“Jack, if sayingyesmeans being together, then yes a million times.”
His grin is like sunshine on this cold day. I’m immediately thawed, practically melting. The crinkles around his eyes deepen. How I’ve missed those eyes.
“I’m choosing to kiss you now,” he says. “Is that all right?”
I rest my forehead against his. “Nowthatis meant to happen.”
Jack eliminates any remaining distance between us. He hungrily presses his lips on mine, the tips of our cold noses smushed up against one another. This kiss unravels me, the thread unspooling wildly through me. Jack trails his mouth down my cheek and neck, his hot breath warming the spot his lips hover over. Every touch warms my insides.
I find his mouth and tease it open again with mine. Between soft breaths, I tug his bottom lip between my teeth gently. He tastes like coffee and cinnamon and every cozy flavor that accompanies winter.
Snowflakes leisurely drift down from above, a real-life snow globe forming around us. It’s like life is handing me a metaphorical memento for somewhere I’ve never been before. It’s a place Jack and I will go together.
We’re two bodies made of stardust colliding, burning brighter and hotter than anything else in the universe. Two people on opposite ends of a string coming together after years of tangling and stretching, but never breaking.
Epilogue
One Year Later
ROONEY
What New York City lacks in stars, it makes up for in twinkling skyscrapers. Jack and I draw imaginary lines with our fingers from building to building, creating constellations in the air.
“What’s that one?” I ask, testing Jack to see if he can guess the constellation.
He puffs out his cheeks as he thinks. “One more time.”
I form the shape with my pointer finger a second time, dragging my arm from an apartment across the street down to a lit-up office, over to the penthouse with Hudson River views, and back down to a twenty-four-hour gym.
“Pretty sure you just made that one up,” he says skeptically.
“And here I thought you were good at this,” I say with as serious a tone as I can muster. I did, in fact, make it up.
Jack wraps his arms around me as we watch the last bit of sunlight fade away, letting the darkness in. He kisses my cheek as I lean against him, pulling him closer to me.
This year, we’re on the rooftop of Mom’s apartment building for tonight’s Lantern Festival party, where everyone actually knows one another. Cream-colored lanterns are set up on tables, a déjà vumoment from two years ago. The only difference is that, tonight, Jack is no stranger.
In the absence of light, the illumination of the full moon grows, the night ticking forward. Yuè Lao will make his matches, tie imaginary strings to destined lovers. Watching people below us on the streets cross paths with one another, I smile at the thought. Any one of them could find their person tonight.
“Think we’ll see a comet?” I ask, looking out over the river, dusk settling in. It’s my favorite time of night, especially during the winter. Everything’s purple and hazy, like a soft filter has been added over the world. I’m wearing a new knit coat I made specifically for this trip. In my move to Los Angeles almost a year ago, I have become a little too accustomed to the warm weather.
Jack grunts. “Comets are extremely rare.”
I point to a blinking light in the distance. “Then what’s that?”
“Probably a satellite,” Jack answers.
“Oh. What about a shooting star? Let’s find one of those.”
“Maybe if we look closely. Or if we’re lucky enough to catch it streaking by. The odds aren’t good,” he says tentatively. “You know, you were a meteor in my life.”
“We didn’t physically collide, but I like to think our souls did. I didn’t cause too much damage, I hope,” I say.
“I came out unscathed, for the most part,” he says with a grin. “You came out of nowhere. Took me by surprise. When you entered my atmosphere, I didn’t know what the impact would be. But I’m very glad you didn’t just pass by.”
“I would’ve circled back around until you noticed me,” I say. “Even if that’s not how meteors work.”
Jack laughs. “You were a fated meteor. The ones you only see when you’re in the right place at the right time.”
