Page 83 of A Whirlwind of Color (The Light to My Darkness 2)

“He broke into the security system?”

“I thought this was the safest apartment in the whole city. But everything worked against me. I’m updating the software. Until then, there’s only a few active ones.”

“You’re updating it?”

“That’s what Hunter Tech does. I thought we were un-hackable. I was wrong. We’re going back to the drawing board. Well, mostly the company. I’ve been preoccupied.”

“But you mostly teach, right?”

“Yeah. After what happened I took a leave of absence from the university though. Another professor is handling my summer session classes.”

“Will you go back in the fall?”

“That depends on a lot of things. How Liam is doing. If you remember me.”

I laughed. “You can teach without me remembering anything. Your life can’t just stop. You’ve said that yourself.”

“I know. But it feels like it’s stopped. It’s hard to breathe when I look at you and you don’t look at me the same in return.”

I was about to say I was sorry when music started playing lightly in the other room. I looked past him to the living room. Melissa winked at me and then disappeared down the hall.

When I turned back to James he was standing beside my chair with one hand stretched toward me.

“May I have this dance?”

This was part of the evening he had planned for me. And I wanted to remember. How could I not want to remember loving this beautiful man? I slid my hand into his and he pulled me to my feet. His hand squeezed mine as we walked into the living room and stopped in front of the amazing view.

“It’s beautiful,” I said.

He spun me around and pulled me into his chest. Our laughter drifted together. It felt right to have his hands on my waist. I lightly wrapped my hands around the back of his neck. All of it felt right. But there was still a note in my pocket that claimed I didn’t love all this. That I wasn’t happy even though life had handed me everything I could possibly dream of. I had to ask him about it. But I didn’t want to break the spell. “What song is this?”

James spun me again. “Hands Down by Dashboard Confessional.”

“And it means something to you?”

He lifted one of his hands off my waist and placed it on my cheek. “To us. We played this song during our first dance at our wedding. It was also the first song we ever danced to when we started dating. We were on a walk in Central Park.”

My mouth felt dry. I could picture it so clearly.

We walked slowly back toward the hotel. It was nice walking through the street holding hands like a normal couple. We'd never be able to do this on Main Street. Maybe he was right. Disclosing our relationship would be for the best. I heard music playing in the distance.

A smile spread across Professor Hunter's face. "Come with me." We jogged into Central Park until we came to a guitarist. He was strumming his guitar and singing. I laughed as Professor Hunter twirled me and then pulled me in close.

His hand was on the small of my back. It reminded me of when he had walked me home in the rain. The smell of him and the look in his eyes took my breath away.

"Do you know this song?" My voice sounded airy. I wanted to know what it was so I could find it on YouTube and remember this moment forever.

"I believe it's called Hands Down." He twirled me again and placed both of his hands on my waist.

"Every day I spend with you I fall harder and harder." I looked up into his eyes.

He leaned down and kissed me. When the song ended he didn't pull away. We kept swaying to the loud sounds of the city. "I should get you home."

"Does that mean going home with you? Or are you sending me back to my dorm?"

He laughed. "I'd like to bring you home with me."

"I don't want tonight to end." I put my hands in his hair and brought his lips back down to mine.

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