“It’s a basic requirement for being Chanel Cao’s boyfriend.”
And he’s met every other requirement since, things I didn’t even know to ask for, like bringing a scrunchie for me when I forget my own so I can eat without fussing over my hair, or walking me the five steps from the car to my house when it’s dark, or filling up a thermos of hot water for me to sip when the weather’s cold. I’ve never been so glad to be wrong about how love works.
“I’m taking Luke out to get pizza next weekend,” Ares issaying, pulling me back to the present. “Do you... want to maybe come meet him?”
I lift my head. “Wow. Are you officially introducing me to your family now?”
“Can I?”
“What do you think?” I say, laughing. “Obviously.I was hoping you’d ask. I’ll put it on my calendar.”
Next weekend. Next month, and the one after that. A whole future to look forward to, more things to get excited about than to dread.
For a few moments, everything is quiet. Quiet enough to hear the lake water sloshing against the stone banks, the whisper of wind through the willows, my own heartbeat when he touches me. Just the underside of my wrist with his pinkie finger, as if to reassure himself that I’m real, that I exist.
“I bought something, by the way,” he says.
“That’s good. You should start spending more money on yourself,” I say seriously.
“Something foryou,” he clarifies.
I blink. “What, another nonbirthday birthday gift?”
“Something like that. Here.” He retrieves a small velvet pouch from his jacket pocket, and gestures for me to hold up my hand. A silver necklace spills out onto my outstretched palm. I stare down at it, speechless, my heart straining to contain all that I feel. The pendant is a crescent moon, with a single diamond dangling like a star from the end. It’s beautiful. It might be the most beautiful gift I’ve ever received in my entire life.
Softly Ares says, “I hope you know I really mean it. I would be willing to give you everything. Even the moon.”
“You already have,” I tell him. I push my hair over one shoulder, exposing the back of my neck to him, the most vulnerable part of my body. “Can you help me?” I ask, even though I could clasp and unclasp a necklace with my hands tied. Yet it’s nice to be helped anyway, to let myself want him even when I don’t always need him.
The silver is cool against my skin as he moves behind me to adjust the chain, but his fingers are warm, careful, wonderfully gentle. When he’s done, the necklace falls over the burn mark on my collarbone, just above my heart.
“Thank you.” I whirl back around to wrap my arms around him again, and I have to marvel at how safe I feel, how much it makes sense, even though it’s the last thing I’d expected. If I’d seen a vision of this future two months ago, I would’ve sworn I was hallucinating. It should be impossible to feel this much, really, to be this open and tender and happy andknown,but so is seeing visions in a midnight lake’s reflection. So is giving someone the moon.
“Anything, for you,” Ares says, pulling me closer to him.
And the moon glows above us, its light just as beautiful as the present, just as bright.
Epilogue
When the flowers arrive, I assume they’re from the founder of a perfume company.
Probably a thank-you for collaborating with them in my last post. The bouquet is far bigger than these kinds of gifts usually are, spilling over my arms when I pick them up. Pink lilies, my favorite flower. I give a faint nod of approval. The marketing intern must have done their research.
But then I spot the cream box underneath it, and the little handwritten note tied with a gold ribbon. No corporate branding, no perfunctory “We look forward to working together again in the future!” Just a messy cursive:
I’ll see you in a bit. —A
My lips split into a grin. I hold the flowers closer to my chest, inhaling their scent, before placing them in the empty crystal vase on the dining table. When Ares had come over to my new house the other night, I’d made a passing remark that we hadn’t finished fully decorating everything yet; the walls weren’t so bare anymore, but I wanted more greenery,something to liven up the space. I hadn’t realized he was listening so closely.
Then there’s the box itself. I push the white wrapping paper aside, and my fingers find the softness of scarlet silk. A familiar shade. For a few moments, I can only stare in disbelief, my heart swelling inside my chest. It’s the dress I tried on that time I dragged Ares to the shopping mall with me. Everything about it is the exact same, except the straps—the broad straps I’d complained about are gone, replaced by elegant spaghetti straps.
He’d remembered.
I don’t even have time to process everything, the flowers, the spontaneous gift, the thought that must have gone into it—the brandneverdoes alterations for their dresses, so how did he convince them to make this?—when my phone rings. The perfect sight of his name flashing over my screen. My grin widens as I lift the phone to my ear.
“I think someone has a crush on me,” I inform him.
“Really?” His voice, low and amused, the hum of cars in the background. “Who?”
