Page 127 of Between the Blue
“Tell me something?”
“Okay,” I agree. “Like what?”
She sighs. And when she speaks again, her voice is much quieter. “Where do you see yourself in five years, Ben?”
“I…” I trail off.
She always asks me things like this.
I don’t know why.
Especially when she acts strangely when I ever hint at a future with her.
It makes it harder to answer these questions. Makes me feel like I’m not being honest.
“The NHL,” I end up saying, keeping it simple. Because I don't want to distress her further right now.
When she’s quiet for a few seconds, I add, “Five years from now feels hard to picture though. You know?”
She nods gently. I only know it because I can feel her head dipping against my chest.
“Yeah, I do know,” she breathes.
After another moment of silence, I ask her, “Can I tell you something else?”
“Okay.”
I release her. Gently spin her around so she’ll face me. “It’s no excuse for what happened, so that’s not why I’m saying it.”
Her brows pull together.
“You were goddamn radiant up there, Jules.”
The Yin to my Yang. The sun in my dark sky.
“I just…”
“What?” she questions me.
“I wish I could live like you do.”
“How’s that?”
I rub a hand over my mouth. Shake my head. “Like you’re not afraid of dying.”
She steps forward. Looks up at me.
Her eyes still aren’t any clearer. Even as they squint at me.
She surprises me. Gets up on her tiptoes. Kisses me gently. Barely brushes my lips with hers.
Then she hugs me. Her lips move to my ear.
“Be careful what you wish for.”
thirty-five
HER
