In the Gray

by B.B. Reid

Roc had rich brown skin, long lashes, chestnut eyes, a thick patch of hair adorning his chin, a thin mustache and beauty mark above his thick lips, and enough waves in his close-cut hair to make you seasick.

“I’d miss you,” he told me. “And if you left, I’d follow you. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than on your bumper, Dream.”

“I want to give you shelter and be your peace. I want to take care of you, Dream. I want to be yours. I won’t ask if you like me too because I don’t waste time with stupid questions. Instead, I’ll only ask one.” I held my breath and waited even though I already knew what his question—and what my answer—would be. “Can I be your boyfriend, Atlas Ilana Beck?”

“It’s because of you. I didn’t just wait my entire life for you, Atlas. I saved all my kisses and compliments. I swallowed every promise. I guarded my loyalty…for you. I kept my heart hard as stone so that when the day came I found the woman I couldn’t hold any of that back for, I’d know without a doubt that I’d found the one.”