“Konnor, stop, I know?—”
“No, I need to talk to you about this.”
“Konnor, I know. It’s okay. I was going to come see you soon. Iwantedto see you. I want to talk…” She looks left and then right. “In private.”
My eyes move to Black Beauty, then around the bar as everyone surrounding us suddenly pulses back to their own business.
“Fuckers,” I mutter. I look at her again. “Do you wanna go for a long pointless walk with me?”
She smiles. “Yes.”
I’m so consumed by being with her again that I don't even remember leaving The Grill, but we’re strolling silently, hand-in-hand like we did a few weeks ago when we were strangers. I want to tell her how much last week sucked, how much it felt like my world was caving in, but she doesn’t need that right now. “Where are you?”
She stops. Blinks at me. “What?”
“Mentally.” Releasing her hand, I turn to face her. “I didn’t come here to invade your space. I just wanted to see you. I want to give you what you want, but I’m going to keep an eye on you from now on.” I laugh. “Keep those fuckers away.”
“I don’t want any more space.”
Stuffing my hands into my pockets so I don’t fucking grab her, I take a single step closer. “Less?”
“Less.”
I take another step.
She smiles up at me, her eyes lengthening into that feeling. “Can you talk? I don’t know what to say.”
I brush her hair from her face before cradling the back of her head. “I know you think that I don’t want you—for you. For the woman you have become. But you’resowrong. I do love Liz, but I fucking adore the person she has become, just as much, just as intensely.” My eyes trace the curve of her nose to where her lips part on a soft exhale. “You have become an incredible woman, Blesk. You'resotalented.Sofunny. I love that you mock me when I get jealous and act like a psycho?—”
She lifts a brow. “Like five minutes ago.”
“Yeah…” I grin. “I love the way you press your tongue between your teeth when you smile. How your giggle comes from your throat. That is all Blesk. I noticed. I sawyou.”
Her lower lip trembles.
“I love that you eat a hotdog with two hands. That when you listen to music your fingers move as if mapping the chord progression in the air. I love that you’re terrible at puns. I love that you check me out and don’t try to hide it.” She gasps when I pullher into me, pressing her chest against mine so I can feel her heart racing.
“I love you, Blesk,” I declare, again. “It’s insane, but I fucking love you. I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember.” I wipe a tear from her cheek and watch as she processes my words. “Don’t cry.”
“What if…” She swallows, and glances at her feet. “You feel differently when you get to know me more?” Her eyes return to my face. “What if I disappoint you?”
“I’ll help you bury the bodies.”
She blinks once. “What?”
“I’ll be your alibi.”
She giggles. “What?”
“I’ll put you in rehab.”
“What are you even talking about?” Amusement lifts her voice to the sweetest pitch.
No way could she disappoint me, but I’m not going to challenge her on this. “If you turn out to be a serial killer, or a thief, or a drug addict, I got you.”
She sighs into a smile. “What if I turn out to be something worse than those things?”
What’s worse than that?Nope.I don’t care. “We’ll work through it together, Blesk.”