Ruthless Creatures by J.T. Geissinger

N A T
A We don’t talk about it, but it’s there, an electrical
awareness that we’ve moved beyond whatever we were before
into new, deeper territory.
fter that day, something changes between us.
We anticipate each other’s words. We finish each other’s
sentences. Emotions are conveyed with nothing but a look. We
spend the week between Christmas and New Year alone
together in my house, talking, eating, watching old movies,
and making love.
It’s paradise.
And like every paradise, it comes to an end.
When I wake up on the cold, snowy morning of January
third, I’m in Kage’s arms in bed. He’s already awake, gazing
at me with his signature dark intensity, but there’s something
else in his eyes that makes my heartbeat flutter.
I whisper, “You’re leaving.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
I close my eyes and snuggle closer to him, wanting this to
last just a little longer. But all too soon, he’s climbing out of
bed and getting dressed.
I sit up in bed and pull my knees up to my chest, watching
him, my lungs tight. I know this is how it will always be and
feel a pang of sadness so strong, it leaves me breathless. But
when he turns back to me, I look down at the sheets to hide my
eyes.