Savor It

by Tarah DeWitt

when it’s all so easily wiped away?” I brave finding his eyes again. “I believe it’s either that, or … or you decide that everything matters. All of it, all that little shit. Everything in the present and how it makes you feel in those tiny moments, because you can’t possibly know when it’ll all go away. If the result of that sort of caring is what makes me too nice, then fine,” I say. “But I’m not weak for that.”

“Something tells me I couldn’t have you pegged in a decade, let alone a few days, Sage. But even I can tell that you’re vast.”

“Right. She’s better, so she brings out a better version of him.” “No, sweetheart.” I push a lock of her hair back behind one of her ears before I can consider it or consider why I’m comfortable doing it. “I’d wager he just knew you were too far above him, so he tried to bring you to his level. By making the things that light you up seem dim to him.”

Just a you fetish, I think. I thankfully stop the answer before it escapes me. “Just curious about you, is all.” Keep letting me in that mind. You make it look like it’s a fun place to be.

“Sweetheart, I’m finding when it comes to you, I don’t know what I’m capable of, but I’m happy to test those limits.” He breathes into a smile. “I’ll follow your lead. And our deal stands no matter what you decide.”

Love is this. Love is breathing. A sweet, deep, aching relief. And it’s somehow even more disorienting.

“It’s been a privilege to fall in love with you, Sage,”

I thought being with Fisher would be like cut flowers in a vase. Something lovely I let in, even knowing it couldn’t last forever. The problem is, I messed up and planted him here in all my places. I gave him my dirt, my heart, my home, and now he’s been uprooted again and I’m left with the upturned mess of it all.

“So. So what if you happen to meet the love of your life in some tiny town, and so what if you get stuck there? If it’s a life that’s filled with joy, by your standards? I can’t imagine a bigger, more fulfilling feeling.”

“You once told me you thought you were a lot of nots,” he says. “I want you to know that to me, you’re everything.