Page 86 of Gave Proof Through the Night

I think I’ve lost my appetite now, and Erica just giggles at my reaction.

“Seriously. Ah! Did it bleed a lot?”

She shrugs. “Not too bad. This is why I don’t wear any jewelry anymore.”

I lean over and kiss her scar, ever so gently. Then both her cheeks. Then her lips.

She melts into the kiss. Then her eyes fly open and she smacks me on the arm.

“Number eleven cuspid a little crooked?”

She’s smiling, though, and I tilt my head, admiring her teeth that actually are (mostly) very straight.

“Just a tiny bit. It adds character. Like the scar. And these freckles.”

These are all things I’m memorizing and storing in my heart.

Then, before I let the morning get away from me, I get up, cross to the closet, and pull the envelope out of my jacket pocket where I stashed it. Then I sit back down before she can ask what I’m doing.

“This is for you.”

She opens the flap and goes still. “What? What’s this for?”

"To buy a dress for the gala."

She thumbs through the six Visa gift cards without pulling the whole stack out.

“Three thousand dollars!? How much do you think a dress costs?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never bought one.” I’m completely serious, but now I’m second-guessing myself. “If it’s not enough, I have cash.”

“It’s too much.” She’s already trying to hand it back. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I want to.”

“Jeremiah, don’t be silly.”

“It’ll make me happy.” I say it flat, like this is my final answer on a game show. “There’s going to be a red carpet. Let me do this.”

She looks at the envelope for a long second. Then at me. Whatever argument she was building, she sets it down instead of finishing it, and tucks the envelope into her bag before I can change my mind, which I have no intention of doing.

She settles her back against me, and I curl my arm around her. We must doze off for a while because she sits up suddenly.

“I should go. It’s already late.”

She stands, shrugging out of the robe.

No. Not yet.

I catch her wrist before she gets two steps. “Ven aquí.”

I press my mouth to the inside of her forearm, then her elbow, working my way up until she’s laughing and swatting at my shoulder with her free hand, and I don’t let go. I wrap both arms around her waist, and press my face against her stomach through the fabric of her dress, breathing her in.

Her fingers automatically slide into my hair, and something in my chest gives out completely.

“Don’t go yet.”

“Jeremiah, I really do have to.”