Her head laid on his arm. Hair spread out like sunshine over the silk pillowcase. She made a face he had never seen before. Before tonight, he could have sworn her lips were frozen in a permanent smile, but now with her eyes closed, she relaxed into a visage of calm contentment. Corners of her mouth still slightly upturned. The moon cast a cerulean light on the skin of her neck and down to her hips. His fingertips ran along her side like five tiny breaths. It was soft and just a bit salty. It was as if she had been swimming in the ocean and dried by the cool air. There was no water for miles.

She cooed and rubbed her head into his arm. She pulled herself deeper into his grasp. This creature was the single most beautiful thing he had seen in his life. There was something electric but fragile in the way they laid there together. Strong and unspoken. He was sure he must have lived before he met her, but he couldn’t--for the life of him--remember what it was like.