The towel was wrapped around me again. I snuggled deeper into it, and deeper into him. My eyelids were heavy but I didn’t want to sleep, didn’t want to waste a single second of our precious time together.
Twining our fingers together, I moved my head so that I could hear his heartbeat. I’d only get this one chance. “Stay with me,” he whispered. “Stay awake for me.”
But I was already drifting away.
Sunlight was streaming in through the windows when I woke up again. I propped myself up and just looked at Caspian, lying beside me. He stretched and turned to face me, green eyes glinting in the sun.
I brushed some hair off his face and whispered, “Take him and cut him out in little stars, / And he will make the face of heaven so fine That all the world will be in love with night And pay no worship to the garish sun.”
He touched my hand and turned it to his lips, kissing my palm. “What’s that?”
“Just something I found written on a piece of paper. Shakespeare.”
“Mmmmm.” He stretched lazily, and I touched the tattoo on his arm.
“I talked to you, you know,” I mused, almost to myself. “Even though you couldn’t hear me, I spoke to you.”
“I heard every word,” he said. “Every whisper, every plea. Every heartfelt emotion you poured out to me … I heard them all. And I held them close.”
I dragged one finger down his bare chest. “You know, I’ve wanted to touch the tattoo on your back ever since you first showed it to me, and now I get the chance.” He rolled, and the dark outline was suddenly in front of me. His shoulder blades flexed as he positioned his head on his arms.
I let my finger glide, following the smooth black line as it angled in and repeated itself. His skin was warm-something I’d wondered about when I’d thought about what this day would be like.
“Is it strange?” I asked.
“Is what strange?”
“Living. Being real. Just for one day.” Now both of my hands glided across his skin.
“For the first two years, it was strange. Really strange. This year? I don’t have any complaints.”
“What are we going to do?” I leaned over him and breathed the words onto his skin, coaxed the fine muscles to ripple to life. “How are we ever going to go back to not being able to touch after this?”
He sighed deeply, but didn’t answer.
We spent the rest of the day being completely lazy. We headed downstairs and curled up on the couch to watch movies, just enjoying the chance to lie wrapped up in blankets and wrapped up in each other. I made us popcorn and brownies. And for dinner it was just simple spaghetti.
Caspian told me it was the best spaghetti he’d ever had.
As night fell and the shadows came cruelly chasing away the rest of the daylight, a dark cloud settled on me. Our time was slipping away. Already it was eight o’clock. Only four more hours to go. Four more hours left to fit in a year’s worth of touching.
It wasn’t nearly enough time.
Eventually we got dressed. Him in a pair of jeans and an old T-shirt that had once been Dad’s, and me in jeans and a dark blue sweater. I grabbed a large flannel blanket and made us each a steaming mug of hot chocolate, and then we went to the front porch. The swing was out there, and so were the stars.
We cuddled together in the dark, safe in our big, comfy blanket. One of his hands rested securely on my hip, and one of mine rested safely against his heart. He hummed a soft lullaby as I looked up into the night sky and made wish after wish after silent wish.
The hour was fading. And my heart started to hurt.
“Astrid,” he said suddenly, shifting his body away from mine. “I have something for you.” He reached into his jeans pocket. I could tell by the change in his body language that he was nervous.
I sat up. “What is it?”
He held out his hand, opening his fingers slowly, and there sat a ring.
The stone was oval-shaped, a color somewhere between ruby red and pink grapefruit. Delicate filigreed scrolls of dark metal flared out around it, holding the jewel in place. Eight tiny matching jewels dotted the edges. Even in the dim light, it sparkled.
“It was my grandmother’s,” he said softly. “My dad gave it to me a long time ago, and I kept it safe in the treasure box that we found back at my old house. I can’t exactly ask you to marry me, as much as I want to, since I spend most of my time hidden from the rest of the world.” I opened my mouth to interrupt, but he shook his head. “Just let me finish.”
I nodded, and he continued. “But I want you to have it as a promise of my forever. Whatever that is. Whatever I can give you. You have all of it. All of me.”
I held out a shaky left hand, and he slipped the ring onto my hand. It fit perfectly.
I reached out to cup his face, the ring solid on my finger. Like it had always been there. “I promise you forever too,” I vowed. “Whatever that is. Whatever I can give you. You have all of it. All of me.”
“Astrid,” he whispered, closing his eyes. “Astrid …”
I closed mine too, and our lips met, clung. Frantic words of love and eternity passed between us. Utterances of sacred vows that meant more than anything we’d ever said before. And when I started to taste salt, I knew where it came from.
I didn’t bother to wipe the tears off my face.
Chapter Twenty-three. THE DAY AFTER
The hour was as dismal as himself.
– “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”
My feet were cold, and I wondered why the blankets weren’t covering them up all the way. I tried to dig my toes further into the bedsheets, but felt only a hard surface beneath me. Eyes opening, I looked around.
I was outside, on the porch swing. A flannel blanket was sliding off me.
Caspian sat on the front steps, staring out into the yard. He must have heard me moving, because he turned around. “Morning, beautiful.”
“Morning.” I wrapped the blanket more securely around my shoulders and walked down to sit next to him. “Sorry I fell asleep.”
His smile was sad. “It’s okay.”
Without even thinking, I leaned my head against him. Or at least tried to.
The sensation of falling over hit me, and I jerked upright. Our time was over. It was November second. He couldn’t touch me anymore.
I knew I wouldn’t be able to hide the tears, so I quickly stood up. “I’m going inside. I need to …”
But I couldn’t finish. I raced for the safety of the bathroom and sat on the edge of the toilet lid, weeping until my heart couldn’t break anymore and I had no tears left to cry.
When I was done, I still didn’t feel any better. All I wanted was to be able to talk to someone. Someone who had been through this. Someone who knew exactly what I was feeling. Katy. Go talk to Katy.
Katy was the perfect person to talk to! She had been in my situation. Exactly.
Stumbling to my feet, I barely managed to remember to run upstairs and get dressed. Caspian was sitting at the window seat, looking out the window. He must have come up while I was in the bathroom.
“I’m going to take a walk,” I said.
But he didn’t respond.
I threw on a different pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. Grabbing my jacket, I went over to him. “Hey,” I said softly. “Are you ignoring me?”
He looked up at me, eyes faraway. “What? No. Sorry. I’m just distracted. Thinking.”
I wanted to touch his hand. His face. Anything. Instead I stuffed my hands deep into my pockets. “I won’t be gone long,” I told him.
“Where are you going?” he asked.