“What is it, Senna?”
I glance at him.
A knowing smile flickers through his eyes.
“Nothing.”
He cocks his head to the side, and narrows his eyes, weighing me briefly.
“Okay. Let me rephrase it, then. You wanted me here. Why?”
I sense a harshness in his voice, which is a contrast to his eyes.
“There’s no particular reason.”
“You don’t do anything without a reason. You just said you haven’t been anywhere in a long time. So what’s the reason?”
He clasps his hands under his chin, waiting for an answer.
The candlelight plays in his eyes.
“Why can’t you talk to me?” he asks softly this time.
I weigh my words before I speak.
“You keep saying you’re not good with women, yet you are good to me.”
He shakes his head, a faint smile brushing his lips.
“No, I’m not. Not in the way you want me to be. I told you a while ago I don’t do romance... And you said you were fine with it. And you probably were. But it’s no longer enough for you. I can tell. The thing is, I can’t give you what you need, and I don’t want to lie to you either. ”
My heart pulses in my throat and in my ears.
“I know. I don’t expect anything from you,” I mutter dryly.
He bores holes into my face with his eyes before shifting his gaze to the window, not saying another word.
Suddenly, the room feels cold.
I push to my feet, tear away from the kitchen table and enter the bathroom. He doesn’t follow me.
I shed my clothes and step into the shower, thoughts clashing in my head. They’re mostly bad. Different degrees of bad.
Minutes later, I turn off the water, run a towel over my body and slip into a robe. My mood doesn’t get any better as I walk into the bedroom. Sadness and regret grow in me with each step I take.
Perhaps this was a mistake. The biggest mistake of all.
All of a sudden, I feel bad for everything. The past and the present, the things I cannot change, and those no longer in my grasp.
Quietly, I walk across the room and edge to the window.
Flurries twirl in the air, looking like ghosts caught in a dance. My fingers trail the glass, my breath leaving mist in its wake.
A long exhale leaves my chest when I hear his steps behind me. His fresh scent hovers over me, filling my lungs.
He wraps his bare arms around me, draping me in his heat.
My smile flickers faintly in the window.