Look Again

“You created something so perfect that it’s going to make every moment of the show better.” His hand still holds onto mine, and I feel his heartbeat where his wrist touches the back of my hand.

“I—” I manage to speak that single syllable before I realize I have no idea what I want to say.

He waits. When it becomes clear that I’m just going to stand here staring up at him with my lips parted like a starstruck teenager, he lowers his head, his voice, and his eyelids. Which must be a practiced move, because wow. It’s getting very hot back here. “I am so glad we were forced to do this together,” he says, his voice a breath across my ear.

Shifting his hand slightly, he interlaces his fingers with mine.

Our faces are almost touching. Almost is not enough. I lift my head and place my temple against his cheek, which leaves my mouth in perfect proximity to that space between his jaw and his ear. I can taste the smell of him, and I want to breathe in, right here, forever.

“We make each other look pretty good,” I say, not minding at all that my mouth is definitely on his jaw.

His free hand finds my lower back and he draws me softly closer. “You don’t need my help to look good,” he whispers, “but I love any excuse to spend time with you.”

“Even if I’m a mess?” I ask.

“I can handle whatever you throw at me,” he says, and I can hear his smile.

“Because you’re the greatest of all time?” I ask.

He keeps his hand on my back but pulls away so he can look into my face again. “I can’t imagine what my affirmations must look like to you. And I don’t know how to apologize for it, since I really have to keep doing all that positive self-talk. It’s important. Necessary to my emotional survival. But I never want it to make you feel small.”

I shake my head. “No one can make me feel small. I am enormous—a force to be reckoned with.”

I see him swallow and wonder if he’s holding back a comment on my cliché, or if he’s just trying not to laugh.

He leans forward and places a kiss on my forehead. “I accept the challenge of the reckoning.”

I feel a shiver of happiness flow from the spot his lips touch me.