Page 118 of Ruin

“All of our important moments in life seem to happen in the rain,” I muse more to myself than him.

He starts to sing off-key the words to Rihanna’s “Umbrella.”

Our song.

“Dork.” I nudge him with my elbow but secretly love that he remembers the song’s importance.

He rolls onto his side, facing me, propping his head up with his hand. The flicker of flames glowing on his face. “I’ve missed that sound.”

“What sound?”

“You laughing. Do it again.”

“I can’t laugh on command.”

“I can make you.”

“So, do it,” I challenge, raising my brow. “Just don’t sing again.”

“Funny.”

There’s a brief pause.

Then, he attacks, and he knows exactly where to go—my stomach. I’m ridiculously ticklish.

“Ah! Stop!” I laugh, trying to bat his hands away but to no avail.

“No, I haven’t heard enough.”

“Zeus!” I scream with laughter, my chest aching in the best possible way. “Come on! Stop!”

“Okay,” he grumbles, relinquishing his tickle assault on me. He flops onto his back. “I really fucking missed you,” he says quietly, turning his suddenly serious eyes to mine.

I press my hand to his chest, over his heart, touching my tattoo. “I missed you, too,” I tell him. I dip my head and kiss him.

As I pull back, his hand comes into my hair, holding me there. “I know I screwed up with us. I won’t make that mistake again.”

“I know,” I whisper.

But we both know I only half-believe that. I’m not fully in that place where I believe him yet.

He pulls me back down to his lips and languidly kisses me.

I lay my head down on his chest, tangling my legs with his.

The sound of the fire crackling in the background and the beat of his heart in my ear—this is all I need right now.

“Do you remember when you performed at the winter showcase to ‘Umbrella’?” he says out of nowhere.

“Of course I remember.” I roll my eyes. The piece I choreographed was about him and me, about how I felt about him from the moment I’d met him. How I’ve always felt about him. “Where did that come from?” I ask him, tipping my head back to look into his eyes.

He lifts a shoulder. “I don’t know. I remember everything about us…but it’s just one of those memories that has always stuck with me. Watching you dance was my favorite thing in the whole world. I hate that you don’t dance anymore.”

“I was dancing—at the club.” Until I quit when he made a reappearance in my life.

“You know that’s not what I meant.” His eyes darken. “I hate that you stopped because of me.”

“I stopped because I was pregnant. If you’d been there or not, I still would have had to drop out.”