Breaking Away (The Man in the Shadows) Read Free Page B

the waist, they moved back and forth to the calm beat of the music. She rested her head on his chest, and he hugged her back. As they swayed, he put his cheek on the top of her head. I want to stay like this forever, Maika thought. The music was a bit lower in volume now, so she looked up at him. She summoned, “Ethan?”
    “Yes, Darling?” Swoon.
    “Do you love me? I mean, like, really, really love me?”
    He put his hand on the back of her head, and shoved it back into his chest. He stroked her long, black hair once before replacing his hand on her back. Distinctly hearing his breath swooshing in and out of his lungs, slowly, easily, she closed her eyes. She could hear his voice resonant through his chest as he answered, “Of course I do. You’re my best friend. I couldn’t imagine my life without you.”
    Maika backed up and placed one hand on each of Ethan’s shoulders. This was the moment she had been dreaming of for so long. I couldn’t imagine my life without you, his voice echoed in her head, her dizzy head, her drunk head. She got up on her tippy toes, and slowly pressed her lips to his.
    After a stunned moment, he closed his eyes and pressed back.
    The fire that raged in her was let free at that moment, and she slipped her hands around his neck, and ran one through his fine, soft hair. Her tongue found his lips then, so sweet, so kind, so caring... He was perfect, not only that, but this kiss was perfect. She unanticipatedly felt a wave of heat come off his body as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her body into his. Their bodies seemed to fit together precisely, like a jigsaw puzzle. Why had she been with, dedicated to, and wasted years with douche bag guys? In order to date assholes, she had been putting off this kiss, this moment, this ecstasy... She had dreamed of kissing Ethan for years, with several near misses along the way, but now, now it was really happening...
    He backed away as quickly as one runs from a wave of a tsunami. It happened so fast and was such a jolt that she felt a pang of pain, like ripping off a bandaid. Ethan looked unsettled, his face twisting into confusion and disbelief. He burst out, “NO!” just as the music paused between songs. The entire club, full of trendy, chill, hipster folks, looked at him, and his eyes darkened with embarrassment and anger. Stalking off into the abyss of people, he left Maika there, her lips still hot from the fire they shared, forgotten.
    In a stupor, Maika’s arms slowly dropped to her sides, as if made from clay, melting in the blazing sun of midday. The music began again, thankfully, and the hipsters forgot about the dramatic scene as quickly as they had turned their heads to observe it a few moments previously. Her eyes burned, but she refused to cry. There was no need to cry, she had just made an intoxicated mistake, and Ethan had just slightly overreacted. Well, okay, really overreacted. She willed her feet to move from their spot on the floor, but it felt like her feet were a thousand pounds each.
    She ran her hands through her hair in frustration because one rouge tear escaped her eye and ran down her cheek, cascading her mascara in a dark smudge over her fair skin. She had a deep urge to run after Ethan, to find him in the crowd, to embrace him and apologize for her stupidity, but there had to have been at least 500 people in the building, so finding him before closing time would be an impossibility. Hopeless, she wiped her eyes briefly, unthinking, smearing her eyeliner even further.
    She blinked a couple of times, willing the intruding tears to return home. Finally, with little warning, her feet decided to move, making her stumble forward. I swear I’m not that drunk, she thought as she looked around to see if anyone had seen her trip. Of course no one had, they were all too intent on their dancing, books, or make out sessions.
    Walking calmly over to the couch where she and Ethan had started their night, she grabbed a