Page 29 of Light As A Feather
“I remember everything,” I whisper against her lips as I slide a hand up the back of her sweater. She shivers against me, and despite the way I want to coax more of those reactions out of her, I can’t ignore the way her stomach growls.Priorities.
We fall into a natural sync, a comfortable silence between us, as we assemble our own pizzas to our liking. But I can’t stop Ivan’s threats from creeping back in. I know what I need to do. I know that I can’t handle this all on my own, but I’m not ready to give up my alone time with Sol. I’m not ready to share her with the rest of my world.
I know they’ll love her once they get over the hard feelings they hold against her as my friends. She’ll fit right in with them. Of course she will, because she fits with me. But it will be a lot for her to take in.
It’s why I need to tell her about Veiled Coast Paranormal soon. Need to open her up to the idea, but more than that, I want to. I want her to know that I haven’t just been sitting here on my hands, feeling sorry for myself. We’ve created something amazing, and we’ve done incredible things for people. I’ve become so much more than who I used to be.
Just a few more hours, I promise myself. We deserve to indulge in the fantasy; we’ve earned it.
“Do you have any Parmesan?” Sol asks as she starts opening and closing cupboards.
“We do,” I answer as I open the one to the right of the stove. As I reach for it, I realize there’s no way she’d be able to reach it. “I can move some stuff around so these can be on the bottom shelf. I forgot how short you were.” I expect to see her glaring atme when I turn around, but instead, there’s a heat in her eyes that awakens a different kind of hunger in me.
“If I get to stare at your ass in those sweatpants more often, please keep it there.”
“Stop looking at me like that, or your food is going to go cold while I make a meal of you.” Her lips twitch into a smirk, but I don’t let her take us down that path. She’s hardly eaten since she’s been here. “Dinner first.”
“Right. I’ll grab some wine, then.”
“You thinking red or white?
“Sparkling.”
“Perfect. I keep a few bottles of prosecco and cava in the wine fridge. Just at the end.” I nod in the direction and then duck down to grab the pizzas out of the oven. As I finish plating them, she grabs our glasses. “Bring the bottle, there’s a chilled bucket in the freezer, too.”
The fire is roaring as we get settled on the blankets I’d set up earlier. Something that used to be so normal now feels monumental. How many nights did we spend talking and laughing in this same spot, and yet a thrum of excitement buzzes through me as if it were the first time.
“Wait,” Sol insists as I bring the glass to my lips. “We have to toast.”
“What was I thinking?” I tease.
“And make eye contact. We don’t need any more bad luck.” She moves herself in front of me.
“Of course.”
“To second chances.”
“To second chances.”
Sol winces when our glasses loudly clink together, but we take a sip in unison all the same. “Okay, I’m literally starving.”
“Eat up, you’re going to need all your energy. I intend on keeping you up all night.” Sol only shakes her head at me before turning her full attention to her dinner.
Between the heat of the fire and the pizza, it doesn’t take long for me to start sinking into the blankets, but I resist the urge to fall asleep when it’s still so early.
Hopping to my feet, I stroll over to the vintage record player that’s been in my family for two generations—one of the many things my mom was gracious enough to part with when they sold me the house. It just wouldn’t be the same without it. It was as much a part of me as it was of her and my grandma, and I was grateful to have this piece of them here with me. Music connected us just as much, if not more than blood.
The synth-heavy music pours out of the speakers, breathing life back into the night. It’s evident in the way Sol perks up, but also the spirits who gather around the edges of the room. It’s not unexpected; the dead are pulled to it just as we are. But I don’t miss the moment that Sol registers their presence.
“It’s okay. They live here…for now. They won’t bother you.” I shift my gaze to each of them in turn.
“What do you mean they live here?”
“For the most part, we’re in a mutual understanding that as long as they aren’t a problem, they can take their time moving on. Some of them had pretty unfortunate deaths.”
“Oh…” Sol tips back her head and finishes her drink. Immediately, she refills her glass, watching the others over the rim as she adjusts to the idea of them.
I give her a minute to process, staying where I am and enjoying my own drink. The cava is sharp on my tongue, carbonation wandering across the taste buds.
