I nod, imagining him in his uniform, saving kittens from trees and helping old ladies from burning buildings.
He turns toward me, a seriousness washing over his face. "What about you, Luna? What do you want to do now?"
I think about it. What I really want to do. The hardest part is that I actually know what I want. It's what I've always wanted, I just faked my disinterest with a smile, but a part of me has been hurting for years, missing what I love.
"I want to dance."
A smile breaks out on his face, big and vicious. "You have no idea what that does to me."
I smile, but a frown ticks at my lips too quickly. "I don't know what I'd ever do, though. Julliard would never take me back. I probably suck at dancing now, anyway."
He shakes his head. "I highly fucking doubt that."
I shrug. "I don't know. Maybe I should settle for something small. Like go to a community college and be a dance teacher or something."
His palms go to my cheeks, turning my face so I'm looking him directly in the eye. "Luna does not fucking settle. Why the hell would you ever think to settle on anything? That's not you, Luna. Don't lower yourself for no one. For fucking nothing. If you want to dance, you go dance. If you think you want to get into Julliard, you walk down there, and you demand a damn audition."
The thought brings butterflies into my stomach. I so badly want that, but the fear of being shut down, of being rejected… I don't know how I'd be able to recover. The thought of leaving something behind that was my passion, regretting it, trying to salvage it, and losing my chance, is excruciating.
I'd bleed out on the front steps.
"I'll have to think about it."
"You think about it, but I know you, Luna. You're going to dance again. I know it."
I settle into the bed, and Roman lies next to me. His head is propped on his hand as he looks down at me. We talk about everything. Every detail of our time apart. Every step we took, every breath we took. There wasn't a moment of time we didn't talk about.
We made up for lost time.
We talked until night came, darkness shrouding the room again. We only stopped for Roman to order some pizza to be delivered. We ate in bed, the pizza box between us, our fingers full of grease as Roman caught me up on our families. He hasn't seen my parents in years, but our parents still talk frequently, and he says they're doing well.
That made me cry.
I'm going to call them tomorrow. I'm going to apologize and tell them I'm home. That I'm never going to do that to them ever again.
I smile until my jaw hurts. Then we curl under the sheets, and Roman holds me. He curls his arm around my entire body. I snuggle against his front, loving the hardness, the manliness that he has become. I fall asleep in his arms, the scent of Roman surrounding me, and his love repairing me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
LUNA
Iwake up to the sound of a phone ringing. Roman rolls over, his arm leaving my side as he picks up the home phone sitting on his nightstand.
"Hello?" His raspy voice is so intoxicating. My heart settles, and I curl closer to him on his mattress, snuggling against his side. My head goes to his chest, and I listen as his voice vibrates straight into my ear.
"Now? What's the status?" He grows serious, sitting up slightly in bed. My face tilts toward his, and I watch as he brings a hand up, wiping the sleep from his eyes.
"Yeah. I'm on my way." He hangs up, dropping his head back to the pillow and letting out a groan. Turning his head toward mine, he combs my dark hair from my face, his hand curling around my cheek. "I wanted to stay home today with you, but there’s an emergency. I have to go."
"What's going on?" I frown.
"Some carbon monoxide detected in some apartments over by Central Park. I don't know how long I will be. Going to vacate everyone from the building." He grimaces. "Will you be okay here? I don't want to leave you here alone, but I can't take you with me."
I sit up, combing my hair over my shoulder. "No. No, I'll be fine. I might take a walk today around the city. Explore a little bit. I also have to call my mom. I'll be fine. I'll just… see you when I get back, I guess?" I smile, this adulting we’re doing feeling a little weird. Back in high school we had rules, a small town, nothing to really do besides hang out with each other.
Now we have lives, expectations, and obligations that we need to take care of.
"I wanted to take you around the city and explore with you," he grumbles, sliding out of bed and walking to his dresser. He opens his cherrywood drawers, grabbing a pair of boxers and a white shirt.