another day only to chase the sun, even when it knows it’ll never catch up.
Chapter Four
“Where have you been sneaking off to?” Imogen, my sister, corners me in the kitchen of the diner as I’m washing my hands.
“What are you talking about?” I ask.
“Every night,” She bumps my hip with her own and I scootch up, giving her some space next to me at the sink, “You leave here, and you don’t go home.”
“And how would you know that?” I glance to her.
“Because I’m your sister and I check,” She shrugs.
“I’m revoking your privileges,” I tell her, “I gave you access to my doorbell for package purposes only. Not to check when I get home.”
“Who else is supposed to make sure you get home safe?”
