She stood, gazing at him, her fingers trapped beneath his own. Yet again. The scene at the coffee shop the other day echoed back to her. Her hand, resting on the table, then covered by his own.
She had to acknowledge one thing. She loved his touch. Somehow, Yoongi had a gift for communicating the tenderness of his heart through his fingertips. She wondered if this was why the piano reacted to his loving touch with such adoration. Perhaps, it was the reason such beautiful music flowed from its keys when he was playing.
She swallowed. She deplored the feel of her boyfriend’s hand on her. She no longer trusted that his fingers would be only kind. His hands had released terror into her soul. But Yoongi…
Yoongi’s eyes and his touch matched. They both promised solace for her pain. Companionship for her loneliness. Comfort for her fear.
“All right,” she whispered.
Suddenly jarred by the sound of her voice, he blinked. “All right?”
“I will leave him. If you will help me.” She glanced at the school. “I need to go into work now. But come find me at five o’clock. I’ll meet you right here. We can go to dinner and work out a plan. Does that sound all right?”
He nodded. He felt relief invading his heart with cool fingers of comfort. She was safe. She was going to be all right. He wasn’t going to lose another girl to some angry man’s violence.
Reluctantly, he drew his hand away from hers. Just as hesitantly, her fingers moved away from his face, but not before she had stroked his cheek once more with her thumb. As her skin slid over his, his eyes took in the expression on her face, and he felt like weeping again.
As her hand fell away from him, his hand reached up to embrace it, and he squeezed her fingers lightly. “Don’t worry, Stasia. Everything is going to be all right.”
Doubtfully, she glanced into his eyes. “Are you really that sure?”
“I’m not going to leave you to face this alone.”
She nodded. She wished she could feel as confident as Yoongi did. But despite his tenderness, she felt a great sense of unease still. She smiled faintly at him, murmuring, “Thank you,” before turning to head into the school building.
Yoongi watched her until she disappeared, unaware that another set of eyes was observing him.
