Love, Lust, and Jealousy.
It's a story Cora knows all too well - not because it's her own, but that of her character in Illicit Affairs, the murderous romance that's about to take Broadway by storm. It's her crowning achievement, her pride and joy...
Rasmus noticed a text from Ava as he and Cora were walking toward the elevator.
are you ok?
Rasmus is typing...
yeah...or at least i will be soon enough. love you
love you too
He glanced over at Cora and smiled when he noticed that she was responding to a similar text from Simon. As annoying as it could be to have people checking in on you when you didn't want to talk, it sure as hell beat feeling like you were utterly alone.
She shoved her phone deep into the pocket of her coat as the elevator doors parted open. "So...I know we're kind of winging this, but have you even thought about which direction you're planning on walking once we get to the door?"
The answer to that was surprisingly yes—an idea had wandered into his brain a couple of minutes ago while he was waiting for her to change out of her clunky winter gear and into something which she claimed was more appropriate for going out in. She'd emerged from her room in a silky dress and tights layered under a thick trench coat, her hair now tucked into a woolen hat that she'd grabbed at the very last second as they were on their way out the door.
"Just trust me," he said.
Understandably, Cora looked skeptical. "Haven't I had enough surprises for one day?"
"This isn't a surprise," he assured her, or at least attempted to. "Just a spontaneous outing. It's not like I've had the time to plan something."
"That better be true," she murmured, shifting closer to him so that she could tuck herself into the circle of his arm. His thumb started to softly draw little circles on her waist. "Or else I'm going to be very mad at you. I don't think I can handle any more emotional whiplash tonight."
He did feel a small amount of guilt for contributing to that emotional whiplash, but the alternative would have been to let her be miserable all night and he felt incapable of just standing aside and letting that happen. When he looked at her now, his heart seemed to expand in his chest, and it was impossible to feel anything other than that overwhelming affection he'd only just owned up to.
She'd put on some glittery eyeshadow during her quick escapade to freshen up. Her eyes now glistened like constellations each time she blinked, and he was entranced by her, sucked into her gravitational pull. God, she was beautiful. She'd always been, and he'd always known it, but it was immensely difficult to believe that he could ever be good enough to end up with the girl next to him as his lover. He didn't even know he was capable of being this affectionate in the romantic sense. He'd always avoided relationships at first because he was so in love with the idea of love that he didn't want it to be ruined for him, then because he thought life had made him too calloused and closed off to ever open himself up again. And yet aside from the rude awakening that they'd received earlier today, life with Cora was like a dream, and Rasmus kept wondering when he was going to wake up from it.
But he didn't want to wake up. He really, really didn't want to wake up.
He almost regretted putting a stop to what they started back there in his apartment, but he knew deep inside of himself that it had been the right thing to do if he'd been having any doubts about his state of mind at all.
Even so, he hoped she'd let him make it up to her soon.
He kissed her on the head. "I'll try to keep the emotional whiplash to a minimum."
She smiled, resting her head on his shoulder for the short remainder of the elevator ride.
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