Her lips tremble slightly. “You’re sure?”
I slide my hand to her jaw, tilting her face up.
“I’ve never been more sure.”
The weight shifts.
The suitcase between us no longer feels like an exit. It feels like something we just survived.
“You scared me,” I murmur.
“You scared me first.”
I almost smile. “Fair.”
Her hands slide from my chest to my shoulders. “If I stay,” she says quietly, “you don’t get to use my age as a shield.”
“That one might take practice.”
She gives me a look.
“I’ll try harder.”
Silence softens. The tension shifts from sharp to charged.
“You were really going to leave,” I murmur. My hand slides down her spine, pulling her closer. “I can’t lose you,” I say against her temple.
“You won’t,” she whispers. “Not if you stop letting fear drive.”
I pull back just enough to see her. “I don’t want to just survive anymore.”
“Then don’t.”
My hand cups the back of her neck. Hers slide into my hair and I kiss her. When I pull back, I rest my forehead against hers.
“You unpack,” I say quietly.
She smiles faintly.
“Bossy.”
“Decisive.”
She studies me one last time.
Then she reaches past me, grabs the zipper of the suitcase, and slowly unzips it.
The sound feels like a promise.
I take her face in my hands.
“I’m done losing things I love because I’m afraid of what happens next.”
Her eyes shine.
“Good,” she whispers.
Chapter 12
