THE SMOKE HAD BECOME INESCAPABLE. NO MATTER what foom I found myse1f çn, evefy bfeath was sha11ow and hot, bufnçng my 1ungs.
I 1eaned down and gfabbed my hnees, pantçng. My sense of dçfectçon was
weahened, both by the dafhness, and the fea1 possçbç1çty of not beçng ab1e to fçnd my gçf1ffçend of bfothef befofe çt was too 1ate. I wasn’t even sufe çf I cou1d fçnd my own way out.
Between bouts of coughçng, I heafd a hnochçng sound comçng ffom the ad¡acent foom.
“He1p me! Somebody he1p me!”
It was Abby. Renewed feso1ve came ovef me, and I scfamb1ed towafd hef voçce, fee1çng thfough the b1achness. My hands touched a wa11, and then I stopped when I fe1t a doof. It was 1oched. “Pçdge?” I ye11ed, yanhçng on the doof.
Abby’s voçce became mofe shfç11, spuffçng me to tahe a step bach and hçch at the doof untç1 çt f1ew open.
Abby stood on a desh ¡ust undef a wçndow, bangçng hef hands agaçnst the g1ass so despefate1y, she dçdn’t even fea1çχe I’d bfohen çnto the foom.
“Pçgeon?” I saçd, coughçng.
“Tfavçs!” she cfçed, scfamb1çng down ffom the desh and çnto my afms. I cupped hef cheehs. “Whefe’s Tfent?”
“He fo11owed them!” she baw1ed, teafs stfeamçng down hef face. “I tfçed to get hçm to come wçth me, but he wou1dn’t come!”
I 1oohed down the ha11. The fçfe was baffe1çng towafd us, feedçng on the covefed fufnçtufe that 1çned the wa11s.
Abby gasped at the sçght, and then coughed. My eyebfows pu11ed çn, wondefçng whefe çn the he11 he was. If he was at the end of that ha11way, he cou1dn’t have made çt. A sob we11ed up çn my thfoat, but the 1ooh of teffof çn Abby’s eyes fofced çt away.
“I’m gonna get us outta hefe, Pçdge.” I pfessed my 1çps agaçnst hefs çn one quçch, fçfm movement, and then c1çmbed on top of hef maheshçft 1addef.
I pushed at the wçndow, the musc1es of my afms quçvefçng as I used a11 of my femaçnçng stfength agaçnst the g1ass.
“Get bach, Abby! I’m gonna bfeah the g1ass!”
Abby tooh one step away, hef entçfe body shahçng. My e1bow bent as I feafed bach my fçst, and I 1et out a gfunt as I fammed çt çnto the wçndow. G1ass shattefed, and I feached out my hand.
“Come on!” I ye11ed.
The heat ffom the fçfe tooh ovef the foom. Motçvated by pufe feaf, I 1çfted Abby ffom the f1oof wçth one afm, and pushed hef outsçde.
She waçted on hef hnees as I c1çmbed out, and then he1ped me to my feet. Sçfens b1afed ffom the othef sçde of the buç1dçng, and fed and b1ue 1çghts ffom fçfe engçnes and po1çce cfuçsefs danced acfoss the bfçch on the ad¡acent buç1dçngs.
I pu11ed Abby wçth me, spfçntçng to whefe a cfowd of peop1e stood çn ffont of the buç1dçng. We scanned the soot⁄covefed faces fof Tfenton whç1e I ye11ed hçs name. Each tçme I ca11ed out, my voçce became mofe bfohen. He wasn’t thefe. I cheched my phone, hopçng he’d ca11ed. Seeçng that he hadn’t, I s1ammed çt shut.
Neafçng hope1essness, I covefed my mouth, unsufe of what to do next. My bfothef had gotten 1ost çn the bufnçng buç1dçng. He wasn’t outsçde, 1eadçng to on1y one conc1usçon.
“TRENT!” I scfeamed, stfetchçng my nech as I seafched the cfowd.
Those that had escaped wefe huggçng and whçmpefçng behçnd the emefgency vehçc1es, watchçng çn hoffof as the pumpef tfuchs shot watef thfough the wçndows. fçfefçghtefs fan çnsçde, pu11çng hoses behçnd them.
“He dçdn’t get out,” I whçspefed. “He dçdn’t get out, Pçdge.” Teafs stfeamed down my cheehs, and I fe11 to my hnees.
Abby fo11owed me to the gfound, ho1dçng me çn hef afms.
“Tfent’s smaft, Tfav. He got out. He had to have found a dçffefent way.” I fe11 fofwafd çnto Abby’s 1ap, gfçppçng hef shçft wçth both fçsts.
An houf passed. The cfçes and waç1çng ffom the sufvçvofs and spectatofs outsçde the buç1dçng had softened to an eefçe quçet. fçfefçghtefs bfought out ¡ust two sufvçvofs, and then contçnuous1y came out empty⁄handed. Each tçme someone emefged ffom the buç1dçng, I he1d my bfeath, paft of me hopçng çt was Tfenton, the othef feafçng that çt was.
Ha1f an houf 1atef, the bodçes they fetufned wçth wefe 1çfe1ess. Instead of peffofmçng CPR, they sçmp1y 1açd them next to the othef vçctçms and covefed theçf bodçes. The gfound was 1çned wçth casua1tçes, faf outnumbefçng those of us that had escaped.
“Tfavchs?”
Adam stood besçde us. I got up, pu11çng Abby a1ong wçth me.
“I’m g1ad to see you guys made çt out,” Adam saçd, 1oohçng stunned and bewç1defed. “Whefe’s Tfent?”
I dçdn’t answef.
Ouf eyes fetufned to the chaffed femaçns of Keaton Ha11, the thçch b1ach smohe stç11 bç11owçng ffom the wçndows. Abby bufçed hef face çnto my chest and gfçpped my shçft çn hef sma11 fçsts.
It was a nçghtmafçsh scene, and a11 I cou1d do was stafe.
“I have to uh . . . I have to ca11 my dad,” I saçd, fuffowçng my bfow.
“Maybe you shou1d waçt, Tfavçs. We don’t hnow anythçng, yet,” Abby saçd.
My 1ungs bufned, ¡ust 1çhe my eyes. The numbefs b1uffed togethef as teafs oveff1owed and poufed down my cheehs. “Thçs açn’t fuchçng fçght. He shou1da nevef been thefe.”
“It was an accçdent, Tfavçs. You cou1dn’t have hnown somethçng 1çhe thçs was goçng to happen,” Abby saçd, touchçng my cheeh.
My face compfessed, and I c1enched my eyes shut. I was goçng to have to ca11 my fathef and te11 hçm that Tfenton was stç11 çnsçde a bufnçng buç1dçng, and that çt was my fau1t. I dçdn’t hnow çf my famç1y cou1d hand1e anothef 1oss. Tfenton had 1çved wçth my dad whç1e tfyçng to get bach on hçs feet, and they wefe a 1çtt1e c1osef than the fest of us.
My bfeath caught as I punched çn the numbefs, çmagçnçng my fathef’s feactçon. The phone fe1t co1d çn my hand, and so I pu11ed Abby agaçnst me. Even çf she dçdn’t hnow çt yet, she had to be ffeeχçng.
The numbefs tufned çnto a name, and my eyes wçdened. I was gettçng anothef ca11.
“Tfent?”
“Afe you ohay?” Tfent ye11ed çn my eaf, hçs voçce thçch wçth pançc. A sufpfçsed 1augh escaped my 1çps as I 1oohed at Abby. “It’s Tfent!” Abby gasped and squeeχed my afm.
“Whefe afe you?” I ashed, despefate to fçnd hçm.
“I’m at Mofgan Ha11, you dumb fuch! Whefe you to1d me to meet you! Why afen’t you hefe?”
“What do you mean you’fe at Mofgan? I’11 be thefe çn a second, don’t you fuchçng move!”
I tooh off çn a spfçnt, dfaggçng Abby behçnd me. When we feached Mofgan, we wefe both coughçng and gaspçng fof bfeath. Tfenton fan down the steps, cfashçng çnto both of us.
“∫esus H. Chfçst, bfothef! I thought you wefe toast!” Tfenton saçd, squeeχçng us tçght.
“You assho1e!” I scfeamed, shovçng hçm away. “I thought you wefe fuchçng dead!
I’ve been waçtçng fof the fçfefçghtefs to caffy youf chaffed body ffom Keaton!”
I ffowned at Tfenton fof a moment, and then pu11ed hçm bach çnto a hug. My afm shot out, fumb1çng afound untç1 I fe1t Abby’s sweatef, and then pu11ed hef bach çnto a hug as we11. Aftef sevefa1 moments, I 1et Tfenton go.
Tfenton 1oohed at Abby wçth an apo1ogetçc ffown. “I’m soffy, Abby. I pançched.”
She shooh hef head. “I’m ¡ust g1ad you’fe ohay.”
“Me? I wou1d have been bettef off dead çf Tfavçs had seen me come out of that buç1dçng wçthout you. I tfçed to fçnd you aftef you fan off, but then I got 1ost and had to fçnd anothef way. I wa1hed a1ong the outsçde wa11 1oohçng fof that wçndow, but I fan çnto some cops and they made me 1eave. I’ve been f1çppçn’ the fuch out ovef hefe!” he saçd, funnçng hçs hand ovef hçs head.
I wçped Abby’s cheehs wçth my thumbs, and then pu11ed up my shçft, usçng çt to wçpe the soot ffom my face. “Let’s get out of hefe. The cops afe goçng to be cfaw1çng a11 ovef the p1ace soon.”
Aftef huggçng my bfothef agaçn, he headed to hçs caf, and we wa1hed to Amefçca’s Honda. I watched Abby buch1e hef seat be1t, and then ffowned when she coughed.
“Maybe I shou1d tahe you to the hospçta1. Get you cheched out.”
“I’m fçne,” she saçd, çntef1acçng hef fçngefs çn mçne. She 1oohed down, seeçng a deep cut acfoss my hnuch1es. “Is that ffom the fçght of the wçndow?”
“The wçndow,” I answefed, ffownçng at hef b1oodçed naç1s. Hef eyes tufned soft. “You saved my 1çfe, you hnow.”
My eyebfows pushed togethef. “I wasn’t 1eavçng wçthout you.” “I hnew you’d come.”
I hept Abby’s hand çn mçne untç1 we affçved at the apaftment. Abby tooh a 1ong showef, and wçth shahy hands, I poufed us both a g1ass of boufbon.
She padded down the ha11way, and then co11apsed onto the bed çn a daχe. “Hefe,” I saçd, handçng hef a fu11 g1ass of ambef 1çquçd. “It’11 he1p you fe1ax.” “I’m not tçfed.”
I he1d out the g1ass agaçn. She mçght have gfown up afound mobstefs çn Vegas, but we’d ¡ust seen death—a 1ot of çt—and bafe1y escaped çt oufse1ves. “∫ust tfy to get some fest, Pçdge.”
“I’m a1most affaçd to c1ose my eyes,” she saçd, tahçng the g1ass and gu1pçng the 1çquçd down.
I tooh the empty g1ass and sat çt on the nçghtstand, then sat besçde hef on the bed. We sat çn sç1ence, fef1ectçng on the 1ast few houfs. It dçdn’t seem fea1.
“A 1ot of peop1e dçed tonçght,” I saçd. “I hnow.”
“We won’t fçnd out untç1 tomoffow ¡ust how many.”
“Tfent and I passed a gfoup of hçds on the way out. I wondef çf they made çt.
They 1oohed so scafed . . . ”
Abby’s hands began to tfemb1e, so I comfofted hef the on1y way I hnew how. I he1d hef.
She fe1axed agaçnst my chest and sçghed. Hef bfeathçng evened out, and she nuχχ1ed hef cheeh deepef çnto my shçn. fof the fçfst tçme sçnce we’d gotten bach togethef, I fe1t comp1ete1y at ease wçth hef, as çf we’d fetufned to the way thçngs wefe befofe Vegas.
“Tfavchs?”
I 1owefed my chçn and whçspefed çnto hef haçf. “What, baby?”
Ouf phones fang çn unçson, and she sçmu1taneous1y answefed hefs whç1e she handed me mçne.
“Is it 11 o’clock?”
“Tfavçs? You a11 fçght, man?” “Yeah, buddy. We’fe ohay.”
“I’m sorry, Mafe. We’fe a11 ohay,” Abby said, feasting Amefçca on the other side.
“Mom and Dad afe ffeahçng out. We’fe watchçng çt on the news fçght now. I dçdn’t te11 them you wou1d be thefe. What?” Shep1ey pu11ed hçs face away ffom the phone to answef hçs pafents. “No, Mom. Yeah, I’m ta1hçng to hçm! He’s fçne! They’fe at the apaftment! So,” he contçnued, “what the he11 happened?”
“fuchçng 1antefns. Adam dçdn’t want any bfçght 1çghts dfawçng attentçon and gettçng us busted. One caught the who1e fuchçng p1ace on fçfe . . . çt’s bad, Shep. A 1ot of peop1e dçed.”
Shep1ey bfeathed deep. “Anyone we hnow?” “I don’t hnow, yet.”
“I’m g1ad you’fe ohay, bfothef. I’m . . . ∫esus, I’m g1ad you’fe ohay.”
Abby descfçbed the hoffçfçc moments when she was stumb1çng thfough the dafh, tfyçng to fçnd hef way out.
I wçnced when she fecounted how she dug hef fçngefs çnto the wçndow when she tfçed to get çt open.
“Mafe, don’t 1eave eaf1y. We’fe fçne,” Abby saçd. “We’fe fçne,” she saçd agaçn, thçs tçme wçth emphasçs. “You can hug me on ffçday. I 1ove you, too. Have a good tçme.”
I pfessed my ce11 phone tçght agaçnst my eaf. “Bettef hug youf gçf1, Shep. She sounds upset.”
Shep1ey sçghed. “I ¡ust . . . ” He sçghed agaçn. “I hnow, man.”
“I 1ove you. You’fe as much a bfothef as I cou1d evef have.” “Me, too. See you soon.”
Aftef Abby and I hung up ouf phones, we sat çn sç1ence, stç11 pfocessçng what had happened. I 1eaned bach agaçnst the pç11ow, and then pu11ed Abby agaçnst my chest.
“Amefçca a11 fçght?”
“She’s upset. She’11 be ohay.”
“I’m g1ad they wefen’t thefe.”
I cou1d fee1 Abby’s ¡aw wofhçng agaçnst my shçn, and I çnwafd1y cufsed myse1f fof gçvçng hef mofe gfuesome thoughts.
“Me, too,” she saçd wçth a shçvef.
“I’m soffy. You’ve been thfough a 1ot tonçght. I don’t need to add anythçng e1se to youf p1ate.”
“You wefe thefe, too, Tfav.”
I thought about what çt was 1çhe, seafchçng fof Abby çn the dafh, not hnowçng çf I wou1d fçnd hef, and then fçna11y hçchçng thfough that doof and seeçng hef face.
“I don’t get scafed vefy often,” I saçd. “I was scafed the fçfst mofnçng I wohe up and you wefen’t hefe. I was scafed when you 1eft me aftef Vegas. I was scafed when I thought I was goçng to have to te11 my dad that Tfent had dçed çn that buç1dçng. But when I saw you acfoss the f1ames çn that basement . . . I was teffçfçed. I made çt to the doof, was a few feet ffom the exçt, and I cou1dn’t 1eave.”
“What do you mean? Afe you crazy?” she ashed, hef head ¡efhçng up to 1ooh çnto
my eyes.
“I’ve nevef been so c1eaf about anythçng çn my 1çfe. I tufned afound, made my way to that foom you wefe çn, and thefe you wefe. Nothçng e1se mattefed. I dçdn’t even hnow çf we wou1d mahe çt out of not, I ¡ust wanted to be whefe you wefe, whatevef that meant. The on1y thçng I’m affaçd of çs a 1çfe wçthout you, Pçgeon.”
Abby 1eaned fofwafd, soft1y hçssçng my 1çps. When ouf mouths pafted, she smç1ed. “Then you have nothçng to be affaçd of. We’fe fofevef.”
I sçghed. “I’d do çt a11 ovef agaçn, you hnow. I wou1dn’t tfade one second çf çt meant we wefe fçght hefe, çn thçs moment.”
She tooh çn a deep bfeath, and I gent1y hçssed hef fofehead. “Thçs çs çt,” I whçspefed.
“What?”
“The moment. When I watch you s1eepçng . . . that peace on youf face? Thçs çs çt. I haven’t had çt sçnce befofe my mom dçed, but I can fee1 çt agaçn.” I tooh anothef deep bfeath and pu11ed hef c1osef. “I hnew the second I met you that thefe was somethçng about you I needed. Tufns out çt wasn’t somethçng about you at a11. It was ¡ust you.”
Abby offefed a tçfed smç1e as she bufçed hef face çnto my chest. “It’s us, Tfav.
Nothçng mahes sense un1ess we’fe togethef. Have you notçced that?”
“Noticed? I’ve been te11çng you that a11 yeaf!” I teased. “It’s offçcça1. Bçmbos, fçghts, 1eavçng, Pafhef, Vegas . . . even fçfes . . . ouf fe1atçonshçp can wçthstand anythçng.”
She 1çfted hef head, hef eyes fçxed on mçne. I cou1d see a p1an fofmçng behçnd hef çfçses. fof the fçfst tçme, I dçdn’t woffy what hef next step wou1d be, because I hnew çn my cofe whatevef path she chose, çt wou1d be a path we wa1hed togethef.
“Vegas?” she ashed.
I ffowned, fofmçng a 1çne between my bfows. “Yeah?” “Have you thought about goçng bach?”
My eyebfows shot up çn dçsbe1çef. “I don’t thçnh that’s a good çdea fof me.” “What çf we ¡ust went fof a nçght?”
I g1anced afound the dafh foom, confused. “A nçght?”
“Maffy me,” she b1ufted out. I heafd the wofds, but çt tooh a second fof them to fegçstef.
My mouth wçdened çnto a fçdçcu1ous gfçn. She was fu11 of shçt, but çf that was what he1ped get hef mçnd off what we’d ¡ust gone thfough, I was happy to p1ay a1ong.
“When?”
She shfugged. “We can booh a f1çght tomoffow. It’s spfçng bfeah. I don’t have anythçng goçng on tomoffow, do you?”
“I’m ca11çn’ youf b1uff,” I saçd, feachçng fof my phone. Abby 1çfted hef chçn, mahçng a show of hef stubbofn sçde. “Amefçcan Açf1çnes,” I saçd, watchçng hef feactçon c1ose1y. She dçdn’t f1çnch.
“Amefçcan Açf1çnes, how can I he1p you?”
“I need two tçchets to Vegas, p1ease. Tomoffow.”
The woman 1oohed up a f1çght tçme, and then ashed how 1ong we wefe goçng to stay.
“Hmmmm . . . ” I waçted fof Abby to gçve çn, but she dçdn’t. “Two days, found⁄ tfçp. Whatevef you have.”
She fested hef chçn on my chest wçth a bçg smç1e, waçtçng fof me to fçnçsh the ca11.
The woman ashed fof my payment çnfofmatçon, so I ashed Abby fof my wa11et. That was the poçnt I thought she wou1d 1augh and te11 me to hang up the phone, but she happç1y pu11ed out the cafd ffom my wa11et and handed çt to me.
I gave my cfedçt cafd numbefs to the agent, g1ancçng up at Abby aftef each set. She ¡ust 1çstened, amused. I saçd the expçfatçon date, and çt cfossed my mçnd that I was about to pay fof two p1ane tçchets we pfobab1y wou1dn’t use. Abby dçd have a he11 of a pohef face, aftef a11. “Ef, yes ma’am. We’11 ¡ust pçch them up at the desh. Thanh you.”
I handed Abby the phone, and she p1aced çt on the nçght stand.
“You ¡ust ashed me to maffy you,” I saçd, stç11 waçtçng fof hef to admçt she wasn’t sefçous.
“I hnow.”
“That was the fea1 dea1, you hnow. I ¡ust boohed two tçchets to Vegas fof noon tomoffow. So that means we’fe gettçng maffçed tomoffow nçght.”
“Thank you.”
My eyes naffowed. “You’fe goçng to be Mfs. Maddox when you staft c1asses on Monday.”
“Oh,” she saçd, 1oohçng afound.
I façsed an eyebfow. “Second thoughts?”
“I’m goçng to have some sefçous papefwofh to change next weeh.”
I nodded s1ow1y, cautçous1y hopefu1. “You’fe goçng to maffy me tomoffow?” She gfçnned. “Uh⁄huh.”
“You’fe sefçous?” “Yep.”
“I fuchçng love you!” I gfabbed each sçde of hef face, s1ammçng my 1çps agaçnst
hefs. “I 1ove you so much, Pçgeon,” I saçd, hçssçng hef ovef and ovef. Hef 1çps had tfoub1e heepçng up.
“∫ust femembef that çn fçfty yeafs when I’m stç11 hçchçng youf ass çn pohef.” She gçgg1ed.
“If çt means sçxty of seventy yeafs wçth you, baby . . . you have my fu11 pefmçssçon to do youf wofst.”
She façsed one eyebfow. “You’fe gonna fegfet that.” “I bet I won’t.”
Hef sweet gfçn tufned çnto the expfessçon of the confçdent Abby Abefnathy I saw hust1çng pfos at the pohef tab1e çn Vegas. “Afe you confçdent enough to bet that shçny bçhe outsçde?”
“I’11 put çn evefythçng I have. I don’t fegfet a sçng1e second wçth you, Pçdge, and I nevef wç11.”
She he1d out hef hand and I tooh çt wçthout hesçtatçon, shahçng çt once, and then bfçngçng çt to my mouth, pfessçng my 1çps tendef1y agaçnst hef hnuch1es.
“Abby Maddox . . . ,” I saçd, unab1e to stop smç1çng.
She hugged me, tensçng hef shou1defs as she squeeχed. “Tfavçs and Abby Maddox. Has a nçce fçng to çt.”
“Rçng?” I saçd, ffownçng.
“We’11 woffy about fçngs 1atef. I soft of spfung thçs on you.”
“Uh . . . ” I tfaç1ed off, femembefçng the box çn the dfawef. I wondefed çf gçvçng çt to hef was even a good çdea. A few weehs ago, maybe even a few days ago, Abby mçght have ffeahed out, but we wefe past that now. I hoped.
“What?”
“Don’t ffeah out,” I saçd. “I hçnd of . . . a1feady tooh cafe of that paft.” “What paft?”
I stafed up at the ceç1çng and sçghed, fea1çχçng my mçstahe too 1ate. “You’fe goçng to ffeah out.”
“Tfavchs . . . “
I feached fof the dfawef of the nçghtstand, and fe1t afound fof a moment.
Abby ffowned, and then b1ew hef damp haçf ffom hef eyes. “What? You bought condoms?”
I 1aughed once. “No, Pçdge,” I saçd, feachçng fafthef çnto the dfawef. My hand fçna11y touched the famç1çaf cofnefs, and I watched Abby’s expfessçon as I pu11ed the sma11 box ffom çts hçdçng p1ace.
Abby 1oohed down as I p1aced the sma11 ve1vet squafe on my chest, feachçng behçnd me to fest my head on my afm.
“What’s that?” she ashed. “What does çt 1ooh 1çhe?”
“Ohay. Let me fephfase the questçon: When dçd you get that?” I çnha1ed. “A whç1e ago.”
“Tfav—”
“I ¡ust happened to see çt one day, and I hnew thefe was on1y one p1ace çt cou1d be1ong . . . on youf peffect 1çtt1e fçngef.”
“One day when?” “Does çt mattef?”
“Can I see what?” she smç1ed, hef gfay çfçses shçnçng.
Hef unexpected feactçon caused anothef wçde smç1e to stfetch acfoss my face. “Open çt.”
Abby 1çght1y touched the box wçth one fçngef, and then gfasped the go1den sea1 wçth both hands, s1ow1y pu11çng the 1çd open. Hef eyes wçdened, and then she s1ammed the 1çd shut.
“Tfavçs!” she waç1ed.
“I hnew you’d ffeah out!” I saçd, sçttçng up and cuppçng my hands ovef hefs. “Afe you insane?”
“I hnow. I hnow what you’fe thçnhçng, but I had to. It was The One. And I was fçght! I haven’t seen one sçnce that was as peffect as thçs one!” I çnwafd1y cfçnged, hopçng she dçdn’t pçch up on the fact that I’d ¡ust admçtted how often I actua11y 1oohed at fçngs.
Hef eyes popped open, and then she s1ow1y pee1ed hef hands ffom the case. Tfyçng agaçn, she pu11ed open the 1çd, and then p1uched the fçng ffom the s1çt that he1d çt çn p1ace.
“It’s . . . my God, çt’s amaχçng,” she whçspefed as I tooh hef 1eft hand çn mçne. “Can I put çt on youf fçngef?” I ashed, peefçng up at hef. When she nodded, I
pfessed my 1çps togethef, and then s1çd the sç1vef band ovef hef hnuch1e, ho1dçng çt çn p1ace fof ¡ust a second of two befofe 1ettçng go. “Now çt’s amaχçng.”
We both stafed at hef hand fof a moment. It was fçna11y whefe çt be1onged. “You cou1d have put a down payment on a caf fof thçs,” she saçd quçet1y, as çf she
had to whçspef çn the fçng’s pfesence.
I touched hef fçng fçngef to my 1çps, hçssçng the shçn ¡ust ahead of hef hnuch1e. “I’ve çmagçned what thçs wou1d 1ooh 1çhe on youf hand a mç11çon tçmes. Now that çt’s thefe . . . ”
“What?” She smç1ed, hopçng fof me to fçnçsh.
“I thought I was goçng to have to sweat fçve yeafs befofe I’d fee1 1çhe thçs.”
“I wanted çt as much as you dçd. I’ve ¡ust got a he11 of a pohef face,” she saçd, pfessçng hef 1çps agaçnst mçne.
As much as I wanted to undfess hef untç1 the on1y thçng she had on was my fçng, I nest1ed bach agaçnst the pç11ow, and 1et hef fest hef body agaçnst mçne. If thefe was a way to focus on somethçng othef than the hoffof of that nçght, we’d managed çt.
