Page 47 of We Are Yours

I gasped.

“You see that?”

I cheerfully nodded.

“I see them every night,” he admitted with a sense of ease.

I mouthed, “You wish?”

He finished the sentence, saying, “Upon a shooting star.” He smiled, and I did as well.

“I wish every night. How about you?”

I shrugged, mouthing, “Your wish?”

“If I tell you,” he teased, understanding easily. “It won’t come true.”

He was right, and I couldn’t fault him for it.

“You can also wish on the Northern star.” He pointed at it. “Or you can with the Venus and Southern Cross.” He motioned to those, too. “Can you find the Big Dipper?”

I was caught off guard that he even knew these constellations. Once I found the Big Dipper, I gestured to it.

“Alright,” he declared. “How about Princess Andromeda and her husband, Perseus? Find those? Although they are the stars that you can’t tell where one begins and the other ends because they’re holding hands.”

I beamed, enjoying his knowledge.

“You know, Perseus rescued her from being sacrificed to the monster, right?”

I nodded. I was a fellow astrology lover. It was one of my favorite courses in school. Sometimes we’d run into each other on the back entrance of their house, and now it made sense what he was doing out there. I wondered how many times we’d wished on the same shooting star and didn’t even know it.

“And then,” he rasped, hovering above me. “He fucked her senseless, and they had nine kids.”

I sucked in a slight breath as he didn’t move his stance, with his hands holding him up on the sides of my head. He wasn’t close to my mouth, but he was still right on top of me. It was such an intimate proximity.

Did he notice too?

If he did, he didn’t show it. “When she died, Athena, Goddess of War and Wisdom, placed her in the sky as a constellation, near her beloved husband, Perseus. They were soulmates destined to be together forever, and Athena made them stars to make that happen.”

On cue, the song changed to a danceable tune, and I hopped off the tailgate, stumbling a bit, quickly realizing the booze was getting to me. I needed some space, but Kraven caught me around the waist before I face-planted to the ground. I was trying to get away from whatever was happening between us, only to end up in his arms as I tried to regain my balance until I stood upright in his embrace.

Not giving it a chance to confuse me further, I pushed off him. The song was one of my favorites, and I didn’t give a shit who was watching. I began to dance, getting lost in this instead. Kraven leaned against the truck, folding his arms over his chest, watching me make a fool out of myself.

The alcohol acted as the liquid courage, and I swayed my body to the beat of the music. I danced alone all the time, putting on my headphones and getting raptured by the melody that took the pain away.

Shutting my eyes like I did when I was alone, I lifted my hair off my neck, continuing to move my hips in a slow, steady rhythm. It was cold, but I was hot.

Burning from the inside out.

I danced as if I were by myself.

As if it were the last dance when it really was the first.

With a gust of wind, I felt a strong hand grab my stomach, tugging me back against his hard chest. Kraven rocked us slowly together in sync with the music's rhythm. This was the first time I’d danced with anyone, and I couldn’t help but think about who it was that I was experiencing this with. The liquor made it easy to follow his movements.

He was steady.

Tough.