"Hey, sunshine," he said gently, "what's going on?" His presence alone felt like a lifeline, and I struggled to find the words to explain the overwhelming rush of emotions that had consumed me. “Just a bad day,” I finally squeaked. “This looks like more than just a bad day…but we can go with that story if it makes you feel better,” he said, reaching out to brush a tear from my face. All thoughts escaped me as I watched him bring the tear to his lips. He licked it off. And he seemed to savor the taste. “There, now we can share the bad day,” he murmured with a wink, completely unrepentant for
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