"It's been a while," he said, taking the cigarette to his lips and inhaling it softly, slowly, systematically.
She watched the way the veins in his neck protruded, the way he closed his eyes in bliss and exhaled with just a slight part of his lips. She looked away.
"I'd heard a lot about you."
Her legs crossed, the long black dress revealing just a glimpse of her leg. The blood red sole of the heel tapped against the concrete relentlessly, her slender fingers linked around her knee.
The diamond ring. The one that had been mercilessly taunting him all night. He looked away.
"I could say the same about you."
"It is what it is."
A silence fell upon them, the gentle breeze being the only testimony of this scandalous conversation they partook in.
"I didn't know you would be here."
She turned to him, her hand gently cupping her face, and smiled wryly. "If you did, would you have come?"
He looked down at his feet. "I'm not sure."
"I wouldn't blame you for wanting to avoid me. We always were too volatile."
"Volatile?" this time he turned to her, shifting in his seat ever so slightly so that he faced her. He noticed the trace of a laugh on her lips that she fought against, biting them to keep her amusement at bay.
"How else would you describe us?"
"Passionate. We loved with an all-consuming passion."
"Yes, love between the sheets and hatred when the sheets were stripped away. Tell me, do you remember how many vases we had broken during that week long vacation in that dainty little Paris hotel?"
"It wasn't hatred. You know that as well as I do. It was a consuming need to have one for the other. To twist the truth and blur the lines so we'd understand each other better."
"And what did you learn from 5 years or so of attempting to understand me?"
He paused for a while, the cigarette floating between his lips. He flicked it away, over the balcony and off the edge. Standing up, he walked to the railing and overlooked the lights of the city that shone beneath him under the black night.
The world was at his feet. Or so it seemed.
"I learned that you loved with every fibre of your being. That when you gave yourself to someone, it was from the skin at the very tip of your toe to the last strand of hair on your head."
Turning just a fraction, he saw her uncross her legs. She sat up straight, as if hearing the words from his mouth the first time. He scoffed, how little she knew him then and how little she knows him now.
She blinked back the tears, and walked over to stand beside him. He heard the familiar clicking of her heels and gripped the railing tighter, as if to steady himself.
She closed her eyes, letting herself feel the goosebumps on her bare arms, the hairs rise at the back of her neck. When she opened them, she turned to look at him. He was looking straight ahead, the scruffy stubble still as unkempt and inviting as it always had been.
"I miss you," she whispered, and when their eyes met for the briefest of moments, her emotions were spilled from her irises onto her cheek. He reached out for her, but reclined; touching her hand ever so gently instead.
"I miss you too."
Keeping her eyes on the floor, she leaned closer until her head fell upon his chest and the warmth of his arms embraced her once more. She breathed against his shirt, he placed a kiss on her hair and then he pulled away.
Folding her arms, she began to turn but he held her back, his hand over her engagement ring. She looked down, feeling the pressure on her hand.
"I wish nothing but eternal happiness for you. I truly mean that."
She gulped and her lips trembled but he walked away, letting his fingers linger over her skin for one last time. She watched as he walked through the double doors, down the corridor and disappeared into the light.
She sank onto the ground, her head against the railing. In the darkness of the night and the solace of her loneliness, the only thing she could do was cry.
***
A/N: I've purposefully left out names because I didn't write this with any particular character or person in mind. However, you can interpret it is as you wish :)
For Homonym readers, I will update that tomorrow, Sunday at the very latest. Do share your thoughts and comments, it keeps the writer motivated and inspired to continue sharing their work.
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