Taking both of my hands, he pulls me into the tide. Salt water deepens the lavender satin of my gown to almost black. The waves push into it, making it heavier and heavier. “Tell me when,” he says.
I nod. When Galen is neck deep and I’m clinging to him to keep my head above water. When my saturated prom dress feels like an anchor grasping at my limbs. When the moon is directly overhead and makes the silver flecks in his eyes shimmer like gems. That’s when I’m ready. “Now,” I breathe.
He brushes his lips against mine. Once Twice. So soft it barely feels like anything. But it also feels like everything. He pulls me under. One day, when Galen and I are mated, I’ll be a princess. But I’ll never feel more like a princess than right now, in his arms, dancing on the ocean floor.
He pulls my from my trance with his lips against me ear. “Emma.”
It’s silly how my own name can send tingles shooting everywhere. “Hmm?”
“I’ve been thinking. About us.” He pulls away from me. “I think…I think I need a distraction.”
“Um. A distraction? From me?” The words taste vinegary in my mouth. They turn sweet again when Galen throws his head back and laughs.
“Emma,” he says, brushing his thumb across my bottom lip. “You are the one thing I’m sure of. Completely. Without thinking twice. But I want to get away from here for a little while. And I want you to come with me. I know you’re set on going to college in the fall. I’m only asking for the summer. Let’s go somewhere. Do something.”
I float up until I’m eye level with him. “Let’s. Where will we go?”
He shrugs. “I don’t care, as long as it’s away from any ocean.”
“So…the desert?”
He grimaces. “The mountains?”
I laugh. “Deal. We’ll go to the mountains.”
“You’re sure?”
I pull him by the neck until our noses touch. “Completely. Without thinking twice.

Autore: Anna Banks