I sniffle, sucking in a deep breath and as I let it out, he pushes from the wall and stalks toward me in a deepening passion.
I don’t move.
I don’t flinch.
I don’t think about anything else only Liem who now stands before me. His soapy mint scent filling my veins. His eyes dart from both of mine down to my mouth and back up again. He reaches up and I don’t so much as twitch from the movement. He removes a piece of hair sticking to my wet cheek. But it’s what he does next that keeps me on my toes, keeps the butterflies fluttering inside the pit of my stomach. His hand, the palm of his hand caresses my cheek, and I inhale with a shudder, leaning into his touch. With that, I close my eyes.
“You looked beautiful. Like a butterfly,” his soft voice floors its way through me and goosebumps rise on my arms and neck. My chest screams in passionate agony as we stand so close together like this. Sharing this moment—a moment I’ve been waiting for.
“It felt really good to do that.” My voice a breathy whisper, unable to articulate my words while he holds my face in such a tenderly manner. I’ve never been touched like this before. Not by a man.
Before he lets go, he swipes a tear from my cheek then tucks his hand away inside his jean pocket. His eyes distant again but still closer than before.
He takes in a breath then sighs in a relieved sort of way. Maybe it’s for me or maybe for him. Either way, I appreciate the silent support.
“You wanna get out of here?” I bite my lip from the question. Where would we go? I don’t even know. I just need to be spontaneous. And I want to be that with Liem.
He hesitates, opening his mouth and closing it but it’s the way he finally answers that has me grinning like a fool.
“Yeah.” He nods with the tiniest smile lining his face.
I clear my throat bending down to pick up my towel and then he rolls up the mat for me. After everything is secured in my bag, we walk out of the gym in silence. The bitter cold makes its way down to my bones.
“Can we take your motorcycle?”
He stills, turning toward me as we stand enduring the frigid temperature, and the steady fall of snow above us. “I—I can’t.”
My heart drops in disappointment. I know how much a woman on their bike means. Maybe it’s too fast. Or entirely inappropriate to ask.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it—”
“I won’t risk it. It’s not safe and I don’t want to put you in danger.”
“Butyouride it. I mean, I figure a motorcycle in the dead ass of winter isn’t safe, but you do it.”
There’s a breath of silence and then…
“My life isn’t yours. Like I said, I won’t risk it. Come on, I have the keys to Throttle’s truck.”
My mouth parts, my heart shattering into pieces. Did Liem not value his life at all? He means something to everyone. He must know that. He means so much to me. I want to tell him but… it’s not the time. It’s not right.
TWENTY-THREE
Danika
We sit in Throttle’s truck, the heat flowing from the vents.
“I know a place. I go there when I need the noise.”
My head jerks at him, but he doesn’t meet my gaze. “That sounds perfect.” I’m not sure what monsters are haunting Liem’s mind, but I want to fight them for him.
We drive through the falling snow, the big flakes melting as they hit the windshield. But for that split second between them falling and melting, the beautiful crystals are mesmerizing. The tiny details such as snow have always fascinated me. Like art abstracted miniature sculptures. How stunning the universe can be if we only appreciated it more.
I steal small glances over at Liem, whose hand grips the steering wheel for dear life. He looks tense, just like before when he was driving.
Without thinking, I reach out my hand and set it on top of his resting on the middle console. There’s a slight flinch, but he peers down at our connecting touch and the tightness in his shoulders loosens. He doesn’t ask me to take my hand away, so I don’t. I let the feeling of his warm skin underneath mine soak into my veins. It’s a blazing connection—an unexplained one that sometimes you don’t have answers to. Sometimes you just let them be what they are. And right now, at this moment, I’m letting it be.
I stare out the window as we take a windy bend up a small hill. When he locks his fingers with mine, I almost gasp. But instead, I let the pounding of my heart vibrate through me and cast the tiniest glance at him. He doesn’t look my way, but thefaint upward turn of his mouth tells me this is what he wants, and happiness rams into me like a semi.
