Page 267 of Black Reign

A laugh slips out.

His legs loosen.

I pull mine back before I make another reckless decision.

We finish dinner.

Mostly.

Xavier wins an argument over half the chicken.

I win one over the potatoes.

We split the chocolate tart without discussing the intimacy of using the same fork until I realize halfway through what we're doing.

I hold it up.

“This is unsanitary.”

He looks at me.

“You had your tongue in my mouth twenty minutes ago.”

Fair.

I take another bite.

When dinner is cleared away, I find the book.

It sits on the corner of the coffee table near the fire.

Old.

Bent.

Hideous.

My copy of Romeo and Juliet.

I stop walking.

“You kept it.”

Xavier follows my gaze.

“Yes.”

I pick it up.

The cover is even worse than I remember.

“This cost three pounds.”

“I know.”

“There’s somebody’s GCSE homework written in the margins.”

“I noticed.”