His Darkness (bxb)

chapter fifty-three

and when we're making love

your cries they can be heard from far and wide

it's only the two of us

everything i need's between those thighs

who would've thought i get you?

━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━

Mia and I walk hand-in-hand to our seats in the large hall. They're not too high up, not too far back; perfectly in the middle. There are only a few rows separating us and the stage. I glance around at the people filling the seats around us, murmurs and whispers resounding from their mouthes. Most of it is French and I'm afraid I'm not too fluent, but the general energy in the room is a mix of excitement and nervousness. I scan the room one more time before facing forwards again, towards the large, red curtain drawn on the stage. I imagine the musicians behind it, getting settled, flipping pages, making last-minute adjustments to their instruments. Mia's hand gently clasps mine and I look down at her. 

"We still smell like the ocean," Mia chuckles. 

Mia and I went on a boat tour earlier today and got to see some whales. Most of them were killer whales swimming way too close to our boat for comfort, jumping from the surface of the water and into the air, but at one point, a blue whale broke the surface just a few feet from our boat. It knocked the boat backwards slightly, causing Mia to latch onto me as it blew air out of its blowhole and dove back into the crystal water. We also spotted a few seals by the coast and could not stop cracking up when a kid who was on the tour with us kept pointing and shouting 'un phoque, un phoque' while pulling on his mother's blouse. It was only later that we found out it means 'seal' in French. 

"I'm so excited," she grins. I lean down to place a chaste kiss on the corner of her mouth. I love seeing her like this - eyes gleaming with excitement, lips spread in sheer joy. "How much longer till they start?" she asks, looking away to hide her red cheeks. 

"They should be starting any second now," I say, glancing down at my phone. 

Just then, the curtains open, revealing the orchestra behind it. The audience erupts in applause and Mia and I follow suit, completely clueless as this is our first time at an orchestra concert. I scan the stage with wide eyes; the musicians are carrying violins, cellos, trumpets, flutes, tubas and other instruments I don't even recognise. 

Mia taps my shoulder excitedly. "Look, there's a harp at the back!" I follow her pointed finger and, sure enough, a large, golden harp glimmers elegantly under the soft lighting. 

A moment later, the conductor appears and the applause is even louder. He steps forward and takes a bow, acknowledging the audience for only a moment before he turns back to face the orchestra. 

The room holds its breath as he raises his arms - waiting, anticipating. His arms come down gently and a single violin plays the beginning of the Beauty and the Beast theme song. A few flutes join in soon enough and I'm fully emerged in the cohesion of it all. I can feel the music all around me. When the percussion comes in, I feel it vibrating under the soles of my feet, in every bone in my body. 

Mia's grip on my hand tightens and I turn to face her. She's wearing that smile again. The one that makes me want to drop down on one knee and ask her to marry me right then and there. She doesn't do anything, say anything - just looks up at me, smiling brightly as the music continues, running her fingers over the ring she made me. The one I refuse to take off.