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Her eyes widen then she runs faster.

Thirty feet. Twenty. Ten. She squeals when my fingers brush the back of her shirt then slips away. “Fuck you!”

“Working on it.”

Her laugh breaks into a gasp, then she disappears through another row.

I follow then stop.

She’s gone.

Interesting.

Her heartbeat remains close… very close.

I turn slowly and see nothing but corn, moonlight and dirt.

Then… Thump. Thump. Thump.

I smile beneath the mask. “Sage.”

Silence.

“You know I can hear you.”

Nothing.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

I follow the sound. Five steps. Three. One. I reach around a thick cluster of stalks and she bolts.

I catch her around the waist and she screams then laughs when I lift her off the ground thrashing against me.

“PUT ME DOWN!”

“Is that what you really want?”

She stops.

There’s the question. Always the question.

Her laughter fades.

I lower her until her boots touch the dirt but I don’t release her.

Her back rests against my chest while my arm circles her waist. Her breathing is hard. So is mine.

Her heart pounds. Mine answers.

Thump. Thump.

She feels it, turning in my arms and looks at my chest then up at the mask. “You caught me.”

“Yes.”

“And now?” I release her completely.

She stares.