She was giddy as she ran under the silver moonlight to meet the person who had been occupying just as time in her life as the thoughts in her head. The past few weeks of her life had been completely electric, she had thrown caution to the wind, following her heart for a change, and living with complete abandon. She new it would end. Their affair cut short due to expectations and responsibilities . They’re realities would never be able to exist side by side. They were merely intertwining at the moment, side characters in their respective stories that would lead them to their final chapters. But she would enjoy it while it lasted, even though she knew her heart would be broken she was certain they would at least have until the following year when she would have to go away for college.
She could see his silhouette a small distance away from where she was, his shadow cutting through the moon's pearly reflection on the grass. He was turned away from the direction she was approaching from and she sprinted towards his familiar embrace that she had allowed herself to grow comfortable in. As she reached him he startled, spinning around and taking a reflexive step backwards, away from her. It was unusual for him, he was always so aware of everything around him, a trait that she had once found endearing but now worried about how it was acquired. But now that it didn’t make itself present she worried more about how he’d let himself become so unguarded.
“Sin? Sinbad, what’s wrong?” she tentatively reached out toward him as if she were approaching a frightened animal, but at the last second pulled back.
His face relaxed slightly but his expression quickly became hard, his brow furrowing.
“Nothing,” he cleared his throat, “ You snuck up on me is all.”
“Sinbad, surely you could here me approach? My feet were thundering on the poor grass as I ran.”
His eyes flicked up at that.
“You were running? From what?” he stepped up, squaring his shoulders as to seem taller.
“ Not running from anything Sin. Towards you. I was so happy when you asked to see me, it feels like it’s been so long,” she said as she placed her hands on him softly. One on his waist and the other coming up to encircle his neck, fingers stroking the soft hair there. An action she felt proud to say she had learned comforted him.
For a moment he looked as if he were about to pull back, away from her again, she could almost see his inner turmoil written across the planes of his face. Instead he just replied, “ I needed to talk to you.”
“I can think of something way better to do than merely talking,” She purred, feeling confident. It was true that a lot of time had passed since their last meeting. It was difficult when your time together consisted of passing glances and midnight rendezvous .
The corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk that he must know could convince even nuns to stray.
Instead of leaning in like she so desperately wanted him to he replied, “ you’ve come quite out of your shell”.
“Oh Sin, you’ve helped me. I’ve been so sheltered my entire life. With you I can be free and reckless. I can do anything even if it’s against my better judgement. That stupid voice in my head finally shuts up when I’m around you. I think it’s smitten with you too.” She laughed at herself. It still amazed her the crazy things that came out of her mouth when she wasn’t under so much pressure to censor herself. It was clear she didn’t care if she sounded stupid anymore.
But Sinbad didn’t laugh with her. Her just looked inter her eyes intently.
“Too?”
“Oh come off it Sinbad. Are you going to kiss me or not?” she said trying to lighten the mood.
Before she could feel self conscious about being so forward, his lips met with hers and everything felt so natural after that. The initial contact from him had been so feathery light and soft that it seemed as if it were meant to be chaste but it was as if a switch had flipped inside of him that brought out the Sin that she knew. He was always in charge, knew what he wanted and took it. He was so confident and sure of himself. Traits that she had envied since long before any feelings were involved. Back when they were only familiar faces and the occasional longing glance (mostly on her part).
They're chemistry had become so effortless that as he pulled he delicately sucked one of her lips between his own, she didn’t have to think. This was her favourite book and she knew the dialogue word for word. It was moments lije these that the naïve optimistic side of her brain ran wild. In these usually too short times of closeness that she believed that they were soulmates. That they were made for each other, like a lock and a key. That they were supposed to be together for the rest of their lives.
For someone so rugged toward the public, Sinbad was so tender and caring in these moments. He handled her with such care she felt as if she were some fine piece of art that had been preserved for hundreds of years. His hands came around to cup het neck so delicately, as if he were holding the chute of an expensive crystal champagne chute that he could not afford to break.
Just as she started to open her mouth he pulled away. Another strange occurrence. Sinbad was never the one to end the kiss, she always had to pull back if they were about to get caught or if she needed to catch her breath. She loved it secretly, it made her feel so wanted, which made her all the more worried now.
“You kiss me as if I’m made of glass,” she blushed.
Suddenly as if remembering himself Sin straightened up and extracted himself from her. “I can’t see you anymore,” he said.
Her eyebrows came up in confusion. She couldn’t understand what he had just said. “Sin?”
“This must be the last of out meetings,” but the words sounded too formal, too practiced.
“Sin, where is this coming from?” Her voice was beginning to sound watery around the edges, but she couldn’t break. Not yet. Not in front of him.
“From me. We’re done here.” But there was a moments hesitation before he turned to leave that was all she needed. She grabbed his arm, pulling on it so that he was pulled back to face her.
“No. What is this Sinbad? I can see in your eyes that this is not what you want. This isn’t you.” He opened himself to answer but she cut him off. “Why are you doing this? And do not lie to me Sinbad.”
He still there for a long while . Eyes downcast towards the grass, flicking back and forth. His mouth moving soundlessly as he searched for words that were usually so sure with him. After what had seemed to be eons and that they had both aged a few years he settled upon the truth.
“They’ll kill us.”
“Kill us? Sinbad you’re not making any sense. Who is going to kill us?”
He was a blur of emotion. Both hands coming up to wipe and rub at his face as if it could clear his head of whatever was going on in there.
“Bad people. Really bad people. Ruthless merciless criminals.” It frightened her how scared he actually sounded. She had never known him to be afraid of anything and here he was falling to his knees in front of her, absolutely terrified.
She sank to the ground in front of him, desperately trying to get him to look at her. “Sinbad, why are these people trying to kill you?”
His eyes snapped up to hers with the ferocity of a striking serpent.
“Because I love you.”
