The room went dead quiet.
Soft, pale moonlight spilled between him and me-like the sand in some empty, desolate wasteland.
I hadn’t said a single word the whole time. It was all him, talking it all out, like he was making some big, serious confession.
Right then…
I hung my head and slowly took off my glasses.
Folded ’em carefully and slipped ’em into my pocket.
Then I reached up and grabbed both sides of his coat lapels.
His eyes widened a little.
He didn’t get it, but he didn’t move a muscle.
Like a puppet, just going with whatever I did.
I let out a low sigh.
With a hard yank, I pulled him closer.
Then I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him.
He stiffened for a second, but quickly kissed back. Suddenly, he tightened his arms and pulled me all the way into his embrace.
He held me so tight, he didn’t hold back at all.
I let him kiss me hard, stumbling backward till I fell onto the nearby sofa.
He knelt down on one knee, pressing one side of my body down. His palm rested on the back of my neck, kissing me with this rush of passion and heat.
Just a minute ago, he’d been talking so calm and restrained. But now? He was so fierce, it was like he wanted to swallow me whole.
My hand climbed up his back, feeling his tense muscles and bones through his clothes-plus his wild, thumping heartbeat.
That kiss held five years of being apart and all the longing in between.
It was crazy.
Five years had clearly passed.
But in that instant…
We slipped right back to the time we used to have. So natural, like we’d never been apart at all…
I had no idea how much time went by.
He pulled away from me, breathing hard, his eyes fixed right on me.
“You been drinking?”
Moonlight streamed through the window, falling on my half-bare shoulder.
His clothes were all messed up too.
“So… you sure about this?”
He asked between gasps, his voice hoarse as could be.
I looked at him and said nothing.
I reached my hand inside his coat.
His body tensed up right away.
His eyelashes fluttered twice, real fast.
Shock, joy, and this tangled mix of held-back restraint finally being answered-all of it rushed in his red-rimmed eyes.
“Ari…”
His voice got even hoarser, shaking a little like he couldn’t control it. “Can I… can I kiss you back properly?”
I looked at him and finally said my first words.
“Yeah.”
Music from outside drifted in faintly-like drums beating from some other world.
But in this room?
There was nothing but heavy breathing and us, finally back together.
