Secrets & Submission

“Sorry about that,” John says. “You all right?” he asks with humor in his tone and a short laugh. He cups my chin, and his touch is warm.

“I’m fine,” I whisper and then clear my throat.

“You look sad that I left you.”

I lie. “I was.”

His shoulders rise with a pride and wanting I’ve seen from him before. He leans in close to whisper in my ear. “I guess I shouldn’t leave you alone again then.”

Alone.

Zander’s so far away that he left me alone.

My heart tinks.

“I need some fresh air.” The air in this covered patio isn’t enough for me. It’s too warm and too full of other people. On one end of the bar there’s space. The gap between the bar and the railing is so narrow here that the bartenders can’t fit on this side. Oh—one of those L-shaped bars. I see it now.

“Remember how we used to let it all go?” I ask him, eyeing the edge of the railing.

John grins and asks, “You want to?”

I only nod, feeling my heart race.

It was a different time and for different reasons. But right now, it’s all I want to do. Let it all go.

John helps me hoist myself up on the other side, abandoning the shot glass I’ve been holding, and stand up.

I’m so hot, and I can’t be hot anymore.

“You ready?” he asks at the same time that I hear Zander shout out. As I close my eyes, he’s there, staring from so far away.

All it takes is two steps.

One step to the edge of the bar. The next step to the railing.

Two steps. One jump, and I’m sailing through the air, off the side of the railing, going down fast.