Page 165 of Only With You

I attempt to snuff my snicker, but it’s futile because it escapes. “Just to be a dick.”

Her jaw goes slack. “So, were you really going to keep it if I hadn’t said anything?” I don’t get a word out before she’s gasping and softly swatting at my chest. “You dick! I was late to class.”

“I’m sorry.” I smile and poke her sides until she can’t help but smile too. “I promise to make up for it. I’ll buy you all the oatmeal and lattes you want.”

“Make it hot chocolate and we’re good,” she negotiates.

“Love, I’ll buy you anything you want.”

She grins. “That’s a dangerous thing to tell a girl. I hope you mean it.”

“It’s a promise.” My gaze dips to her lips before her words resurface. “If it wasn’t about us, what was wrong earlier?”

She drops her stares, fiddling with the sleeve of her top. “Just some sorority stuff.”

“Hey.” I tuck a knuckle underneath her chin and tip it upward, meeting the defeated look in her eyes. “What’s wrong? Talk to me.”

“It’s nothing, just a bunch of bullshit that I promise you don’t want to hear about. I’ll probably talk your ear off about it.”

“Snowy white and electric sapphire.”

“What?”

“When you talk, those are the colours I see in the shape of an aurora borealis. I wish you could see it, because it’s breathtaking.”

Her face softens and my favourite kind of smile tugs on her lips. “Really? Snowy white and electric sapphire? That’s what you’re seeing as I’m speaking?”

I nod, smiling at the elation in her voice. “As you speak, I see it, but even if I didn’t, I still like the sound of your voice. When you’re laughing, singing when you think no one is listening,talking about your students and the instruments you’re teaching them, moaning when I’m fucking you.”

Her face glows. “See, I knew you were obsessed with me.”

“You made it hard not to be,” I blithely respond.

Her skin grows hot beneath my fingers as I raise them up her spine.

It takes her a moment to speak before she relaxes against me and plays with the piano keys tattooed on the crook of my arm and up my bicep.

“I think I’m going to drop my sorority.” Her voice is quiet and a little unsure.

I don’t say anything because I think she’s working up the courage to say more.

“I don’t know why I waited this long to decide that, but it’s just not for me and I can’t pretend like I enjoy it anymore. Don’t get me wrong, it was great at first,”—she pauses on a key and smiles as if she were reminiscing, but it fades—“but then it wasn’t and I’ve been waiting for it to get better, but it doesn’t. I know this would gut Mom, because she’s the reason I’m in it, but I’m going to talk to her and hopefully she’ll understand.”

She finishes off, sounding both relieved and anxious. Like a weight has been lifted off her shoulders but replaced with another.

I noticed her distance toward it, and sometimes she doesn’t bother to hide the dread when she talks about it to the girls. I didn’t ask because it wasn’t my place and I didn’t want to assume like I have for so many other things.

Now I hate that I didn’t ask, because it’s been weighing down on her and it seems that it’s been like that for a while now.

“You don’t think your mum will be happy with your decision?”

She drags the tip of her nail over the guitar tattooed on my other arm. “No, she won’t be and she’ll probably say that Ishould stay, because there’s a semester left, but I don’t think I can.”

Her nail digs deeper, but I don’t think she realises it. She’s not even looking at me anymore. Her eyes are drawn to the middle of my chest and appear distant.

I drop my hands from her back and snake my arms around her waist. “Do you want to talk about what happened, Love?”

That pulls her attention back to me and flashes me a half despondent smile. “No, if I keep talking about it, I’ll lose the courage to talk to Mom. I’m sure she’ll be upset about it, because I just got my dress for semi and I’m not going to use it anymore.”

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