Page 14 of A Virgo's Muse
“I mean that shit. The pressure, the doubt, the fear of what happens if you fall apart, I got it. I don’t care how ugly it gets or how long it takes. You just worry about your parents. I’ll handle the rest.”
“Why?” she whispered, like no one had ever told her that before.
“Because I want to,” I said, simple and clean. “Because when I see you, I don’t just see some woman who paints and hides behind brushstrokes. I see somebody strong enough to carry everyone else but never asks to be carried herself.”
She went quiet again, but this time, it wasn’t resistance. It was disbelief.
I wasn’t done. “I know how Virgos are,” I said with a half-smirk. “Y’all love being in control. But when you love? It’s deep, unspoken, and all you really want is someone who gets it, who sees through your silence, and who applies pressure without asking for anything in return.”
She exhaled. There was a tremble in her breath. Her hand found mine, slow and unsure, but it was there.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I said, locking eyes with her. “I’m not some ghost that fades when life gets heavy. I’m here… with you… for you.”
There were no more words after that. Just steady and certain presence. She leaned into me finally, and I let her. Because even the strongest women needed somewhere soft to land.
Three Weeks Later
That night,he held me like he’d done it a thousand times before. No rush. No expectations. There was just a quiet, steady presence that wrapped around me like a second skin. It was the kind of embrace that didn’t demand anything back. The kind that just was—solid, grounding, real.
The TV was on, but neither of us paid it any attention. We were curled on the couch in silence with my legs draped over his lap and my cheek resting against his chest. I could feel his heartbeat beneath my ear. It was slow and constant, the only rhythm I needed right then.
He smelled like cedarwood and something warm I couldn’t name… like nights where everything slowed down. I don’t know how long we sat there before I finally spoke.
“Are you always this quiet?” I asked, my voice soft in the dim light.
He chuckled low, a rough sound vibrating through his chest. “Only when I’m tryin’ not to mess up the peace.”
I looked up at him, catching the faintest smirk on his lips. “So you’re saying I make you peaceful?”
He met my gaze without flinching. “You make me want to be.”
Something about the way he said it made my chest tighten. It wasn’t some sweet-talking line. There was no performative charm in Onyx. He didn’t sell dreams. He handed you pieces of his truth like bricks, heavy and deliberate.
I tucked my chin into my shoulder, eyes drifting down to his large, rough-knuckled hand resting gently on my thigh, like he knew softness had more power than anything else right now.
“You ever imagine this?” I asked after a beat. “A life that felt like… ease?”
He didn’t answer right away. He just leaned his head back against the couch, staring at the ceiling like he was pulling the words from somewhere deep.
“Nah,” he murmured. “Didn’t think I had the space for it.”
I let that sit for a second. “What changed?”
“You walked in.”
Silence engulfed the space between us. It was the kind that filled the room without making it feel full. I looked over at him again, searching for something I couldn’t name. There was always something just beneath his surface, something he kept tucked behind that quiet demeanor and occasional smile. He gave me pieces, but I knew better than to think I had the whole puzzle.
“You ever think about why you sculpt?” I asked. “Like really think about it?”
His eyes flicked to mine.
“Yeah,” he said. “It’s the only way I know how to say things I ain’t ready to say out loud.”
My breath caught. He wasn’t what I expected when we met. Onyx was shadows and silence, a man who looked like he was built to break things, but instead… he made art. He held people. He saw things most folks overlooked. And the craziest part? He let me see him too.
That night we didn’t kiss. We didn’t do anything more than talk and exist in each other’s presence. But by the time I fell asleep in his arms, I realized something…
I didn’t feel alone anymore.
