Page 97 of If Our Hearts Collide

“Great job.”

“You scared me,” she whimpers.

I gently pull her into my arms and slide up the blindfold to her forehead. Tears fill her eyes, and when one escapes, I wipe it away with my thumb.

Touching her is my weakness and yet I can’t leave her standing here in the middle of the gym floor, looking like she just might break.

“I know you are scared, but that isn’t the intention of this lesson. You did phenomenally well. Even without your sense of vision, you were able to dodge my advance.”

Her bottom lip quivers but she rounds her shoulders. “Let’s do it again.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

I wait until Penny pulls the fabric down over her eyes again and take a step back.

Allowing several minutes to pass, I grab hold of Penny’s wrist as fast as I can and revel in her reflexes to break free in less than three seconds.

Sobs break out from deep in her throat, and the sound makes shivers run up my spine.

“I’m sorry, Penny.”

I pull her to me, rip off the blindfold, and fold her onto my lap as I settle on the floor.

“It’s okay.” Her words come out as fragments as she sniffles and buries her face into my chest. “I really needed this.”

“I don’t know. I’m having major doubts right now. Maybe we did too much too soon.”

She shakes her head no, but I can’t see her eyes. It’s her crystal blues that allow me to see her truth, but she is hiding her face from me.

“I just want you to hold me.”

And I do.

I sit here on the mat and hold the beautiful girl who is starting to mend her broken wings and relearn how to fly.

And it’s in the quiet that we find each other.

“Your turn,” Penny whispers, bringing me back down to earth.

She pulls back, and the rejection reminds me that what I’m doing with her is wrong. We are blurring lines faster than we are using them to construct the boundaries.

Standing up, I offer her a hand.Just a hand.“My turn?”

She swings the band around her head like a lasso. “Yes. Your turn.”

Smirking, I place the band around my eyes, making sure it is secure.

“Now, spin around in a circle ten times.”

“That doesn’t seem fair.” But I do it anyway.

My senses and adrenaline kick in as I wait for Penny to make her move.

Hearing some rustling coming from my left side, I clasp my arms together, pulling Penny into my chest.

“Got you!” she yells, making me burst into laughter.

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