It'd been three days since Sky and I talked.

I thought we made up. I was probably wrong, given that she hardly spoke to me and kept on coming home late. I did the right thing — I gave her space, hoping that something would change. Sky thought that I rushed into asking her to be my girlfriend. I might have, but I also had to lay my cards on the table. I was willing to give us and whatever we felt a chance.

Tonight, Tim went to bed early, exhausted after playing soccer all afternoon. I flopped down on my bed and picked up a book, not in the mood for mindless TV-watching.

A shuffling noise outside my room made me put the hardback aside. My suspicions became a reality when I threw the door open and saw Sky standing on the other side of it. 

"Why didn't you come in?" I asked.

Sky bit her lip, shrugging. "I didn't know if the door was locked."

Just like that, I felt like the biggest asshole on Earth for making the already insecure girl doubt that I wanted to spend time with her. Sighing, I took Sky's hand in mine and led her into my bedroom.

She sat on my bed, rubbing her shoulder and wincing as she did so.

"What happened to your shoulder?" I asked, making myself comfortable next to her.

"I fell in the studio."

"Studio?"

Sky chuckled. "Yeah. Dance studio, remember? That's where I've been for the last week. I wasn't avoiding you, at least not on purpose. I started to dance again and went there after my lectures."

The gleam in Sky's eyes made me smile. I didn't usually see her so content.

"So, you've been dancing alone?" 

"They only have a few students, Liam. Every day, Brigitte, the owner of the studio, is alone there with me. She leaves at around eight, and then I have the studio to myself. It's kinda sad. You should have seen the place — all high ceilings and beautiful tall windows. You can see the garden from one of the halls, and the street from the others."

"Why don't they have students?" I asked, placing my hand on Sky's shoulder and starting to rub it.

She squeezed her eyes shut for a second before saying, "The competition. Besides, they could use some money to renovate the interior of the building — money they don't have."

"Does it hurt a lot?"

"What?"

"The shoulder," I said, caressing it.

"It doesn't. Well, I'd better go. I'm kinda tired," Sky mumbled and got up from the bed way too fast.

"Stay." I reached for her wrist and circled it with my fingers. "Or go, but come back later. We hardly talked in days."

Sky sighed. "I wasn't sure what you wanted."

"Don't you remember what I told you three days ago?" I asked. "What I did was an asshole thing to do, but I'm not an asshole. I meant it. I want to be with you, or at least spend time together and see how it goes between us if taking it slow is what you want."

"Okay. I'll take a shower and come back."

Sky rushed out of my room. It took her half an hour to return. Dressed in a pair of cotton shorts and a top, and with her face free of makeup, she looked even younger, almost innocent as she stood in the doorway.

I smiled, opening the comforter. "Come here."

To my relief, Sky did. She lay on her side and looked at me before she let her gaze travel elsewhere. It landed on the book I didn't put away.

Sky grabbed it and arched her brow. "Poetry?"

I nodded, reaching for the book in her hands. She gripped it tighter, not letting me take it.

"Don't; I want to see it. I was just surprised. I didn't know you were into that."

I shrugged. "Yeah, I read poetry when I'm not spanking beautiful good girls like you."

"Such an ass." Sky slapped my chest.

Laughing, I reached for the drawer of my nightstand and opened it, riffling through the contents until I found what I needed. "Speaking of asses, I believe this belongs to you."

I put the necklace on the comforter next to Sky and watched her bite her lip while she was deciding what to do.

"I deserved your little note," I said. "But this is your gift, and everything I've done since I met you was genuine. And I will be hurt if you don't take it back. I bought it thinking about you."

"Okay," Sky whispered, taking the necklace. "But if you do what you did again, we are done. I cannot let anyone—"

I pressed my fingers to Sky's lips. "I won't. It was a mistake, and you know I didn't mean it."

Sky bit my fingers, sending an unexpected jolt of pleasure straight to my black boxers. "Read me one."

I swallowed. "One what?"

"Poem. Do you have any favorites?"

Why the hell couldn't I have picked up one of the thrillers I liked?

"I have several. I'll read a verse of each, okay?"

Sky nodded with a smile and put her folded hands beneath her cheek.

Moving closer, I drew an arm around her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Then, I opened the book.

June night! Seventeen! - You let yourself get drunk.
The sap is champagne and goes straight to your head...
You are wandering; you feel a kiss on your lips
Which quivers there like something small and alive...

Sky smiled. "Who's the author?"

"Arthur Rimbaud. This one is old but kinda true. It's about how you feel things when you are young and how easily you change your mind."

"Not always."

"Not always, sweetheart. But the guy in the poem does. He has a crush on a girl that goes away by the end of the last verse."

Giggling, Sky moved up until she could rest her head on my chest. "More."

I kissed her again, letting my lips linger on her skin. "Okay. Let's see...this one."

Tomorrow, at dawn, in the hour when the countryside becomes white,
I will leave. You see, I know that you are waiting for me.
I will go by the forest; I will go by the mountain.
I cannot stay far from you any longer.

"The same poet?" whispered Sky.

"No. Victor Hugo. This one is sad. I didn't read the ending on purpose."

Sky tilted her head up and looked at me. "Why?"

"The guy is going to visit the grave of the woman he loves."

"You like sad things."

I shrugged. "Sometimes, they are the most beautiful."

"Okay, one more sad poem before we fall asleep," Sky mumbled, yawning.

"Okay. This one is by Louis Aragon. Quite modern. It's also a song."

Nothing is for man to have and hold. Not his strength
Not his weakness and not his heart. And when he thinks
To open out his arms, his shadow forms a cross
And when he thinks to grasp true joy, he crushes it.
His life is a divorce, strange and full of sorrow.
There's no happiness in love.

"Do you think it's true?" asked Sky.

"I'd love to believe it's not, but I haven't seen many examples that prove otherwise."

"I would like a different thing for me," said Sky, timidly drawing her arm around my waist.

"Me too, sweetheart," I whispered against her forehead. "Me too."

***

"Happy birthday, Liam!"

Tim landed on my bed, not giving me time to wake up fully.

"Thanks, buddy." I smiled, returning his hug and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

My eyes landed on the other, empty side of my bed.

"Sky is making pancakes in the kitchen. And this is my gift."

Tim shoved a rectangular package in my hands and grinned, watching me unwrap it.

A framed picture of my brother and me was inside. I didn't remember having taken it. In the photo, I was laughing at something Tim was telling me, the two of us sitting on the carpet in the living room with toys scattered around us. Knowing who took it made me even happier.

I cleared my throat. "Let's go have breakfast."

Tim grabbed my hand and dragged me to the kitchen, where Sky was making coffee next to the impressive stack of pancakes.

"Happy birthday!" She beamed at me.

"Thank you, sweetheart. What about my kiss?"

Taking me completely off guard, Sky pressed her lips to my cheek while my brother wasn't looking at us, too busy loading pancakes onto his plate.

"I also have something for you," said Sky. "I wasn't sure. I hope you like it."

"You didn't have to, and I'm sure I will love it."

Sky giggled, pointing at the big package next to the table. "Take it then."

I unwrapped the gift. A skateboard was inside. I smiled, hugging Sky to me.

And at that moment in our kitchen, while my brother was devouring the breakfast Sky made and I got a gift I liked, I found the confirmation I needed.

Sky didn't get an improved, polished, ready-to-date version of me. She was aware of the way my life was. She knew I had a fuckton of responsibilities and issues, and yet, despite everything that could potentially push her away, she didn't leave me. 

And she saw the real me very few people got to see.

***

My usually organized, borderline obsessed with order buddy left his wallet at the gym, making us go there instead of heading straight to the restaurant where we were going to celebrate Sky's twentieth and my twenty-first with Aiden and Ellie.

Tim was at Antoine's, which meant that we could go dancing afterward.

"Why the fuck is it dark here?" I said, pushing the gym door open.

"Surprise!" The light was on, and I saw dozens of smiling faces belonging to my friends and colleagues.

"Forgot your wallet at the gym, asshole?" I grinned, pulling Aiden into a hug. I had to admit it — the guy had the best poker face I'd seen. I didn't suspect he was up to something.

My eyes roamed the crowd until they landed on Sky in a dress that made me want to do every dirty thing I could think of to her. She looked stunning, smiling at something Ellie was saying.

The girls approached us. Aiden hugged his girlfriend, and the two of them sauntered away.

Over the next fifteen minutes, Sky and I greeted the guests and talked to a bunch of them. I made sure to introduce her to the gym guys and a couple of girls I knew well before she went to join Ellie at the food table.

I needed a drink. Grabbing a plastic cup, I poured some whiskey into it. Aiden appeared next to the drinks table as well, eyeing the display of bottles. "Not drinking?" I asked him.

"Didn't get the chance. What do we have here?"

"Wine, tequila, rum, Jack. Jeff went a bit overboard with booze," I said.

"Wanted to make you loosen up and go crazy." I felt Jeff's heavy arm around my shoulders. "Happy birthday, boy."

I smiled. "Thanks. The party's great, guys."

"Wait till later when the music starts. My buddy's on his way. In fact, it's him calling." Jeff waved his buzzing phone in the air before pressing it to his ear and stepping aside to talk.

I poured some whiskey into Aiden's cup.

"To your twenty-first." He raised it.

"Cheers!"

"I hope you like the music," I heard Aiden say as Jeff's buddy, the DJ, made his way through the crowd.

"You had something to do with it, right?" I asked him.

Aiden shrugged. "I guess you'll see. Unless your taste in music changed—"

I laughed. "It didn't. Thanks, man. It's the best surprise I've gotten in a while."

"Jeff isn't wrong. You deserve to have some fun. Speaking of fun, the girls are already on it."

I followed the direction of Aiden's gaze, and my eyes landed on Sky, moving to an upbeat song with Ellie.

I knew I was staring.

I knew Aiden saw me stare, but I didn't care.

"Garçons!"  Jeff's cousin Lucien approached us. "Happy twenty-first, buddy. Do you wanna get some new ink to celebrate?"

I shook my head, smiling. "Nah, what I have is enough for now, but I'll let you know."

The guy beamed and slapped my shoulder. "Awesome! What if we take a breather outside? Jeff and some other guys are there."

"Sure. Aiden, you game?"

Nodding, Aiden grabbed a bottle and refilled our cups. The girls were on the dancefloor still, dancing as if nobody was watching.

Wrong. Aiden and I certainly were.
My buddy didn't take his eyes off his girl; mine didn't stray from Sky.

"Let's go," said Lucien, nodding toward the exit.

We followed him out of the warehouse. A small crowd gathered to the side of it. Some guys were smoking; others were chatting with their friends, sipping their drinks from the cups like the one I had in my hand.

I wasn't drinking as much as I could have been, and the reason why was dancing inside.

Sky and I were finally good. I was dying to take one more step to get closer to her, and it wouldn't happen if I were buzzed.

I wanted to remember every little thing about this night.

"Liam."

Jenn stood next to me, smiling. "Happy birthday, heartbreaker."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks, but don't use that nickname. That wouldn't be me."

The girl next to me pretended to sniffle. "Well, you certainly broke my heart now that you're no longer available."

I chuckled. "Sorry. I didn't mean to break it."

"Speaking of...I've just seen Sky in the bathroom with Aiden's girl. I'm sorry for asking you this, but does she know about us and that we used to—"

"She doesn't, Jenn."

Jenn frowned. "Well, then. She looked at me as if— oh, fuck."

"What?"

"She might have overheard my friend and me when we were talking about you in the gym once."

I definitely couldn't catch a damn break. "What exactly did she hear?"

Jenn let out a small chuckle. "That you were a God in bed and that your...thing was big."

"For fuck's sake!" I stared at her.

Now, many of Sky's words made sense. I needed to talk to her and erase any remaining doubts she had.

"I'm sorry," said Jenn. "I thought you needed to know."

"It's okay. Not your fault. You didn't know."

"I hope everything goes well. You deserve to be happy, and she seems to be a good girl."

"Thank you. I gotta find Sky now."

I hoped I could fix the mess before another stupid misunderstanding drove a wedge between us.

I couldn't let that happen— not when I planned to kiss those lips before the night was over.

To be continued...tomorrow❤
Thoughts?