Page 55 of Falling in Between

“So that was his way of telling yougoodbye?”

“I guess so. Pretty shitty,huh?”

“It’s cruel at best,” Elijah says, pressing a kiss to the top of myhead.

“We found out he left us for his pregnant mistress. He chose them over us. A year over a decade…” I trail off, worried I’ve exposed too much. It’s easy to undress my body in front of someone; undressing my soul is muchharder.

“Some people aren’t worthy of our devotion, Demi. You do realize that, don’tyou?”

“Yes, I eventually figured thatout.”

Elijah shifts in bed. I want to question him about the cello. I’m hungry for his soul. His touch… But I don’t want to push him. It’s a fine line we’re dancing on here, so I settle on asking, “What’s your fondestmemory?”

He’s silent for a moment, thinking. Then he takes a deep breath. “Every summer my grandmother would take me to Coney Island. She was fearless for a grandmother,” he laughs. “She’d rideanything.”

When I glance up, there’s a warm smile on his face. “We should go.Tomorrow.”

“To ConeyIsland?”

“Yeah, why not? It’s not far.” I pat the hard planes of his abs. “Don’t worry. It doesn’t have to count as datethree.”

He tilts my head back and kisses me. “I’ve stopped counting, and you should,too.”