Chapter forty-four
The Oasis
Present
Just let me hold you, please.
S he leans back on her hands, tilting her face toward the sky, eyes closed as she let the sun warm her skin.
He studies her like he’s trying to piece together the parts of her she’s still afraid to show him. It’s the same way the water watches the moon’s reflection, drawn to it, unable to look away.
“You do that a lot.” She exhales without looking at him.
“Do what?”
“Watch me.”
He doesn’t deny it. “I like watching you.”
She finally looks at him, studying him the way he studies her.
“Come here,” he says gently, nodding toward his lap.
She blinks up at him. “Why?”
His lips twitch like he’s amused by her question. “Just let me hold you, please.”
She blinks, her breath catching slightly, and for a moment, she stays still. Then she shifts, letting him pull her into his lap. His arms wrap around her, hands pressing into the small of her back. She exhales, her forehead resting against his shoulder
“I can hear your mind buzzing,” he murmurs against her temple. “What are you thinking about?”
He always does this, knowing what she’s afraid to say.
She doesn’t say anything, but her body melts against him, pressing closer, holding on to him like she’s afraid to let go.
“Tell me five things you love about yourself.”
She blinks. “What?”
“Five things,” he repeats. “Go.”
She rolls her eyes but humors him. “I love my eyes. I love that I’m strong. I’m beautiful. I’m hardworking. And…I love that I’m Afro-Latina.”
His smirk softens into something warmer. “Five things I love about you. Your eyes, your smile, your big heart, even if you’re scared to let it love fully. The way your laugh feels like sunshine, and your style.”
Her breath hitches slightly, but she doesn’t say anything.
“Four things you like?” he continues.
“Vanilla scents, pink, tres leches, and tacos,” she says.
“Four things that I notice about you: you like helping others, telenovelas, dancing, and singing in the shower.” He smirks. “And yes I’ve heard you.”
Her eyes widen, but she doesn’t comment.
“What are three things you think you look good in?” he asks.
She laughs. “Hmmm, pink, trousers, and jumpsuits.”
“Birthday suit, white, especially that all-white lingerie set you wore last night, and pink, of course,” he says.
The breeze stills for a moment, as if even I needed a second to recover from that.
She swats at his chest, laughing, but her face heats up.
They go on like this, back and forth, their voices blending with the rustling leaves and the trickling of the river. My roots drink in their energy, the way they orbit each other without realizing just how much gravity is between them.
“What are two things you would change about yourself?” he asks.
“My height. Sometimes it’s hard to find the right clothes.” She pauses. “And…not being cursed.”
His jaw flexes, but he doesn’t push her on it. “I wouldn’t change anything about you,” he says.
She lets out a small breath.
“One word you’d use to describe yourself?”
She thinks for a moment. “Creative.”
“Soleil,” he says.
She tilts her head. “As in the sun?”
He nods. “My sun.”
“Why do you call me that?”
“Because you light up my world.”
She stops breathing.
His eyes search hers, waiting for a response. But she’s too stunned to speak. So instead, she buries her face in his neck, pressing a soft kiss to his skin. She doesn’t believe him yet, but that’s okay. He just needs her to feel it.
And she does.
Everywhere.
In the way he looks at her, touches her, and in the warmth of his voice when he calls her mon soleil.
Her mind isn’t ready to trust it yet. But her heart?
Her heart is already his.