Page 173 of Eternal
“Would you ever trust me fully?”
Silence.
Her breathing slows. “No,” she says, and her voice is steady. “I would never trust anyone fully.”
A muscle ticks in my jaw, but I only nod. “Your turn.”
She shifts slightly, like she’s trying to put space between us, but I don’t move. All it does is pull her closer. So close that my breath traces the curve of her collarbone.
Since when are collarbones so distracting?
“What’s your biggest regret?”
Her voice pulls my gaze back to reality, and the question lingers in the space between us, pressing heavily against my ribs.
Her eyes have always been pretty, that sharp contrast, the shifting colors, it’s like looking at the sky at every hour of the day.
My biggest regret?
I should lie, I should say something easy, something vague.
But she’s looking at me like she already sees the truth, like she’s daring me to say it.
I exhale. “That I’m still alive,” I say quietly.
Her breath catches.
The sky looks pretty sad right now, like she’s pitying me. But she’s not pushing any other answer from me.
My turn.
I watch her too closely, memorizing every flicker of emotion on her face. I don’t know why I ask it. Maybe I already know the answer, maybe I simply need to hear her say it.
“Would you be mad if I was searching for your name… and found it?”
Her breath slows, barely noticeable, but I caught it. She’s thinking, too long, too carefully, as if she’s deciding whether to lie.
But then, quietly, too quietly, she says, “I’d be mad if you left after finding it.”
Something twists in my chest. I grip the counter behind her a little harder, not trusting myself to move.
She lifts her chin, eyes steady on mine. And then, it was her turn.“Are you lying about who you are?”
I let out a sharp exhale, something that almost sounds like a laugh. But it’s pathetic, it’s almost sad. “I’ve always lied about it.” The words come out raw. “Even to myself.”
I lean in, just enough to close the distance but not enough to touch. She’s standing there in front of me, frozen,waiting.
Her chest rises and falls with each breath, colliding with mine,heart to heart. “Do you want to kiss me right now?” she asks with the softest voice.
I’m standing so close now, I can almost taste her breath on mine. I clench my jaw, keeping my hands to myself, forcing the words out, though they almost choke me. “Dying to.”
She doesn’t move.
“Would you want me to kiss you right now?” I ask back, voice raw, low, every word feeling like it’s dragged from the pit of me.
She studies me for a moment, then, with so much confidence, she whispers, “You’d die for it.”
Fuck.
