Page 75 of Down Beat

We’re so close, his hip pressed against mine. My left foot rests on the floor between his, our legs entwined as he effectively boxes me against the window, no thanks to me shoving myself in here.

Really didn’t think that one through.

I could leave, slip out and walk away. But after that confession on the sofa I don’t have it in me to abandon him, in any capacity. He needs me around, it seems, and I’ve literally got nothing else better to do with my time.

Not that I think I’d rather be anywhere else, anyway.

I feel him before I see the movement in my periphery. His breath is hot against my neck as he leans in close; his forehead and nose rest against the side of my face. It’s an intimate gesture, yet strangely respectful. He could have gone for gold and kissed me, he could have been crass and copped a feel, but instead it says so much more that he chooses to be close to me in such a way.

My eyelids close as he remains there, face pressed against the side of mine. I startle when his fingers brush my hand, yet again it feels so natural, so right to let him slip his hold into mine.

“I like being with you, kitty.” His whispered confession leaves a thrill tickling my spine. “It makes me feel better.”

“I like having you with me too, Rey.”

He was a jackass at the start. A right spoiled brat. Yet with the gift of hindsight I can see now that that Rey was nothing more than a mirage, a carefully constructed illusion to protect the real man behind the marketable image.

I don’t lie: I like having him here. Having the real him here.

Suitable words won’t come, the right sentiment lost in my struggle to convey within the capacity of a few short sentences how much I’ve grown to like him. I lose the chance all the same as he gently places a kiss to my temple, and then untangles himself from me to walk away.

“Take it the bathroom is down the end of the hall?” he calls as he steps out of the living room.

“Yeah.” My lungs expand with the first full breath I’ve taken since he walked in the door, the air bringing with it clarity I lost the moment he stepped into my space.

He might be the broken one, but I can guarantee by the time I’ve put Rey Thomas back together, it’ll be me who’s left in pieces. He’ll go back to his gifted life, never having to want for a thing, and I’ll return to mine, somewhat less whole than I was going in.

So when do we start?