“And what?”
“And something else trembled, too…” she says, hesitantly. “Something a little further up.”
I exhale deeply and take the leap. “Something here?” I say, pointing to her chest.
She nods, avoiding my gaze.
I roll her onto her back and lie down next to her, making sure she’s looking at me while I talk to her.
“The first time you smiled at me, I thought I was losing my mind,” I start, hesitating now too. “I was used to women smiling at me, but they were always so fake, flashing their grins at you, thinking they had some sort of hold over you. Those smiles that are only focused on one thing. But yours comes from here,” I say, pointing to her stomach. “And from here,” I say, pointing to her heart. “And it’s real, it’s spontaneous. It’s stunning. When you smile, Christine, I think I could dive into it. Drown in it.”
“Oh…wow.”
“Don’t make fun of me.”
“I’m not.”
“It isn’t easy for me to say things like this.”
“Of course not,Mr Muscle.I get it – it could ruin your reputation.”
“No, that’s not it. I was a different person before.”
“Interesting.”
“I was innocent, ambitious. And then, one day, I woke up and my life had come crashing down around me. My dream has disappeared.”
Her expression is suddenly serious.
“And now, I think I could make a new dream. But I’m scared of waking up and seeing that it’s all gone again.”
Christine strokes my face with both hands. “If you’re talking about me, you should know by now that I’m not exactly easy to get rid of,” she says, smiling tenderly.
I stroke her face, too. “I really hope not.”
Then there’s nothing else to say. There’s no need.
There are only our lips, our breathing, our caresses.
There’s her and there’s me, and everything we take from each other.
There are our new dreams. Dreams that we’re building together.
