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He had frightened me more than I had frightened myself. And now his nails were digging into my wrists. Deeper and deeper.

I looked down.

Instantly, he let go of me. Then the concern in his eyes regained the upper hand and he ran his fingers through his hair, turned around, then back again.

“I'm... sorry.” He came back to me and took my hands in his again, stroking them reassuringly. “I didn't mean to scare you.”

Eventually, I found my voice again. “It's okay.”

I tried to ignore the pain in my arms and not look down where his nails had just touched my skin, but my gaze fell on the bloody crescents.

He had been afraid for me. He had saved me from falling.

“I was just dizzy. I had to get used to the height first,” I lied, feeling ashamed again.

His reaction was deserved. He reminded me that I had made so many mistakes lately because my mind wasn't entirely with me. Mica pulled me back to the present.

“It's okay, please don't put yourself in danger,” he finally said, pulling me back to the car.

Distressed, I followed him, and it was only when Mica opened the trunk of the large car that I managed to suppress my feelings of shame.

“Oh my God...” I looked first at Mica, then back at the car. “Did you do this?”

“Tania helped me, but the idea was mine,” he said with a smile, and I looked at him in amazement.

I tried to block out the recent events and just focus on the here and now.

The car was full of pillows and blankets laid out over a cozy-looking mattress. A large string of lights illuminated the car, and I spotted a picnic basket.

My gaze wandered back to Mica, and I gave him a grateful smile.

He pulled a bottle of champagne from under the mattress.

“Hopefully better than wine.”

He grinned tentatively, and I smiled back.

Even though he had missed the mark again, because I disliked champagne as much as wine, I didn't want to let him know this time. He had put in too much effort and hadn't planned the day the way it had turned out so far.

I owed him gratitude. I owed him my undivided devotion. If I didn't start working on that now, it would be my fault if it backfired again and again.

Chapter 35

Miles

Free Animal

Foreign Air

“Come on.”

She put her hands on her hips and looked at me pleadingly, tilting her head and pouting her lips. Just like she used to.

She knew I couldn’t say no, even though I would never admit to her that the memory of that time was one of the most painful ones of my short existence.

“I heard that the course at Vanderwood is supposed to be very demanding.”

I laughed and gave in. “How do you expect that to work? I haven't danced in years.”