"For you? I'd hold the skies on my shoulders, if it came down to it."
*****
He didn't think she'd ever look his way. Let alone, stumble into him- and into his life. But all things happen for a reason, and sometimes- when you love someone from afar...
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THERE'S A SMALL bang in an adjacent room that makes me pull away slightly.
Atlas' hand drops from the back of my head, allowing me to take another small step back, clearing my throat, and he does the same- effectively bringing whatever that was to an end.
I can't bring myself to look him in the eye just yet, because that had been far too intense- but I do follow his hand as it reaches for the cover with the scarf and jacket that I had returned.
It pauses, however, as he lifts them out of the bag.
"Have you been wearing these?"
Yes.
My eyes widen slightly but I school my expression into a puzzled, perfectly innocent look, almost instantly- the best I can.
"No," I shrug, hoping my lie was believable enough, "Why?"
When I look up at him, praying that he didn't catch the small slip in my expression- he was staring straight down at the sweatshirt in his grip.
"Smells like you," he mutters, his fingers curling around the clothes tighter.
This time, some of the confusion in my expression is genuine. "Like me?"
He nods, and for a moment I'm almost certain that something resembling a fond smile flickers across his face.
"Like spring," he says slowly, looking up at me, "Roses and raspberries if I'm not wrong."
"I-yeah," I say quietly, surprised he had noticed the scent even though I practically bathed in rose-scented products. That surprise retracts, even more, when I realize I had paid just as much, if not more, attention to the way he smelled from the very first day. Rain and freshly cut grass.
Spring and Rain. I almost smile slightly to myself at that.
"Well," I start to back away slightly, "It was lovely seeing you perform, but um, I must get going."
"Oh," his eyebrows furrow- and he pauses for a moment before asking, "The three of us- we're going to grab a bite, you could come with?"
I wish I could.
"Tomorrow's my-" I pause, biting the words back down. He didn't know what tomorrow was.
"I have some errands to run before tomorrow," I amend, as he tilts his head at me- clearly noticing that I held something back, "And Mr. Rossi has someone waiting outside, to drop me home. But um-"
I hesitate, my fingers playing with the ends of my hair as I bite my lip.
"Would you mind sending me some of your recordings?" I ask in a small voice, "As in, the music? I'd really like to listen to more of what you play."
