I push into the first verse, and my voice wavers just slightly, my throat raw from the weight of this moment.From all the moments before it.
And I watch her.I can’t not.
I watch the slow rise and fall of her chest.
The way her lips part, like she’s forgetting how to breathe, too.
The way her fingers twitch at her sides, like she wants to grab onto something—like maybe she’s holding herself back from reaching for me.
Or maybe that’s just what I want to believe.
I blink hard, keep singing, but fuck, my mind is playing tug-of-war with itself.
Is she just listening?
Or is this something more?
Does she feel me—this?
Does she…wantthis?
My pulse kicks, hard and fast.
I push into the next verse, and I swear to God, I see something shift in her.
Her shoulders drop the smallest fraction.Her fingers relax.
And fuck—her eyes.
They’ve never looked like this before.
Or maybe they have, and I was too stupid to notice.
Because there’s no fear there.
No barriers.
No walls between us.
Is this real?
I swallow hard, fingers tightening around the guitar.It doesn’t make sense.
Anna doesn’t let go this easily.She doesn’t let herself be seen.
But she’s standing here, in this room filled with people, with music, with me?—
And for the first time, she’s not hiding from it.
I don’t understand.
But I want to.
God, do I want to.
I push through the chorus, let the weight of my own words sit heavy on my tongue.
And then—she exhales.