Page 63 of Pieces of Us

Colour me curious. I cock an eyebrow for her to continue.

‘You let me eat my rice paper roll and we’ll get some fairy floss.’

I’m ecstatic with that trade off, especially if I play my cards right and get to taste it on her lips. My dick jolts at the thought of licking the sweetness right from her mouth. My tongue nudges the inside of my cheek to force me to keep these salacious thoughts to myself. She sees straight through me, grinning wickedly before she winks at me and walks away.

This is good.

She’s flirting.

She’s joking.

She’s opening up.

She’s one step closer to being mine again.

‘I’m a growing boy,’ I shrug as I stuff the last of my taco in my mouth. Licking off the sour cream that’s sliding down my hand, I don’t miss how Amity’s eyes travel the path of my tongue.

‘You’re definitely not a growing boy,’ she laughs, throwing me a napkin. I can see there’s a hunger in her eyes. A hunger I thought had been extinguished.

‘I think I ate my weight’s worth in food,’ I grumble, patting my stomach. Amity finished her measly two rolls half an hour ago, and has been dutifully and patiently waiting for me to stop pigging out.

‘No room for dessert, then?’

‘Baby, there’s always room for dessert.’ I look at her over lasciviously, seeing a blush creep over her cheeks.

The band is taking a break, filling the arena with tunes from the radio. As I’m about to get up, notes to the start of one of our songs start playing. The strum of the guitar and melodic keys of a piano begin the introduction of Red Jumpsuit Apparatus’ ‘Your Guardian Angel’. I freeze and watch as a kaleidoscope of emotions cross over Amity’s face as a lump swells in her throat.

‘Dance with me, Hart,’ I whisper, extending my hand to help her off the stool.

This might just be the most cheesy, unconventional move I’ve ever made, but I myself am overcome with sentiment. When we both hear it, our souls attach to it. Each and every lyric is the very depth of what I feel for Amity. I thoroughly fucked us up, and I know hearing it again will set off a chain of good and bad memories.

Still, she doesn’t hesitate to take my hand. Placing it in mine, I silently vow to never let her go again. There is a whirl of crazy chaos around us—chatter, kids and a myriad of sights and sounds of cooking—but all of it fades into the background with Amity in my arms again.

We don’t dance but more sway together, our hearts pounding beneath our chests. It’s a heavy, momentous, heart-achingly tender moment we’re in, and it’s devastatingly beautiful. As the song comes to an end, I kiss her forehead. A simple, lone tear escapes and slides down her cheek. I swipe it away with my thumb and suck it into my mouth. How I ever fucked us up, destroying her, is beyond any rational comprehension. I can’t fathom or want to live with myself, knowing I tore us apart. I bring our linked hands to my lips and kiss each of her knuckles.

Neither of us wants to break this moment first, but it swiftly comes to an end when I get tapped on the shoulder. With Amity’s palm still in my hand, I swing us around to see who the intruder is, and they come in the form of a sweet old lady with stark white hair who comes up to my chest. She’s pushing ninety, but her spirit says she’s twenty. I can see in the gleam of her eyes that she has lived a life filled with vibrant memories.

‘Excuse me, but I just couldn’t help myself,’ she starts, staring up at me before flitting her eyes over to Amity. ‘You two lovebirds are just too adorable. You swept me back to a time when my dear old Roy.’ No idea who the hell Roy is. ‘Danced with me in the streets back in the 40s. My dear Roy has been gone a long time now. Died in the war.’ No idea which war, but surely it was either WWI, Korea or Vietnam. ‘But tonight I saw him again with the two of you.’

Amity’s free hand reaches out to the old lady. I don’t remember my girl ever being this overly open or emotional with strangers, but witnessing how tender she is with this woman just solidifies the person I’ve always known she is. She doesn’t exchange words, letting the stranger continue. ‘Roy and I held each other’s hearts. I wasn’t whole without him.’ She squeezes Hart’s hand before blinking back tears.

In a flash, she perks up. ‘Speaking of holes, sure there’s a few of your lady’s you could fill, right, young man?’ With that, she winks at me and toddles away. I burst into laughter, stunned at her dirty mind. Amity breaks out in a fit of giggles too. It’s exactly what we both needed to cut the tension and enormity of the last few minutes. Her fit turns into a full belly laugh, causing her to topple into me so she can steady herself.

‘Well, you heard the wise woman, let’s get one of my holes filled with fairy floss,’ Amity jokes, dragging me behind her as we weave our way to the fairy floss stand, quickly finding it and ordering.

‘Let’s take a walk. It’s way too hot in here,’ she suggests, already making her way to the exit. The pink fairy floss is bigger than her head, but at the rate she’s eating it, the entire thing will be dissolved in less than five minutes.

‘Agree. Save me some, will ya?’ I nod to the stick she’s holding possessively. Reluctantly, she stops plucking bits off it.

The night is balmy and I feel almost complete for the first time in years.

‘There really isn’t much around here but a brewery a few blocks away.’ We are essentially in the middle of an industrial area, which doesn’t bode well for the romantic setting I was hoping for.

I’ve always been in tune with her body and what she’s thinking, but as she looks around and contemplates my words, I have no idea what is running through her mind.

‘That’s okay.’

‘What are you thinking about?’ There’s begging in my voice for her to tell me, but fuck it.

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